| Strathclyde Saturday Morning League:Division 1 | |
| 20 January 2007 Barlia Sports Complex |
|
| Windlaw | 4 |
| McCann (3), McGinlay | |
| Dunbreac | 0 |
Windlaw made two enforced changes from the side that drew 1-1 with Blochairn Star a fortnight ago, with Colin Sinclair replacing the suspended Chris Kerr in central defence and Benny Carey replacing the absent Danny McKenna upfront. Allan Dougall returned to the bench beside Steph McCann, Wullie Wilson and Colin Carmichael.
The strong wind blowing across Barlia made passing difficult as Dunbreac struggled playing against the wind in the first half. Eck McCaig blew a golden chance to open the scoring early on, but sidefooted his shot wide of a gaping net after good play down Windlaw’s left flank by Davie McGinley. On 17 minutes, Windlaw took the lead in somewhat bizarre circumstances when Kevin McCann’s rather innocuous looking 20 yard shot from the left was somehow spilled into the net by Dunbreac keeper Mark Dines, who looked to have the situation covered initially. Passing continued to be poor as Windlaw struggled to break down a deep Dunbreac defence. Kevin McCann’s long range shooting though continued to be a feature in breaking this down and on 26 minutes he doubled Windlaw’s lead with a stunning 25 yard strike that flew into the roof of the Dunbreac net. Mark Dines then had a fine right-handed save from Eck McCaig as Windlaw broke quickly from defence in a flowing move. On 37 minutes, McCann effectively made the game safe with an almost carbon copy of his second goal which again left Dines with no chance as he grasped at thin air. A superb hat-trick from a man who started the game at left-back! No further scoring until the break, with Windlaw facing the prospect of more defensive work after the break, playing against the wind.
Half-Time: Windlaw 3 Dunbreac 0
The second half was a particularly poor affair. Windlaw were generally penned in their own half and Dunbreac were unable to carve open the Windlaw defence. Dunbreac had a couple of half-hearted penalty appeals rejected by referee Gribbon as they tried to get something back. Ian Baird missed a good chance for Windlaw when he ran through on goal but chipped his shot into the side-netting. Davie McGinley made it four for Windlaw on 73 minutes when he side-footed into an empty net after Benny Carey unselfishly squared to him as he ran through on goal. This was effectively the end of the action as Windlaw brought on Carmichael, Steph McCann and Wilson to replace McCabe, McGinley and Kevin McCann.
Full-Time: Windlaw 4 Dunbreac 0
Verdict: A rather poor game which was blighted by a strong wind, poor passing and constant stoppages for niggly fouls . Windlaw never really got going and will be disappointed at not creating more clear-cut chances. Dunbreac similarly, will be disappointed that they never really worked John Lunny enough. We wish them well for the remainder of the season and their battle to remain in the top flight. The big Windlaw keeper will however be pleased with his first clean sheet since 4th February 2006! A positive note to end a poor day on.
Website Man Of The Match: Kevin McCann -his first half hat-trick alone made him the only serious contender for the award.
