Ladbrokes League 2: The Half-Term Awards
Published:
The first few months of the Ladbrokes League 2 campaign couldn’t have gone any better for Forfar Athletic, but the Loons aren’t the only ones to have impressed during an exciting first part of the season.
With eight games gone and League 2’s finest on Challenge Cup duty this weekend, it’s time to dish out the half-term awards. Let’s begin with the top performer, whose side currently lie in fourth place.
The star performer:
Josh Peters (Forfar Athletic)
Hibernian’s loss has been Forfar’s gain this season, with the 20-year-old summer arrival lighting up Station Park with consistently outstanding displays – netting five times in six league games, including a pair of unstoppable strikes in the 4-1 thrashing of Stirling Albion.
Quick, technically gifted and with a real eye for goal, he’ll continue to be a nightmare for defenders.
One to Watch:
Darren Ramsay (Annan Athletic)
The former Rangers youth prodigy headed from Ibrox to Annan this summer, and has quickly injected a real flair into the Galabankies’ play, with his slick passing and intelligent movement.
Also a reliable source of goals, the 21-year-old has already netted three times in Ladbrokes League 2 this season, including a superb long-ranger in the 3-2 home win over Clyde. Expect him to keep improving as he adapts to life in the fourth tier.
Tipped for the title:
Forfar Athletic
Before the season began, it was Clyde who were 3/1 favourites for the title with Forfar back at 9/2. But Gary Bollan’s men have already been cut to 10/11 to finish top, and even at odds-on, their swashbuckling displays make them good value to win Ladbrokes League 2.
A run of seven wins on the bounce to begin the league campaign saw the Loons grind out a 1-0 victory at Clyde, put four goals past Cowdenbeath and inflict a rare home defeat on Annan. With the likes of Peters, Thomas O’Brien and Danny Denholm in their ranks, Forfar are the side that nobody wants to face.
Overachievers:
Arbroath
Last season’s ninth-placed finish is beginning to feel like a bad dream for Red Lichties fans, who have seen their heroes lose just once since the beginning of the season. And now their side sit just three points behind Clyde in second spot.
The incredible 5-3 triumph against Stirling Albion remains their most exciting and impressive display, but their hard-fought win at Borough Briggs was perhaps the moment they established themselves as serious play-off contenders.
Underachievers:
Cowdenbeath
After successive relegations, all involved with the Blue Brazil will have been hoping for – and expecting – a season of stability at Central Park. But once again, the Fife side are struggling to adapt, and find themselves second bottom of the league, with just a solitary point from their last three games.
More alarmingly, they’ve failed to score in over 300 minutes of football, and haven’t taken a point at home since August 20. They’re unlikely to face a third successive relegation, but improvement is still required quickly.
Best Game:
Edinburgh City 3-3 Arbroath
The Citizens grabbed their first Ladbrokes SPFL point on home turf in this exhibition of attacking football. The Red Lichties took an eighth-minute lead through Omar Kader, before Marc Laird equalised less than 90 seconds later.
Both sides went on to lead again, only for it to be wrestled away each time. Arbroath even had a man sent off just a minute after their 79th-minute equaliser, but threatened to grab a winner, with right-back Ricky Little’s last-gasp effort close to making the difference. A bona fide classic.
All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing
