First Team

LOAN REPORT | OCTOBER 2023

3rd November 2023

It’s been another action-packed month for our youngsters on loan across the SPFL pyramid - let’s analyse their contributions to their respective clubs.

Miller Thomson - Montrose 

Thomson and Montrose began October on a high as they notched a stoppage-time winner against Alloa Athletic, a match that marked the loanee’s return to the starting XI following a slight knock.

Seven days later, the 19-year-old was named in Stewart Petrie’s line-up once more as the Gable Endies’ assault on the SPFL Trust Trophy was brought to an end by Championship promotion-chasers Raith Rovers.

A postponement due to Storm Babet saw Montrose’s fixture with Cove Rangers postponed, then Thomson rounded off the month with 90 minutes against undefeated Hamilton Academical.  

The midfielder has aided the Angus outfit’s efforts to retain a place in the play-offs - occupying the final place in the top four.

November sees Montrose face off with League One relegation-battlers Edinburgh City twice after being drawn against the Citizens in the Scottish Cup Third Round. Other fixtures bring Annan Athletic and table-topping Falkirk to Links Park, whilst also undertaking a midweek trip north to take on Cove Rangers.

Logan Chalmers - Ayr United

Throughout October, Chalmers played 99.4% of the available competitive minutes for Ayr United.

On Matchday Eight, he continued his rich vein of form by finding the back of the net at the Excelsior Stadium. Ghosting in at the back post, Chalmers opened the scoring with a composed side-footed volley. The Honest Men would go on to record a 2-1 victory, a result which propelled them away from the foot of the cinch Championship table.

A two-week hiatus wouldn’t halt the momentum, with another late arrival into the box on the ten-minute mark seeing Chalmers write his name on the scoresheet against Dunfermline Athletic. This was the only goal of the game and Ayr secured back-to-back victories for the first time this season.

On Tuesday, the wideman contributed a first-half assist in an entertaining 2-2 draw with Partick Thistle. With United picking up maximum points against Airdrie, the point garnered at Firhill pushed Lee Bullen’s side into the top four at the expense of the Diamonds.

Chalmers sits joint-fifth in the cinch Championship assist charts alongside fellow Academy graduates Kai Fotheringham and Declan Glass, and ranks in the top three for dribbles per 90. He also featured twice in the SPFL Team of the Week in October.

Ayr contest just three matches this month having been knocked out the SPFL Trust Trophy. Matchups with Queen’s Park and Inverness Caledonian Thistle precede a Scottish Cup Third Round tie at Balmoor.

Lewis O’Donnell - Kelty Hearts

Fully settled into life at New Central Park, O’Donnell started all four of Kelty Hearts’ matches in October, playing 349 minutes in total. The midfielder chalked up his first assist in a 4-1 rout of Edinburgh City, picking out Adam Corbett with a looping corner which his colleague converted for number two.

Despite successive defeats to Greenock Morton and Alloa Athletic, O’Donnell continued to shine both off the right and through the middle.

Michael Tidser’s men returned to winning ways last weekend and moved up to third in the cinch League One table - a late Lewis Moore strike seeing them dispatch plucky ten-man Stirling Albion in Fife. This was the third successive match in which O’Donnell played 90 minutes.

Kelty raise the curtain on November by heading south to play relegation-threatened Annan Athletic. 

Clashes with Cove Rangers and Queen of the South follow, before they look to progress to the Scottish Cup Fourth Round by side-stepping fellow third-tier high-flyers Hamilton Academical.

Layton Bisland - Falkirk 

Bisland made his full debut for the Bairns in the SPFL Trust Trophy Last 16, keeping a clean sheet in a 1-0 triumph over Queen’s Park. This set up a Quarter-Final against his parent club.

Back on League One duty, the right-back entered the fray in second-half stoppage-time of Falkirk’s clash with Stirling Albion, successfully carrying out the remit of getting a dramatic 2-1 victory over the line at Forthbank.

His first third-tier start for the table-toppers came on Matchday 11, securing another shutout as John McGlynn’s side ran riot against Alloa Athletic.

Only Celtic and Bisland’s Falkirk have put more points on the board from their first 11 matches this term than the Terrors. Furthermore, they have scored 28 goals in their efforts to fend off Accies at the summit - a feat which puts them second to ourselves in the entire SPFL pyramid.

In a five-game month due to their participation in both the Challenge Cup and Scottish Cup, Falkirk host Edinburgh City, Dundee United and Formartine United. Away from Stirlingshire, visits to Palmerston and Links Park await the Championship-hopefuls.

Rory MacLeod - Forfar Athletic 

Due to postponements and lack of Challenge Cup action, Forfar Athletic played just two competitive matches last month.

MacLeod put 82 minutes under his belt on the right of an attacking trio against league-leaders Peterhead, then missed out on the Loons’ Scottish Cup adventure to Highland League outfit Huntly. 

However, the attacking livewire made his Scotland U19s bow against Portugal during a cluster of international friendlies held at the Pinatar Arena.

From one extreme to the other, Forfar are faced with five fixtures in the upcoming four weeks. Stenhousemuir are the visitors to Station Park, before a six-pointer with Clyde follows.

Then, a triple-header on the road pits Ray McKinnon’s men against Bonnyrigg Rose, Elgin City and Tranent Juniors. 

Bryan Mwangi - The Spartans 

Mwangi is still waiting patiently to cut his teeth in the world of senior football, yet to make his first appearance for The Spartans.

Named in the matchday squad for fixtures against Dumbarton and Brechin, the winger was an unused substitute in both matches. The Spartans are currently in the mix at the top end of League Two as they hunt down back-to-back promotions.

Mwangi has four opportunities to make his debut in November, with the Edinburgh side pencilled in to take on Clyde, Stenhousemuir, Peterhead and Arbroath in the Scottish Cup.

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