Match Report

Action Details

In what was a truly enthralling match, Steph McCann emerged as the unlikely hero for Windlaw with 2 crucial goals that sealed the victory and quickly reminded manager Stevie Thomson just why he should be in the team every week.

Steph got his chance courtesy of the injured Scott Williamson and suspended Shug  Neeson,  allowing him to start up front with Benny slotting back into centre midfield.

The game was a must win from the off for Windlaw, infact all games have now become must win, its that tight at the top of the league. It was clear from the  first  whistle  that both teams were up for it with some meaty tackles flying in all over the pitch.

The match was refereed by a newcomer to the league but he quickly set the tone with an early but harsh booking for full back Wullie Thornton, who was adjudged to have shown his studs in the tackle.

Shawbridge took the lead midway through the first half courtesy of a catalogue of mistakes from the Windlaw defence, with their striker smashing home an opportunist goal from 6 yards out.

Windlaw looked slightly rattled by this, but clung on for a spell and hit back  with a stunning equaliser close to half time. From the corner kick, Macky  nodded the ball in the direction of Kevin McCann who unleashed an unstoppable  volley into the top corner form 20 yards out. It was an exquisite finish by the Windlaw winger, and one that gave the team a much-needed spark.

The second half was as nail biting and as entertaining a game as any I've seen recently. Scott  Williamson, who replaced the injury hit Benny Carey midway through the first half, was working well alongside Steph McCann, and both  were  carving out chances for each other but just couldn't find the final killer touch.

That was until Steph McCann beautifully controlled a cross from Marty Doc and lashed the ball home into the roof of the net. 2-1 Windlaw and looking comfortable.

From that, Windlaw should have extended their lead but through a combination of brilliant goalkeeping and poor finishing the score remained at 2-1.

However credit to Shawbridge is due, they stuck at it and hit back with an equaliser which resulted again from Windlaw's inability to defend properly. Lunny  made  a couple of reflex saves before their striker again lashed the ball into the net from close range.

It  was a big blow to Windlaw who looked to be controlling the match, but that goal seemed to swing the match in Shawbridge's favour.

They stepped up the pressure and tried to capitalise on Windlaw's sudden loss of confidence, and  almost took the lead when midfielder Mark Dyer smashed a vicious long range drive off the face of the post.

It was a lifeline for Windlaw and proved to be the turning point in the match  when,  with 10 minutes to go in a match which had draw written all over  it,  Steph McCann popped up with a fine strike worthy of winning any match.

Windlaw won a free kick on the edge of the 18-yard box, and with regular free kick takers Tumi and Shug missing from the line up, Steph fancied his chances from distance. He struck the ball sweetly and curled an unstoppable right-footed free kick round the wall and into the top corner via the post.

He understandably celebrated rather joyously as it was probably his sweetest moment of the season so far, and nobody deserved it more than him for his perseverance and commitment to get back into the team this season.

That was to be the final goal of a brilliant game, but there was still time for  some  controversy, this time in the guise of Shawbridge striker Stuart McIlvine. The slightly annoyed one lost his cool and made a shocking two-footed lunge at Kevin McCann, and was very lucky not to be red carded despite his best efforts to crock our man. Kevin McCann reacted in the best possible way by simply laughing  at him and kindly reminding him of the score. Well done Kevin.

That was to be the last action of the match, which in all honesty was very tight and could have went either way, but Windlaw's battling qualities and determination to grind out a result saw them walk off with all three points. Job done, move on to the next must win game.

Man of the Match : Undoubtedly Steph McCann for his match winning performance, simply superb. Lets  hope our very own hotshot Hamish can build on this performance to hold down a regular starting place and score many more vital goals in the coming matches.