| Strathclyde Saturday Morning League:Division 1 | |
| 17 February 2007 Glenconner |
|
| Blochairn Star | 2 |
| Hughes, Henderson | |
| Windlaw | 2 |
| McCaig, OG | |
Windlaw were unchanged from their league win at Forest two weeks ago as the two sides faced each other on league business for the second time in six weeks. Colin Carmichael replaced Danny McKenna on the bench as Windlaw lined up in an unfamiliar silver kit in order not to clash with the home side’s black and green strip.
Blochairn got out of the traps quickly and in the opening minutes, Lunny made a fine diving save. Blochairn adapted better to the poor surface and looked hungrier to create openings with Jamie Elliott and Adam Black trying to prompt them from deeper positions. Windlaw were struggling particularly in midfield and could not get any real foothold in the game. Openings were still sparse within the opening half hour despite Blochairn having the better of the play and defensively for Windlaw, Dougall, McInally and Sinclair looked solid. An aerial collision between McInally and Hughes resulted in the Windlaw defender going off for treatment and as he returned to the field on 32 minutes to defend a Blochairn corner, the home side took the lead. The corner from Blochairn’s left was met by the head of Gerry Hughes who headed it goalwards past Lunny’s dive. In an attempt to clear, Zanda Dougall miscued slightly and the ball made it over the line despite the efforts of Dougall and Baird to keep it out. It was a deserved lead for Star who then enjoyed a good spell. Lunny then saved excellently from Gerry Hughes as the big striker stormed through on goal. Two minutes before the break, Star doubled their advantage after a great run and cross down the left wing by David Murray exposed Windlaw’s backline. Lunny brilliantly saved the first effort from Brian Henderson however the follow-up was blasted home by the same player to leave the keeper helpless. A despondent, disconsolate Windlaw side trudged off at half-time knowing that only a big improvement could save them from a thrashing.
Half-Time: Blochairn Star 2 Windlaw 0
An all-action second half was barely two minutes old when Gerry Hughes missed a golden chance to seal the game. A cross from the left was completely missed by McInally and the striker prodded wide when he should have scored. At this point, Blochairn looked ready to run riot but they contrived to miss some good chances through poor finishing. Around the hour mark, Windlaw finally appeared to wake up and Blochairn’s failure to bury the game seemed to make them look nervy. Windlaw’s possession increased as Kevin McCann came on to replace Baird and it was soon Windlaw who began to create the openings. As the pressure built, Windlaw got one back on 75 minutes through Eck McCaig’s eleventh goal of the season. A through ball from Sinclair went over the top of the Blochairn defence and McCaig got there before Blochairn’s keeper Hughes to finish strongly past him. It was now game on and Windlaw continued to push. Hughes then made a brilliant save low down at his left-hand post that he must have seen very late and parried it for a corner. Windlaw substitute Davie McGinley was then unlucky as he turned his marker at the edge of the box and advanced in on Hughes. The ball bobbled though as he went to shoot and the shot landed wide of Hughes' left hand post. As Windlaw threw men forward, their own defence was becoming increasingly exposed and Blochairn always looked capable of grabbing a decisive third goal. Blochairn looked to be home and dry as the game entered injury-time and Windlaw had a free-kick just inside their own half. Around 18 or 19 players crowded the Blochairn box as John Lunny struck a searching free-kick towards the six yard box. As Blochairn’s players back-tracked to defend it, the unfortunate Jamie Elliott back-headered the ball into his own net much to the joy of the Windlaw camp. Two more minutes were added as tempers became a liitle fraught, however referee Alex Paton who enjoyed a fairly good game blew his whistle to end another good contest between these two sides.
Full-Time: Blochairn Star 2 Windlaw 2
Verdict: A desperate first-half performance by Windlaw destroyed any chance they had of winning this game. Their midfield looked ragged and disjointed and at half-time, it looked like Blochairn would romp it. A spirited second-half fightback ensured Windlaw took a point, however, all three were required to have any chance of catching Blochairn. The Star for their part are still unbeaten and are definitely title-winning material. They have plenty talent and good backbone. There is still a lot of football to be played though and Star will be hoping that with Windlaw out of the race, Windlaw could well destroy the ambitions of some of the other title challengers!
Website Man Of The Match: John Lunny- for the second time against Blochairn this season, the big goalie narrowly shaded the award just ahead of defenders Colin Sinclair and Zanda Dougall who were also excellent. His shot-stopping was superb and he denied Blochairn at various vital moments in the game.
