| Strathclyde Saturday Morning League Division 1 | |
| 11 April 2007 Brancumhall |
|
| Greenhills Dynamo | 1 |
| Donnelly | |
| Windlaw | 1 |
McCaig |
|
Windlaw made two changes from the semi-final victory over Kelvinbank ten days ago with Wullie Thornton and skipper Shug Neeson being rested as Windlaw looked to utilise their full squad with a demanding schedule ahead in the coming weeks. Into the starting line-up came Alan Nugent for his first start of the season to partner Davie McGinlay upfront and also Colin Carmichael in midfield for only his fourth start. Danny McKenna moved into the wide left position vacated by Thornton and Carmichael replaced Neeson in midfield. Zanda Dougall took over the captaincy with vice-captain Kevin McCann on the bench. Benny Carey and Ian Baird had also recovered to make the bench after recent injuries.
A nice sunny evening and a decent crowd greeted both sides on a badly rutted pitch which would make for some uneasy bounces for defenders to deal with. Everyone was ready to start at 6.30pm bar the appearance of a referee. Hurried phone calls to the League discovered that the match referee David Bilsland had infact been sent to Barlia and not Brancumhall by the League and with darkness due to fall around 8.20pm, the non-appearance of the referee put the match in doubt, until he turned up at 7pm and both teams agreed to play only 35 minutes each way so that the fixture could actually take place. Such a mix-up in an important match does not reflect well on anyone involved and both clubs rightly felt aggrieved before kick-off at the lack of playing time available.
When the game eventually kicked off at 7.15pm, Windlaw began well and looked solid and committed in the tackle. Both forwards were working Greenhills defence hard and returning Greenhills defender Livingstone had his work cut out keeping Windlaw at bay. Windlaw took the lead after only 10 minutes when Alan Nugent had a superb turn and cross from just outside the box and the cross was met perfectly by Eck McCaig’s perfectly timed run into the box and his header from 12 yards gave White no chance in the Greenhills goal. Greenhills midfielder Craig McMillan picked up the game’s first booking soon after for a crude foul on the halfway line. The home side tried to attack but found Windlaw’s defence in resolute form. Their only real chance of the half came from a mistake in the Windlaw defence but John Lunny came to the rescue,diving brilliantly at Barry Devine’s feet as he bore in on goal. Alan Nugent then tried a speculative 30 yard effort that went only a yard over White’s crossbar with the surprised goalkeeper looking beaten. At half-time, Windlaw looked comfortable on a deserved lead.
Half-Time: Greenhills Dynamo 0 Windlaw 1
Greenhills started the second half in more determined fashion and began putting more pressure on. Only 8 minutes in, Colin Carmichael then picked up his first caution when he fouled Barry Devine about 27 yards from goal. It may actually have been a case of mistaken identity as both him and Chris Kerr went to make the tackle and the card could possibly have been Kerr’s and not Carmichael’s. Greenhills talisman and record goalscorer Mick Donnelly bent the resultant free-kick just a few yards wide of Lunny’s right-hand post. Windlaw then brought on Kevin McCann for Allan Dougall. Minutes later came the game’s probable turning-point when Colin Carmichael received his second yellow card for a clumsy foul in the centre of the pitch and David Bilsland produced the red card. Within around 7 minutes, Greenhills equalised when a throw-in from their left was only partially cleared to Mick Donnelly around 22 yards out and his low shot through a ruck of bodies who were trying to clear gave Lunny no chance as it flew into the corner. Windlaw then replaced Alan Nugent with John McCabe and pushed Kevin McCann inside leaving McGinlay upfront on his own. In the latter stages, Windlaw replaced McGinlay with Wullie Thornton and pushed the tricky Danny McKenna upfront. McKenna then forced White into a fine save after he latched onto a superb John McCabe cross. McCabe was again the instigator when his long-throw caught the Greenhills defence napping but Kevin McCann’s attempted acrobatic overhead kick landed well wide. Greenhills McMillan was then very lucky not to receive his second yellow card after he wrestled Eck McCaig to the ground following the award of a free-kick. Windlaw’s final good chance came when White again parried Chris Kerr’s downward shot from 12 yards and no one was on hand to knock in the loose ball put across the Greenhills box. Lunny had a good save in the closing minutes from a header from a set-piece which he initially spilled on the bobbly surface but recovered brilliantly to smother under pressure from Livingstone. As the darkness fell, the final few minutes falied to produce a winner and the real benefactor of the result was Blochairn who now need only 2 wins from their remaining 5 games to be champions for a second time.
Full-Time: Greenhills Dynamo 1 Windlaw 1
Verdict: Windlaw will feel that they should have taken 3 points from this game. They played well in the first half and even allowing for the sending-off of Carmichael, it was Windlaw who were pushing harder for the winner in the closing stages. White was undoubtedly the busier of the two keepers with Lunny rarely called into serious action. Windlaw will be happy with the attitude and application of their players and since Christmas the team have looked more solid and difficult to beat. Sadly, drawing twice to both Blochairn and Greenhills looks to be the main factor in not mounting a more sustained league challenge this season but the race for second place could well go to the wire. Credit to both sets of players for their patience in getting the game started after the farcical mix-up before kick-off and Windlaw will also welcome the day that Mick Donnelly finally hangs up the boots. The goal-scoring machine again hit Windlaw where it hurts to continue his remarkable record.
Website Man Of The Match: Eck McCaig- scored his third goal against Greenhills in East Kilbride this season and produced a fine performance from just behind the front men. The wee man hasn’t quite been on form of late but he looked hungry and prompted a lot of good openings as well as scoring a fine goal. Worthy mentions also go to Alan Nugent who did really well upfront on his first start of the season and Danny McKenna whose tricky footwork on the left caused Greenhills many problems
