Rhu Amateurs teams beat Callander Thistle and Burnhill AFC

The ‘Caley’ squad bounced back from the disappointment of their Scottish Amateur Cup exit the previous week with a 4-0 victory over Callander Thistle, while Jamie Kjorstad’s Colts side made it two wins from two in 2024 with a thumping 6-1 defeat of Burnhill.

Rhu 4-0 Callander Thistle

Gordon Brodie made a few changes to the Caledonian League squad to freshen up the ranks after their cup exit to Greig Park Rangers at Bayview Stadium, with Jack Gorman returning to the starting line-up.

And Gorman seized his chance with both hands, scoring twice and setting up a third as Rhu ended a winless run in the First Division stretching back to the end of October.

Rhu enjoyed most of the possession in the first 45 minutes at Ardenconnel, but struggled to break down a stubborn Callander defence.

However, the hosts kept plugging away, and after creating numerous chances they finally took the lead after some good work by Fagan and Gorman set up the latter to place the ball into the back of the net with a rare right-footed effort from the edge of the box.

That gave Rhu a 1-0 advantage at half-time, and Brodie’s men upped the tempo at the start of the second half in a bid to finally put Callander to the sword.

It was that man Gorman who made it two when he expertly stroked the ball low to the keeper’s right with a lovely finish, and the same player then turned provider with a great delivery from the right, picking out scoring machine Danny Johns to power an effort into the net and finish the game as a contest.

With the points safe for Rhu against a Callander side who hadn’t won since September, the pace of the game dropped in the final quarter, but Rhu remained in total command, and in the dying minutes the hosts put the icing on the cake when David Holborn found himself in acres of space at the back post and made it four after coasting past the last defender with ‘the toe poke of the season’.

Boss Brodie said afterwards: “4-0 was a fair reflection of a game that Rhu totally dominated and after the disappointment of last weeks cup exit it was important that the boys responded in the right manner as we look to climb the league.”

This Saturday, February 17, Rhu’s Caledonian League squad are on home soil once again when Alva Amateurs are the visitors. Kick-off at Ardenconnel is at 2pm.

Rhu Colts 6-1 Burnhill AFC

Meanwhile, Rhu Colts’ top scorer Dale Walker added another three goals to his tally for the season as Jamie Kjorstad’s squad eased to victory at home to Burnhill.

Despite four changes from the squad that had beaten Rosebank United 3-2 the previous week, Rhu hit the ground running, with three goals in the first 15 minutes paving the way for a convincing win.

Walker got the scoring under way with just seven minutes on the clock after some good work in the lead up by Beaton and Jones, and two minutes later it was 2-0, with Jack Young slotting home a Shields cross from six yards.

Captain Dylan Caldow completed the early burst of scoring when he reacted quickest inside the box to fire home Rhu’s third goal, and though Burnhill eventually managed to find their feet and compete a bit more, Lewis in the home goal wasn’t seriously troubled in the first 45.

Walker and Jones came close before the break as Rhu looked to end the game as a contest, but there were no more goals in the first half – and Burnhill briefly looked as if they might be in the mood for a mini revival when they reduced the deficit five minutes after the restart.

But Rhu were in no mood to allow their visitors a way back into the game, and the home side re-established their three-goal advantage when Ryan Jones slipped past the Burnhill defence to open his account on his first start for the team.

The prolific Walker added his second, and the Colts’ fifth, on 57 minutes, and deservedly completed his hat-trick with 12 minutes left, rounding off a good day’s work for the squad.

Kjorstad said: “It was a really good performance from the boys. We weren’t sure how we would fare with the amount of forced changes from last week’s starting eleven but the guys who came in played very well and now give us a dilemma for upcoming games.

“Since the league split we have done really well, but we face a tough task this Saturday away to a Glasgow Ansar team that have been on a good run themselves after our last game against them.”

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Meanwhile, Rhu’s over-35s team continue their preparation for the new Football Central 35s league campaign with a pre-season friendly against The Sons 35s – a team made up, as the name suggests, of Dumbarton FC supporters.

The match takes place at Hermitage Academy this Friday, February 16. Kick-off is at 8pm.

The Rhu over-35s’ league fixtures begin on Friday, March 8, away to Bellgrove.

Off the pitch, plans are well under way for Rhu Amateurs’ main fund-raising event of the year – their annual race night.

Taking place at Rhu Community Hall on Saturday, March 2 at 7pm, all money raised will go straight back to the club to support the running of both the Caledonian League and Colts squads.

Ahead of the event, the club is on the lookout for race sponsors at a cost of £50 per race, horse sales (£2 a horse) and raffle prizes – as well as your support on the night.

Everyone is welcome to come along. Speak to any player, committee member or management from either team for more information or see the ‘Rhu Amateurfc’ page on Facebook to find out more or get in touch.