Week 10 preview - Renfrewshire derby for the 1st XI

The 1st XI have another home league match on Saturday, this week welcoming Renfrewshire rivals, Ferguslie, to Glenpark before making another attempt to play Dunfermline in the second round of the Scottish Cup on Sunday.

Six wins on the trot have put Greenock at the head of the table at the end of the first half of the league season and they will be keen to extend that sequence. Their opponents, Ferguslie, have had a disappointing time so far this season, especially when one looks at the strength of their team. Professional Con de Lange is one of the most respected and experienced paid players in the Premier Division and he is backed up by internationalist cousins, Majid Haq and Omar Hussein. Add in skipper Stuart Murray and veteran campaigner Stewart Kennedy and one would expect this team to be challenging for honours rather than languishing in the middle regions of the table. Greenock will indeed need to be very wary of this encounter.

Greenock welcome back Ryan Begley to their team after several weeks out through injury whilst Dougie Wylie is available again, Keiran Begley and David Brown stepping down. The Greenock team selection is

On Sunday, Keiran Begley is added to the squad as Greenock try to get past Dunfermline in the second round of the Cup. With a poor week of weather so far and an unsettled weekend forecast, the chances are high that this game will be restricted in length in one way or another. Greenock will do well to make sure that they do not fall into the same trap as Grange did last Sunday when they took the field not knowing the competition rules and paid a harsh penalty for that.

The Glenpark XI are back in action again this week. They have a most difficult game ahead of them as they take on league leaders, Meikleriggs, on their own patch, and any result other than a resounding defeat will be most welcome. The Glenparkers' difficulties this season have been well documented and they will need to improve their performance considerably if they are to be successful.

The following selection will be on duty

The Hillend XI have Glenpark to themselves on Sunday and will be keen to keep up their recent good run of form when they take on Windyedge, who are Glasgow Accies 4th eleven.

After many hours of deliberation, skipper Peter Robertson is still undecided as to who should represent Hillend in this vital fixture and as a result he is naming a squad of 14. The final selection will depend on a number of factors, not least who grovels the most to the skipper.