| Strathclyde Saturday Morning League: Division 1 | |
| 13th October 2007 Donald Dewar Sports Centre |
|
| Clydebank Utd | 0 |
| Windlaw | 3 |
| McGinlay(3) | |
Team: Lunny, A.Dougall, Thornton, Sinclair, Z.Dougall, McCann, Taylor (McGregor), McCaig, Carmichael (Baird), McKenna(Stevenson.(T), McGinlay |
|
Windlaw faced up to Division 1 newcomers Clydebank Utd at Donald Dewar centre and it promised to be a close game as both teams were undefeated in the previous 5 games and in good scoring form. Windlaw managed to name the same starting eleven as the previous week.
It was a fairly scrappy first half with not much to write home about. It was a midfield battle and good passages of football were few and far between, mainly due to the greasy surface and some fussy refereeing. Danny McKenna tried a few long shots early on to test the keeper, but he missed the target. Kevin McCann was winning an aerial battle at outside left, but too often his flick ons weren't being taken advantage of.
Windlaw could have went one ahead after the quick thinking Kevin McCann floated a quickly taken free kick into the box for Eck McCaig, however the usually deadly hitman stopped short of attacking the cross after mistakenly thnking he was offside.
Clydebank could have scored aswell after Paul Rodden was presented with a chance, but a combination of good Windlaw defending and a bit of hesitancy on Rodden's part averted the danger and the score remained 0-0 going into half time.
Half-time Clydebank Utd 0 Windlaw 0
Clydebank made a substitution at half time, with the introduction of veteran Jamie McGowan, who was making his first appearnace of the season after a spell on the sidelines through injury. Windlaw started the second half brightly and went ahead on 50 minutes. Good midfield play released Danny McKenna down the left and his low drive across goal was tapped in by the grateful David McGinlay, who scored for the 5th game in a row.
It was to get better for the visitors as McGinlay pounced again to make it 2-0 on 60 minutes. Eck McCaig drilled the ball into the box but McGinlay's first attempt was blocked, however the big hitman made no mistake from the rebound and dispatched it in the corner. The game was Windlaw's to throw away now and that was the only way Clydebank would get back into the match as the Windlaw defence were having another solid performance, just like the week before against Greenhills.
Goal number three for McGinlay and Windlaw came on 75 minutes. A long John Lunny goal kick deceived the Clydebank defence and McGinlay found himself one on one with the keeper before coolly slotting past him to complete the hatrick. It was definitely game over now, barring a catastrophic collapse.
Clydebank continued to work hard but were getting no change from the impressive Windlaw back line. They did hit the post with a free kick though. John Lunny made his first serious save on 88 minutes when a misjudged Colin Sinclair header let the Clydebank striker in. He fired a cracking shot towards the top corner, but Lunny reacted well to turn it over the bar
Full-time Clydebank Utd 0 Windlaw 3
Verdict: An excellent performance and win given Clydebank's impressive recent form. Not a great deal of pretty football played in the match, but the boys rolled the sleeves up and got a brilliant result against the team that beat us in last seasons Strathclyde cup final. Tremendous attitude and discipline was shown and we deservedly came away with all 3 points, aswell as our first league clean sheet of the season. We're now unbeaten in 7 games, and on this form, we're a hard team to beat, but the same level of committment and hard work is needed to keep up with early pace setters Blochairn Star.
MOTM – Davie McGinlay - What more is there to say about this man? He can score spectacular goals, tap-ins, headers and his link play and ability to hold the ball up are improving with every passing week. On a great run of form at the moment and will be a key player if Windlaw hold any aspirations of winning the league this season. Generally a very strong team performance and nobody played poorly, but McGinlay stands out for his incredible hatrick.
