By Jack Crawford

RHU Amateurs are set to be in competitive action for the first time in seven months this weekend as their 2020-21 Caledonian League campaign gets under way.

Stewart Maule’s side will kick off against Rothesay Brandane at the DCF Park on Saturday hoping to build on last season’s ninth place finish, although a higher place looked to be on the cards before the country went into lockdown and the season was curtailed.

Rhu kicked off their 2019-20 campaign with a home fixture against the same opponents in August of last year, coming out on top as 4-1 winners on the day thanks to a Callum Smith double, an own goal and a Kyle Sharkey penalty, and will be hoping for a repeat of the same scoreline this time around.

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And after an intense pre-season training schedule and three friendlies to get his side up to speed, Maule, who was this week announced as LiveArgyll Young Person’s Coach of the Year, hopes that giving everyone in his squad game time will benefit his side.

He told the Advertiser: “We’ve got over 30 players now, so as much as we had three games in a week, you’d be lucky if anyone played 90 minutes in them because it was really just trying to give everyone a run out as much as we could.

“It sounds hectic if you’ve only got a squad of 16 or 17, but it’s not as bad as it seems, and I’m sure there are still players who didn’t get enough time as far as they are concerned.”

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The club have urged supporters not to attend the game to keep in line with Covid-19 restrictions, with updates available on the Rhu Amateur FC Facebook page.

A statement added: “No changing rooms, no showers, no car sharing and no spectators – but everyone is still buzzing!”

Meanwhile, Helensburgh FC continued their pre-season preparations with a 5-3 defeat against Lomond Vale at Argyll Park on Saturday.

Burgh are set to compete in the Greater Glasgow Premier League in 2020/21 however there has been no indication from league officials as to when that may get under way.

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