As we moved into the fourth month of the season there was no respite for the players, officials or supporters. Another cracking autumn Saturday saw big-spending Irvine Meadow arrive at Prestonfield full of confidence.

Once again, supporters of both clubs turned out in huge numbers. Meadow came out of the blocks much more quickly than the Rose and were threatening to run all over the home team. Within 18 minutes they had raced into a two goal lead, were unfortunate not to get a penalty and missed another glorious chance. The Meadow fans were in raptures. Gordon Rae screamed at his midfield to push forward. The midfield (well Brads!) screamed back: “I cannae get the ****** ball off them!!”. Gordon’s response brought his all of his leadership skills to the fore: “Never mind the ball – just dae as yer tellt and get further forward!” At face value, a daft looking instruction but it may have changed the game. The Rose had an outlet from the back and having been outplayed suddenly started to ask questions of Meadow. And as it turned out, Meadow had few answers as Rose scored 3 goals in 10 minutes to go in at half-time with their noses in front. Meadow continued to press but their discipline cost them dearly as they were reduced to 10 men. Rose added a fourth goal as Meadow were reduced to 9.

A cracking cup tie that contained nearly everything that is good about junior football. The Rose fans happily made their way along the High Street heading towards oblivion (again!) – unlike ex-Rose man Jordan who was distinctly unimpressed!

The league game against Carnoustie was a “must-win” for the Rose but it was never going to be easy to maintain the level of performance that had been served up in front of bumper crowds in the previous two weeks. In the event, Bradley’s late winner was enough to secure 3 points from a game the lads dominated from start to finish.

A quiet night in for everyone before the Junior Cup draw the following day – surely we were due a break?! The disbelief was tangible as news filtered out that the club had been drawn away to … Bo’ness!! Another round of “bring it on” was interspersed with the fervent hope that the game would be played in good spirit and free of the aggravation that had haunted the fixture in recent times. The fact that Bo’ness had been relegated the previous season would count for nothing – they had already set their stall out to bounce straight back to the Super League. Nobody expected anything less than the hardest of games from our greatest rivals (nobody was disappointed!!!).

Back to league business. Linlithgow had fallen a bit behind in the league schedule and their indifferent start had not helped either. Elsewhere Whitburn were setting the pace and seemed set to disappear from view at the top as they travelled to closest challengers, Lochee, and secured a 9^th straight league win.

Rose had a tough match against Junior Cup final opponents Kelty. Gary McGlynn was carried off after suffering a horrendous gash and it quickly became clear that Pinkowski was far from match fit either. Rose went a goal behind but once again battled back and secured a vital win ahead of the Scottish Cup.

So to Dalbeattie Star. Linlithgow and Culter were flying the junior flag in the 3^rd round – Pollok had been unfortunate to lose out to Montrose in a replay at Newlandsfield.

In the run up to the game, injuries were a major concern to the Rose – how that was to become a recurring theme from this point on!! Carrigan had missed the game against Kelty, McGlynn was sidelined, Pinkowski was struggling as his replacement and Greg Denham had also limped off the previous week. Jim Sinnet stepped in to re-sign Greig Logan just as he appeared set to link up with local rivals Bo’ness.

Supporters were restless and the build up to the game within the town was more subdued than had been the case in Rounds 1 and 2. There was disappointment too with the level of local press coverage afforded to the game. Dalbeattie may not have been a big name but Linlithgow were stepping into new territory for a junior team and the occasion deserved far better coverage than that sanctioned by the management team within the Gazette – at least as far as the Rose supporters were concerned.

The game itself rather mirrored the build up. McArthur put Linlithgow into the lead within the first 2 minutes and Linlithgow were utterly dominant. The home crowd anticipated a goal feast but it never materialised. The team never hit the heights of the game against Spartans. On the other hand, Dalbeattie rarely ventured out of their own half and exited the competition with something of a whimper.

Once the dust had settled however, only one thing mattered – the Rose were at the big boys table in their first foray into the senior game. Those who had followed them on the journey never expected anything less but there was an immense feeling of pride around the town and gratitude towards the players and management who had written another chapter in the history of our great club.

We had to wait a couple of days for the 4^th round draw. The fans passed the time debating whether a local tie against Hearts or Hibs might be preferable to either of the Old Firm. Some wanted to take their chance against one of the lower league teams in the competition. In the end we drew Queen of the South away. It wasn’t the worst tie in the world … but it wasn’t far off it! No disrespect to Queens but they were not a top draw for us, were likely to be more than capable of beating Linlithgow if they maintained their focus and they were another 3 hour bus trip! Their supporters were understandably delighted – a home tie against non-league opposition was just what the doctor ordered.

November had been a super month. Straight wins and history made. Life continues to be great for Rose fans!