It was Benjamin Franklin who first voiced the opinion that nothing can be said to be certain except death and taxes, but now he could now probably reasonably add ”The Biffa SWFL (South) league title is coming to Dumfries”.
Queens Ladies virtually wrapped up the title on Sunday when they beat nearest rivals Kilwinning Ladies 1-0 at NWCC. In a hard fought game, Queens were on top for the most part, but an excellent Kilwinning team fought them every inch of the way, with the Kilwinning keeper in particular pulling off a succession of good saves and holding almost everything that came near her.
The only goal of the game came just before half time when striker Holly Ovens timed her run perfectly to latch on to a through ball chipped over the Kilwinning defence. Ovens raced in on goal and just as it looked as if she would be caught by a Kilwinning defender, she fired a well-placed shot across the keeper and into the left hand corner of the net.
The second half continued in the same vein, with Queens having the upper hand but always having to be alert when Kilwinning broke forward. The game became fairly physical, and a number of yellow cards were shown, and there were a few stoppages for minor injuries, but there was no further scoring.
FT Queens 1 Kilwinning 0.
Queens now sit on 42 points from their 14 games, and although Kilwinning could theoretically still catch Queens, even if Queens lost all their remaining games, Kilwinning would need to pull back a 76 goal difference disadvantage. Benjamin Frankland can rest easy.
This Sunday, it’s a drive up the A76 to take on Nithsdale Wanderers Ladies. A point from that game would make a title collapse mathematically impossible and then the celebrations can begin. However the season doesn’t end with winning the league title as there’s still the small matter of a playoff for promotion to the next tier in a few weeks.
