Match Report

Action Details

Saturday saw two of the league's heavyweight's face each other for the first  time  this  season  in what was a vital match in terms of the league title destination. Both teams went into the match with a bit of confidence,and quite rightly so with Windlaw on a 6 game unbeaten run and Greenhills defeating fellow title challengers Blochairn with a morale crushing 8 – 1 scoreline just a few weeks back.

A  win  was  the preferred result for each team, however a hard fought draw was  the  final outcome in this bruising encounter, a result which favoured us more than it favoured Greenhills. It was a fair result at the end of the game  although  it  did have its moments of controversy that will have both teams feeling aggrieved.

The  game  started  at a frenetic pace with Greenhills trying to apply some early pressure, but the Windlaw defence stood firm and blocked out any chance of a goal.

Windlaw  gradually  started  applying some pressure of their own, but to be brutally honest, the match was a pretty poor spectacle. The quality of football  was  pretty poor, goalmouth incidents were non-existent and there was  a  lack  of atmosphere about the whole game. Both teams appeared to be just cancelling each other out, perhaps it was nerves or perhaps it was the very  heavy  pitch  that  wasn't  allowing  any free flowing football. Very strange indeed considering what was at stake.

With  that  said, the match did eventually explode into life midway through the first half when Steph McCann scored an absolute belter. Greenhills cleared the ball from their own half, but the big centre half stayed deep and played Steph onside when the ball was returned into there half. From the corner of the box, Hotshot Hamish unleashed a stinging half volley that rocketed straight  into the far corner of the net, giving the Greenhills goalkeeper no chance. An absolute beauty of a goal but its just the sort of goal  this man is capable of scoring, given his recent form and sky high confidence.

That  goal  seemed  to  have given Windlaw a new lease of life. They chased down  every  loose  ball; won more tackles, defended even stronger and just generally seemed to be up for it a bit more.

Windlaw  tried to go for the killer 2nd goal but it proved elusive, however they  looked  to  have  been  given  a  license  to shoot on sight when the Greenhills goalkeeper hobbled off with an injury, only to be replaced by an outfield  sub.  Surely  we  could  take  advantage  of the situation? Well, actually we didn't and in actual fact it was Greenhills who hit back with a controversial equaliser.

Nearing  half  time,  the  ball broke loose in the Windlaw penalty area and Macky  and  Mick  Donnelly  of Greenhills went to challenge for it, however this  is  the  first  controversial part, the big Greenhills striker nudged Macky  off the ball, unfairly of course, before cutting the ball back for a tap in. Big Gary almost cleared it off the line but just couldn't get there in time.

Windlaw  protested  vehemently,  but  the  referee  deemed  it to be a fair challenge,  much to the disgust of the manager who was told to calm himself down.  There  was  no  point in arguing, the decision stood, but experience tells  you these decisions even themselves out during the course of a game, as we would find out later in the match.

That  was  the  last  action  of  the  first  half, and Windlaw could count themselves a bit fortunate not to be 2-1 down as just before the Greenhills equaliser,  Mick Donnelly missed a golden opportunity to add to his already impressive  goal  tally  this  season.  However 1-1 at half time and a fair reflection on the first half.

The  entire  second  half  was  a scrappy affair with not much free flowing football  being offered, but that was difficult given the stop-start nature of  the  game.  It  was  a  midfield  battle for most of it with some meaty tackles  going  in, and the referee done well to let both teams finish with 11 men on the park.

Again,  goalmouth chances were few and far between, but there were a couple of  half  chances  here and there but nothing worth mentioning in any great detail.

As  the  90-minute  mark was approaching, both teams looked happy to settle for a point apiece. Cue the second controversial incident of the match.

Greenhills  swung  a  corner kick into the heart of the Windlaw penalty box hoping  for  a winner, and as the ball was being cleared, Shug Neeson quite blatantly  and  inexplicably  handled the ball. A stonewall penalty if ever you have seen one, but not in the referee's eyes. He waived play-on despite furious  protests from the whole Greenhills team, much to the relief of the whole  Windlaw  team.  A  big  let off for Windlaw, but what was it we were saying  earlier  about  decisions evening themselves out over the course of
the game!

That  was  to be the final incident in the game, which was controversial to say  the  least.  A draw was a fair result over the 90 minutes, but Windlaw will  be  the  happier team, as Greenhills will feel that to win any league you  must  win  your  home  games.  It was a tremendously hard fought match between  the  2  title  contenders and it's only the first instalment of at least  3  matches between the sides this season. The second instalment will be another cracker if this match is anything to go by.

Overall, a terrific battling team performance from Windlaw earned a crucial away  point,  at  the  very  same  venue Blochairn were hammered 8-1. Every player  can  be  proud of the effort they put in, but they must continue to put in the same amount of effort in every game to ensure Windlaw finish the season with some silverware, starting with reclaiming the league title from Blochairn.

Our  next  fixture takes us away to the Scotsman Bar. The only thing to say is  to  just remember the scare they gave us recently, where we very nearly slipped up against them. Another must win game!

Man of the Match: Shug Neeson

Its  hard  to single out anybody in particular, but big Shug showed all his years  of  experience  in this match with a superb battling performance and influential display.