| Strathclyde Saturday Morning League:Division 1 | |
| 3 February 2007 John Brown Pitches, Clydebank |
|
| Forest | 0 |
| Windlaw | 4 |
| McCabe(2),S.McCann, McGinlay | |
Windlaw made three changes from the side that lost at Shawbridge last week.Wullie Wilson had an ankle injury and his defensive spot was filled by Zanda Dougall. Kevin McCann dropped to the bench and was replaced by Chris Kerr who moved into a central midfield role while upfront, Benny Carey was replaced by Steph McCann who was making his first start in a Windlaw jersey for some considerable time.
After the disappointment of last week’s woeful first half against Shawbridge, Windlaw were quickly out the blocks this time and had the Forest goal under pressure in the early stages with one shot hitting the bar and corners and long-throws being put into the Forest box. It took Forest some time to gain a foothold but gradually, they did and on the left wing, the fleet-footed Craig Darroch was beginning to pose the Windlaw defence a few problems. John Lunny had to save smartly low down at his right hand post and as the rebound looked set to be smashed home, McInally did just enough to deflect Hamilton’s effort safely into Lunny’s hands. Hamilton then missed a good chance from close range before Lunny saved well from a Forest free-kick. Windlaw then reapplied some pressure just before the break but Forest keeper Taylor looked in commanding form like John Lunny and the sides went in at half-time, justifiably on level terms.
Half-Time: Forest 0 Windlaw 0
Within 2 minutes of the restart, Forest had a goal disallowed after a game of head-tennis in the Windlaw box, with Collatin penalised for holding down Zanda Dougall. Forest had started the second-half better but on 52 minutes, came the incident that changed the course of this game. Windlaw were awarded a free-kick 25 yards out, central to the Forest goal. As the Forest keeper and defenders were busy organising the defensive wall, the alert John McCabe asked referee Yuill if he could take a quick free-kick. Yuill agreed and stepped aside and McCabe duly chipped the free-kick in to the middle of the Forest net with keeper Taylor still standing at his right-hand post. This incensed Forest and defender Guest was booked for his protestations to the referee. After a lengthy delay, play restarted but within seconds, Forest keeper Taylor, who had continued to complain, called the referee Yuill ‘something’. The referee had no alternative to then send him off with Forest putting James Barr in goal. One of Forest’s spectator’s was then ordered away by referee Yuill as he protested and the referee looked to be close to abandoning the game unless he was removed. Guest then forced Lunny into a fine save with a free-kick arched in with his left-foot. Forest had effectively lost their discipline at this point and on 60 minutes, Windlaw got the decisive second goal. A ball played to the half-way line by Windlaw’s Baird looked to be comfortably dealt with by Forest’s ex-Windlaw defender Tommy McCall. The big defender however, let the ball bounce over his foot and into the path of Steph McCann who found himself with a clear run-in on goal but with plenty still to do. He showed McCall a clean pair of heels and got across him going into the box.He then steadied himself and fired a fine right-foot shot under stand-in keeper Barr. Worse was to follow for Forest moments later, when Scott Guest received a second yellow card for handling a dangerous Windlaw through-ball. As he was last-man, it could easily have been a straight red in anycase. From the resultant free-kick, substitute Davie McGinlay fired a fine left-footed shot high into the Forest net past Barr. Windlaw were rampant now and John McCabe grabbed his second and Windlaw’s fourth as he finished off a neat flowing move by firing home with a smart shot from 12 yards. With the job done, Windlaw used the remaining two subs. For Forest, substitute Davie Hepburn hit the bar late-on with a fine effort before hitting his own crossbar with an attempted clearance. At the final whistle, Windlaw were more than happy with the three points while Forest rued the indiscipline that cost them this game.
Full-Time: Forest 0 Windlaw 4
Verdict: It wasn’t until Windlaw opened the scoring that they began to control this game. The game was very even until this point. The discipline of Forest let them down badly on this occasion and even at 1-0 down, with 11 men still on the field, they would still have been right in this game. The sending off of their goalkeeper effectively ended their chances although Windlaw must be credited for making their numerical advantage count and also for taking their chances when they came along.
Website Man Of The Match: Colin Sinclair- a fairly flawless performance from the veteran defender. Other noteable mentions go to John Lunny in goal, the returning Zanda Dougall and two-goal John McCabe who showed up well again.
