New Rose signing Scott Mercer on the ball. Photograph by Joe Gilhooley LRPS.
Match report by Michelle Reid, of Bonnyrigg Rose FC
Bonnyrigg Rose 0 Stranraer 0
Robbie Horn made two changes as Bonnyrigg Rose welcomed the visit of Stranraer to New Dundas Park as Keiran McGachie and new signing Scott Mercer came into the side for Jonny Stewart and Declan Byrne.
It was an incredibly windy afternoon in Midlothian which meant it was difficult for both sides to carve out some clear-cut chances. Stranraer came close from set-piece situation as Matty Grant’s free-kick sailed just beyond Paddy Martin’s left post.
Martin had to make a top class save later in the half as Finn Ecrepont tried his luck from range, tipping over on the back foot to deny the Blues the lead.
Rose grew into the half, with Scott Mercer and Kerr Young both missing the mark, but it was Angus Mailer who would go the closest as he found himself one-on-one with Lewis Budinauckas but he could only drag his shot wide of the left post.
The final chance of the half would fall Bonnyrigg’s way but Bradley Barrett couldn’t cause too many problems for Budinauckas.
The wind persisted in the second-half as Grant went close but Paddy Martin’s was on hand once again to keep the match level.
Despite a few changes late on in the game as Declan Byrne and Smart Osadolor both came on to aide Rose’s attacking effort, neither side could find the match-winner in a scoreless affair at NDP.
Bonnyrigg Rose will be looking to turn recent draws into a victory when they face-off against Elgin City at New Dundas Park on Tuesday evening.
Midlothian Councillors have approved the asset transfer of the Poltonhall Sport Complex to Bonnyrigg Rose Community Football Club (BRCFC). The decision marks the culmination of a 6 year journey for the club.
Bonnyrigg Rose Community Football Club, shares the same name, same kit and same love of football as Bonnyrigg Rose Athletic who play in Scottish League Two, but the two clubs are separate entities.
In 2018, following a Sport Pitch Review, the Council’s recommended action was to seek to transfer the pitches to BRCFC or close the facility in August 2018. At the time the 3G pitch at Poltonhall was in a very bad state of repair and the council did not have the funds to replace it. This is when the committee of BRCFC stepped in and made plans to run Poltonhall themselves.
The club achieved charity status in 2016 and went on to achieve Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation (SCIO) status in 2021.
The club has evolved to meet the needs of the community. The Asset Transfer has always been in their sights and has been openly discussed with Midlothian Council since the initial stage of taking on the lease and the club fully understands the responsibilities that come with it. They are happy to have a facility everyone can use and that they can use to support those most in need.
They have invested heavily in the site, spending over £100k on the pavilion as well as the money they’ve invested for the pitch replacement project and ongoing maintenance.
This has been done with a view to creating a legacy for future generations. The football facilities have been renewed as a result of a collaborative approach in gathering the necessary funds. Developer Contributions, Sports Scotland and the club’s own contribution saw the 3G replacement take place in 2022. The club has established a ‘sink fund’ so that in 10 or so years when the 3G needs replacing again they will have the funds ready to do that. Currently the sink fund stands at just over £100,000.
The site is protected by Fields in Trust and the asset transfer ensures that Poltonhall can only be used for sport and cannot be sold on for development, such as housing.
11 local people are now employed full or part time with the club.
Working with the Council is a natural way of working for the club. They facilitate a weekly youth group with Midlothian Council Communities Lifelong Learning and Employability (CLLE), they have been asked if they will be a long term partner and have been invited to join in the development of the youth work/ strategy.
During Covid the club opened a foodbank on behalf of the Council for local people. They’ve successfully gained large and small grants from the council which has enabled them to deliver various projects supporting those who are most vulnerable.
The club now is associated with and works with a long list of local organisations and bodies. They work with
– Police Scotland (Communities Team)
– Fire Service
– Citizens Advice Bureau CAB (Outreach Partner)
– Midlothian Council – Trusted Partner
– CLLE
– Active Schools
– Lasswade High School
– Local Midlothian Primary Schools
– Faith Groups
– Mums Walk
– SFA,
– SPORTED
– Sports Scotland
– Scottish Football Partnership
– SPFL Trust
– Red Cross
– Positive Mental Health Scotland
– Learning Circles Scotland
– Emotion All,
– Rebecca McKinney Counselling
– Lynn Hogarth Counselling
– Tiny Changes Health in Mind
– RUTS
– MVA
– Veterans
– Lady Haig Poppy Factory
– Poppy Scotland
– Cyrenians
– Local Community Councils.
Whilst their recent growth has been significant our principles and values remain constant, being able provide a safe environment for the encouragement and promotion of football and good health within the local community through the provision of youth teams for boys and girls that foster fair play, participation for all, irrespective of race, colour, religion, sex, sexuality or disability.
Their presence in the community through football allows them to foster partnerships with other likeminded organisations. By engaging in other non-footballing initiatives with their associate members they are harnessing the power of football to create a true community organisation.
In 2022 the club was asked by UEFA if we would take part in a pilot project around ‘Social Return on Investment’. The results were quite something. They were based on the membership at the time of 651 players. The overall impact of the clubs footballing activities equated to £3.95 million per year; £475k for the economy, £2.25 million on the social impact and £1.22 million for health. And the report didnlt capture all the community activity – just football.
The SFA recognises BRCFC as a Platinum Quality Mark Club.
At the meeting of the Asset Transfer committee, Council Leader, Councillor Kelly Parry thanked the club and council officers for the work to bring the application to the point where it could now be passed.
The committee approved the asset transfer with Councillor Colin Cassidy, chairing the committee saying:
“The work that they do up at Bonnyrigg Rose just isn’t about football and kicking balls about a pitch, There is so much more in-depth that goes on up there.”
The club will not take ownership of Poltonhall for a symbolic £1. The transfer of ownership means the council is no longer responsible for the upkeep and maintenance of the complex and thus it is a saving for the council.
Jim Wilson, BRCFC General Manager and Trish Sime, BRCFC Development Manager were both at the asset transfer meeting and were delighted with the decision.
Jim told Midlothian View
“We can now get on with improving this football club even more.”
You can read the detailed report discussed at the meeting HERE.
Bradley Barrett scoring Bonnyrigg Rose's winning goal against Falkirk in Scottish Cup. Photograph by Joe Gilhooley LRPS.
Match report by Michelle Reid, of Bonnyrigg Rose FC
Bonnyrigg Rose 2 Falkirk 1
Robbie Horn named an unchanged eleven as Bonnyrigg Rose welcomed the visit of unbeaten League 1 table-toppers Falkirk to New Dundas Park in the Scottish Cup fourth round.
Bonnyrigg Rose had seen their way past Fraserburgh and Albion Rovers in some tricky away trips to get to this stage, whilst Falkirk defeated Highland League side Formartine United in the previous round.
If Bonnyrigg Rose were to advance to the next round they would have had to start on the front-foot, and they did just that as a Lee Currie free-kick was met by Keiran McGachie who knocked it down to Kerr Young to prod forward to a position where Conor Doan was on hand to divert it goal-wards and put Bonnyrigg Rose ahead just 4 minutes into the game.
Falkirk looked to hit back soon after as Aidan Nesbitt ghosted in at the back-post to meet the cross but could only see his effort trickle across the face of goal and out for a goal-kick.
If taking the lead early on was the dream start, things could have gotten even better in the early stages as Bradley Barrett and McGachie both found themselves one-on-one with Bairns stopper Sam Long but neither could find the goal to give Rose a two-goal cushion.
Those missed chances wouldn’t go unpunished as Liam Henderson ghosted into the Rose box and planted his headed effort into the bottom left corner past Paddy Martin to bring Falkirk level on the half-hour mark.
Falkirk weren’t done there as they looked to take a lead into the break, with Callumn Morrison going the closest with a sensational long-range strike that was well saved by Paddy Martin. They couldn’t find that lead however as the sides went into the break level at 1-1.
Morrison continued to cause problems for the Rose backline in the early stages of the second-half as he did well to create some space for a shot, but once again Martin was his equal.
Rose went close to taking the lead later in the game as substitute Robbie McGale’s corner wasn’t dealt with at the front-post and goalkeeper Long had to scramble to claw it off of the line.
Falkirk would pass up a golden opportunity in the dying embers of the game as the ball fell to Coll Donaldson in space in the box, but he could only see his shot sail over the crossbar.
Rose would have the final say in the game as in the 90th minute Lee Currie’s corner was met by Angus Mailer, whose header was flicked on from close range by Barrett to send Rose ahead and send Rose through to the Scottish Cup fifth round.
Bonnyrigg have been drawn away against Aberdeen with the tie being played on the weekend of 10th/11th February.
