| Greater Glasgow Premier AFL: Challenge Cup Round 3 | |
| 21st April 2008 St Margaret Mary's School |
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| Windlaw | 4 |
| McKenna, Black, Carey, Baird | |
| Ferniegair | 5 |
Team: Lunny, Sinclair, Z.Dougall, McInally, McCann, Black (Thornton), McKenna, A.Dougall, Baird, G. McGregor (Carey), D.McGregor |
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More changes for this match as Zanda Dougall replaced Bruce Tierney in defence, Kevin Black, Ian Baird, Kevin McCann and Allan Dougall replaced Eck McCaig, Benny Carey, Wullie Thornton and Wullie Wilson in midfield and up top Duncan McGregor came in for Davie McGinley. The pitch was dry and fiery and weather conditions were fine and dry.
Windlaw went for the jugular early on and their attacking approach unsettled their first division opponents who seemed caught cold. After only 3 minutes, Windlaw were in front when Danny McKenna latched onto a loose clearance 20 yards out and saw the keeper off his line. His lofted shot fell perfectly into the Ferniegair net for a dream start. 10 minutes later, Windlaw doubled the lead when a brilliant long throw from Kevin McCann evaded all the Ferniegair defence and Kevin Black stole round in front of the keeper and glanced a superb header firmly into the net. Ferniegair were shell-shocked and tried to get a way back into the game, however Windlaw were defending pretty well, initially. Ferniegair gradually edged back into the game and Windlaw were allowing their grip on the game to loosen. Ferniegair got one back on 39 minutes after breaking from a Windlaw attack. Their two forwards combined well and a shot was scooped past Lunny from 14 yards out.
Half Time: Windlaw 2 Ferniegair 1
An amazing second half was then to follow. It began when another highly controversial penalty award was given against Windlaw for handball against Colin Sinclair. Ferniegair were even surprised at the award and for the second time in a week at the same end, Windlaw were undone by a poor decision. Lunny almost saved it but the ball squeezed inside his right-hand post. An angry Windlaw then stormed back in front after Kevin McCann superbly wriggled free inside the box and his deft chip over the keeper touched the face of the bar. Substitute Benny Carey was on hand to touch in the goal after the ball seemed to take an eternity to drop from the bar. Windlaw’s joy was short lived when Ferniegair then scored the goal of the night. Their skipper drove into the heart of Windlaw’s defence and crashed an unstoppable shot into the top left hand corner of Lunny’s net to equalise. Worse was to follow minutes later when Ferniegair went in front after an underhit passback was seized upon and despatched past Lunny from close range. Windlaw were reeling, but again found the determination to come back. A Lunny free-kick was headed strongly across the goalmouth by Carey and found Ian Baird. The keeper was unable to keep out his smashed shot from an acute angle and incredibly the tie was again level. Extra-time was looming. A scenario neither side would have welcomed in the middle of a packed schedule. However on 84 minutes, Ferniegair got the clincher. A Windlaw clearance seemed to be heading out of the danger zone until it struck a defender and rebounded to Ferniegair’s forwards. One slipped pass into the box and one emphatic finish later, the game was over.
Full Time: Windlaw 4 Ferniegair 5
Windlaw Star Man- Ian Baird enjoyed a fantastic game in midfield. He buzzed about all night, prompting openings and making good supporting runs. He also scored a fine goal to keep his side in the game.
Verdict- An amazing game of football and both teams deserve credit for serving up such a battle. Full credit to Ferniegair for battling back from two down early on and adjusting their game. Undoubtedly, they have some talented players and we wish them well for the remainder of the season. For Windlaw, it was a big opportunity lost and ultimately, their defending at key points let them down. They do deserve praise however for the way they took the game to Ferniegair and made them work so hard for their victory. Another big day in the learning curve that this season has been.
