Linlithgow Rose 3-0 Lothian Thistle Hutchison Vale: Stowe hat-trick earns Rose league win

Linlithgow Rose made it four consecutive league wins with Saturday’s convincing 3-0 home success over Lothian Thistle Hutchison Vale.
Linlithgow Rose players have celebrated victories in each of their last four league games (Pic by Scott Louden)Linlithgow Rose players have celebrated victories in each of their last four league games (Pic by Scott Louden)
Linlithgow Rose players have celebrated victories in each of their last four league games (Pic by Scott Louden)

Mark Stowe’s impressive hat-trick handed Rose a comfortable victory and moved them into third place in the East of Scotland Premier Division with 23 points from 12 games.

"Mark is one of the best players at this level,” Rose assistant boss John Miller said.

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"When Mark’s bang at it and he’s confident and plays the game at his tempo, he’s impossible to play against.

"I thought again both him and Alan Docherty – Mark being on the right hand side and Alan on the left – were fantastic.

“Good performance today, we were delighted. I think we took a bit of time to settle in the first 20, 25 minutes but I suppose that’s something we need to get used to, particularly at home.

"Because teams no doubt raise their game and they start at 100 miles an hour.

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"It’s just up to us to try and adapt to that. I think they’ll give a lot of teams trouble because of the aggressive fashion and how they get their midfield five really high and try and press us in our own third.

"But once the game settled I thought we were excellent.

"Four on the bounce, winning becomes a habit. Performance levels are getting towards where we want them to be so we’re in a really good place moving forward.

"It’s just about making sure complacency doesn’t creep in and we need to maintain our high standards and keep moving forward.”

Miller, speaking to the club’s You Tube channel, said that Rose – whose scheduled league game at Newtongrange Star on Tuesday night was postponed due to a waterlogged pitch - are looking as high up the league as possible.

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He added: “Without being arrogant, Linlithgow Rose is one of the biggest names outside of the professional leagues.

"And we need to get back to where we once were. Ultimately that should be the Lowland League and above.

"We have aspirations, we’ve got dreams to progress and we’ve made a really positive start.

"There’s no easy games at this level. Every game has pressure and every team has a little bit of quality.”

Rose have a league game at Blackburn United this Saturday, KO 2.30pm.