| West of Scotland Cup Round 1 | |
| 1 November 2006 St. Margaret Mary's Secondary School |
|
| Windlaw | 2 |
| McCaig, McCann | |
| Blackstoun Utd | 3 |
| Team: Lunny, McInally, Kerr, A.Dougall (McKenna), McCann, Baird, McCaig, Carmichael (Wilson), McCabe, Carey, Thornton (Williamson) Unused Subs: Nugent, Tierney, Docherty | |
| Referee: Stuart Trotter | |
Windlaw made 1 enforced change from the starting line-up who performed so well at Greenhills the previous week with the holidaying Davie McGinley replaced by Wullie Thornton in a reshuffled side which meant Eck McCaig playing upfront alongside Benny Carey while Allan Dougall moved into right-midfield with Thornton dropping in behind him at right-back. Wullie Wilson replaced Scott Williamson on the bench. Due to the bad weather conditions, the game was in doubt until just 15 minutes before kick-off due to the referee’s late arrival. However the decision to play the game seemed to be the correct one although there was no doubt that the pitch would cut up immediately and become a mudbath in no time at all.
The youthful Blackstoun Utd side undoubtedly started the game better and seemed much more at ease with the conditions than their lacklustre hosts. Despite a heavy pitch, they still looked to get it down and create, rather than Windlaw’s rather rushed looking, long ball approach. They got their reward after 15 minutes when Windlaw lost the predictable opening goal in the usual kamikaze style. The danger looked to be cleared when McInally won a sliding tackle in the box and knocked the ball to McCann on the touchline. However possession was then lost and the Blackstoun winger then evaded two half-hearted challenges before being upended by McCann’s outstruck leg for a stick-on penalty. The penalty conversion was simple with Lunny going the wrong way and the tone for a shambolic day was set. Ten minutes later, the visitors doubled their lead. A superb angled crossfield pass caught Thornton on the wrong side of the Blackstoun forward and went over his head.The ball was brought down brilliantly and the Blackstoun player was through on goal at the edge of the box. As Lunny charged from his line and dived, he had the relatively simple task of dinking a finish over him into the net. 2-0 down and staring at complete embarrassment, Windlaw had been completely outplayed by this point. A Benny Carey strike was then disallowed for offside in controversial circumstances, perhaps contradicting the referee’s pre-match claims that offside decisions wouldn’t be made and that offside shouldn’t be played by either side!
Windlaw did claw a goal back on 36 minutes through Eck McCaig. Neat football and link-up put Wullie Thornton clear in the Blackstoun penalty area and his pass across the box was easily tapped into the unguarded net by McCaig to throw the shell-shocked hosts some kind of lifeline. However Windlaw had already had the advantage of a strong wind behind them in the first half and it would take a major achievement to reverse the scoreline in deteriorating conditions in the second.
Half-Time: Windlaw 1 Blackstoun Utd 2
The second half saw a slight improvement in Windlaw’s play and you sensed that the visitors were happy to hold what they had and hit on the break, which to be fair, they looked more than capable of doing. Little was being created by way of clear cut chances although Windlaw did spring Blackstoun’s offside trap on 2 or 3 occassions, however the finishing was wasteful and didn’t look as incisive as anything the pacy Blackstoun forwards could produce. Allan Dougall was replaced by Danny McKenna and Colin Carmichael was replaced by Wullie Wilson. On 70 minutes came the goal which finally put Windlaw out of their misery and it came in farcical circumstances. A hopeful chip towards the edge of the Windlaw penalty area was completely misjudged by John Lunny as the flightpath of the ball took it past his collecting run. He was then overtaken by the grateful Blackstoun forward in the race for the loose ball who had the delight in knocking it into the now unguarded net for the decisive goal. Utterly shambolic !! To give Windlaw some credit, they refused to buckle completely and 10 minutes from time, Kevin McCann latched onto a ball over the top of the Blackstoun defence before advancing in on their keeper and carefully knocking his shot past him and just over the line to offer Windlaw some sporadic hope. Despite some late pressure including a few corners and long-throws, Windlaw couldn’t get the equaliser they needed to take the tie into extra-time. The Blackstoun offside trap was legitimately beaten on a couple of occasions late on, but the referee’s earlier claims that offside shouldn’t be played clearly didn’t apply in the dying embers of this match. The Blackstoun defence held out well and the young Ferguslie Park side merited their passage into the next round.
Full-Time: Windlaw 2 Blackstoun Utd 3
Verdict: Quite simply, one of the most embarrassing results in the club’s history. With respect to our opponents, this was a game Windlaw had to win. They failed miserably when they would rarely have a better chance to get a run in this tournament. The inquest will continue for a while into this mess. Windlaw now possess a defence who have failed to keep a clean sheet for the last 22 competitive matches, with their last one coming against Vale United on 4th of February. That alone tells its own story. The midfield were never at the races in this game and that too was a major factor. Chris Kerr’s performance apart, there is not one positive to take from this game as the team continue to look out of their depth in these major cup competitions. Failure to progress in either the Scottish or West Of Scotland Cup already means the season to some extent is already heavily tinged with failure. Perhaps events are leading to a natural conclusion.
Website Man Of The Match: Chris Kerr - The team’s only performer and what a performance. Fearless and amazingly competitive, his team-mates barely deserved to share a dressing-room with him. He surely deserves a better platform to showcase his abilities.
