GALA Fairydean Rovers took part in Scotland’s first ever national over 65s walking football tournament which was held at Toryglen Sports Centre near Hampden Park in Glasgow on Wednesday.

A total of 16 teams from throughout the country attended the event and Gala were drawn in a tough group along with Dundee, Oriam from Edinburgh and Gerihattricks from East Kilbride.

The morning session started with a 2-2 draw against Dundee then a 1-1 draw with Oriam who equalised against the run of play with the last kick of the game.

The final fixture ended with a 2-0 defeat to Gerihattricks.

The afternoon session saw a change in fortunes and Gala beat Dundee 2-0 before losing by the same score to Oriam.

Gala reserved their best performance for last and ended the day with a comfortable 2-0 win over eventual runners up Gerihattricks.

Team Coach John Hislop said: “I thought the lads were unlucky to go out in the group stages having dominated the majority of games we played in.

"Only some fine goalkeeping by our opponents prevented us progressing to the semi-finals.

“We had a number of excellent individual performances but a special mention has to go to our top scorer Grant Leitch who played all six games with a heavily bandaged arm.

“The whole event was a great success and it is likely to be repeated next year and I would like to extend my congratulations to the winners Ayr United.

“Walking football is a great way to make new friends and keep fit and I would urge anyone who is interested to turn up at Langlee Community Centre between 2.30pm and 4pm each Monday or at Netherdale between 2.30pm and 4pm each Thursday.

"You are guaranteed a warm welcome.”