Bonnyrigg Rose aiming for League One less than two years after forming

Bonnyrigg Rose women have a shot at promotion to League One as they take on Harmony Row in the promotion play-offs on Sunday.

The women’s team only formed in March last year but already have a shot at making it into the fourth tier after a fantastic campaign. The Midlothian side finished second in the SWFL East which qualified them for the playoffs due to Livingston Reserves’ illegibility. Now going into their final game of the season, manager Jamie Carter is hoping his team’s hard work this campaign is rewarded.

“It's a massive opportunity for the club,” he told the Edinburgh Evening News. “We have only been going for a year and a half now. Last season, we started the team back in March 2022 and we finished second last year. This season, it has been a short year and from January to June we have crammed in 22 league games. We have managed to get second again and get a play-off spot because Livingston Reserves can't get promoted. It’s a great opportunity for us and it’s one the girls don’t want to throw away. They want to work hard on Sunday and hopefully, we can get over the line and get promoted. Fingers crossed.”

Bonnyrigg did have an opportunity last weekend to get to the promised land when they took on Forfar Farmington in the play-offs. An unfortunate start saw them 4-0 down after 31 minutes before going on to lose 5-3 giving promotion to the Forfar. However, due to this season’s play-off formation, the two losers of the first play-off fixtures face each for a second chance at reaching League One football.

Bonnyrigg Rose won 16 of their 22 league games. Credit: Alex Todd | SportPix

“We have a very young side and in the first 30 minutes, you could probably tell that because that isn’t how we normally play and maybe nerves got the better of them,” Carter said looking back on Sunday’s game. “We have got an average age of 18/19 years old, so it is a very young side for a lady's team; I think the nerves definitely got the better of them. Hopefully this week, we can just go in with more freedom, express ourselves and enjoy the occasion because these games don’t happen very often.”

This weekend’s opponents, Harmony Row, finished their SWFL West campaign as champions this season after only losing one game. Last Sunday, they were defeated 2-0 by Queen of the South, and have parachuted into this final play-off game. With the entire season on the line for both teams, Carter is hoping that the return of some Bonnyrigg players will be enough to see his side over the line.

“The game on Sunday is going to be very difficult,” he added. “We are under no illusions that Harmony Row are a very good side. They have won the SWPL West for the last two years now. I know we will have a few players back that were unable to play last Sunday. We have a full-strength squad going into the game so that will definitely help us.”

The game is set to be played at MTC Park in Airdrie. Kick-off is 1pm and entry is free for the fixture.