POLLOK KEEP IN CLOSE TOUCH

RYAN McGREGOR GOT THE SHOW OFF TO A GREAT START

Slowly but surely, Pollok are raising the bar for opponents who arrive on the Glasgow Southside intent on leaving with the points in the bag.

A more than decent Largs Thistle side has to be a case in point after Saturday saw them depart with nothing more than tails between their legs after being on the wrong end of a 4-2 scutching despite Stewart Maxwell’s men having the handicap of playing for all but 3 minutes of the second 45 with only ten men following the dismissal of Jordan Allan.

The full back’s x-rated tackle that saw him literally go through Jamie Martin and leave the Theesel winger writhing on the ground …made for one of the few decisions got right by otherwise totally out of his depth whistler Regan Wallace who also saw fit to later send Lok boss Maxi inside…one might assume for providing him with the target of a punishable voice for the many derisory comments being vented by just about everyone else in a near 450 watching throng.

“ Two good teams going at each other was good entertainment albeit blighted by a terrible performance in the middle of the park” mused the Lok boss at the final whistle before going on.

“Our supporters will be going home happy because that’s five wins and a draw from our last six Newlandsfield outings but they’ll be even more pleased at us creating 14 or 15 really good scoring opportunities in today’s game, something we haven’t done in a very long time.

“Picking out players for special mention is not my way however I thought Ryan McGregor was outstanding on his third time around debut with his goal the icing on the cake while Kyle Hutton responded to being left out of things recently with a top quality display but that said, the smallest player in our team, Andy Gallagher, was head and shoulders above everyone else on the pitch.

Maxi added, “ Andy was close to unplayable at times out there and the rousing reception he received upon being substituted shows our fans have clearly warmed to him .”

The visitors started away confidently, as befitting a team that had inflicted a 5-1 humbling defeat on Pollok just four months ago, however it was obvious right from the outset that Gallagher and Darren Christie were going to trouble them on the flanks and tangible proof arrived just nine minutes in.

A surging Pollok attack down the right enabled Adam Forde to take possession and be allowed to turn , look up and cleverly cut the ball back into the path of Ryan McGregor whose placed sidefoot into the corner of the net made the art of scoring goals look child’s play.

This early breakthough both lifted the home side and acted to deflate the Ayrshiremen who suffered a further blow on the quarter of an hour mark when Liam Lapsley was badly injured when sliding in to try and block an attempted clearance upfield by Lok goalkeeper Jordan Longmuir.

The subsequent call for a stretcher was a conclusive indication that the midfielder’s afternoon was over and he was replaced by Craig Forbes while a car was readied to take him to Hospital ( the wait for an ambulance was going to be 3 hours).

A terrific diving save to keep out a netbound Martin daisy-cutter in 22 minutes showed Longmuir had suffered no ill-effects from the coming together incident however he should have been picking the ball out of his net shortly afterwards after a mix up in front of him between Callum Gow and Fraser Mullen presented Largs top scorer Will Sewell with a glorious headed opportunity that he skewed wide of target with Longmuir stranded in no-man’s land.

Longmuir’s charmed life continued as he got down low to parry away another Martin effort however towards half time Pollok were back on top and buzzing in and around the Largs penalty box but to no avail.

This urgency to recoup their earlier dominance continued as second half proceedings got underway with Largs Thistle keeper Joe Wilton producing a wonder stop to deny Marc McKenzie after the busy forward had worked himself into space for an eight yard blast .

The near thing was to be the Pollok striker’s last involvement because he was then sacrificed when Allan’s rush of blood heralded the introduction of full back Sean Burns off the bench as gaffer Maxwell did a reset of his stall and made `keeping a tight ship` his priority.

Hopes of Largs making their numerical superiority tell flickered all too momentarily, or until the 55^th minute to be precise, when Pollok doubled their lead with a goal of abject simplicity.

Little danger was apparent as a Lok free kick was half-cleared into a mass of bodies on the edge of the penalty box from where towering stopper Gow despatched a fierce shot high past Wilton for 2-0.

If that counter lacked a certain je ne sais quoi then Pollok’s third score of the afternoon made up for it and a bit more besides as a ball played forward reached Forde, about 12 yards out and with his back to goal however the in-form hitman demonstrated wonderful technique in first flicking the ball up before acrobatically looping an overhead kick over the flailing arms of Wilton and into the net.

At 3-0 the game was as good as over had it not been for the intervention of Referee Wallace who promptly threw Largs a 61^st minute lifeline by somewhat harshly considering an innocuous Sewell shot striking the hand of Lok defender Mullen merited a penalty kick award that allowed the Largs hitman to net with great aplomb.

The hopes of a late comeback became unrealistic when Pollok wing ace Gallagher raised his level again with a searing run down the left ending with a driven cross weakly cleared away from goal but only as far as the backing up Christie and he duly adjusted his run to lash an unsaveable shot beyond Willock for 4-1.

There remained time for the Seasiders to put a better complexion on this scoreline with a late goal from substitute Daryll Duffy however this did little to alleviate the concerns of losing manager Stuart Davidson.

ARNIE NOT HAPPY WITH LARGS’ END GAME

Arnie was typically forthright in his after-match summations,” If you gift goals at one end and don’t take your chances at the other then a team is never going to win games .” was his initial blast at the pavilion entrance .

“I’ve just watched the Pollok players going in happy and feeling chuffed with themselves from winning 4-2 yet the honest truth is we made it far too easy for them out there .

“I felt we were unlucky to be trailing 1-0 at half time and have come back out with a clear plan which has only been helped by them going down to ten men, but we’ve then conceded a sloppy and avoidable goal that has lifted their spirits and put added pressure on us to get back into the game.

“ Maxi is right to say Pollok had a lot of chances but so did we and the only difference is they took more of theirs than we did.”

Pollok’s latest victory keeps them on the coat-tails of Premier Division leading lights and reigning champions Beith for whom Blair Rossiter netted the only goal of the game at home to Auchinleck Talbot to maintain his side’s 100% winning start to the new season.

Sharing the same points mark as Pollok are Clydebank after a Nikky Little brace and goals from Nikky Low, Matt Niven and Thomas Collins clinched a comfortable 5-2 Holm Park win over Cumnock , only marred by having an automatic suspension looming for stopper Creag Little for picking up two yellow cards against the Ayrshiremen.

A sensational late in the day fightback enabled fourth placed Darvel to edge Benburb in a Recreation Park thriller where the scene was set by the Bens impressively forging a 2-0 lead through a couple of goals from striker Declan McDonald either side of half time .

The scoreline stood until the closing quarter of an hour when strikes by Jordan Moore, Ross Caldwell and a 95^th minute winner from substitute Graham Wilson sealed the Vale’s comeback triumph.

Elsewhere , Rob Roy similarly recovered from a losing position in eking out a 2-2 draw away to a Troon side that had looked home and dry on the back of Kyle Gilroy and Ben Black scores before Fraser Anderson and a 91^st minute penalty kick conversion by Ryan Tierney ensured the battling Rabs …not for the first time this season…came away with a share of the spoils.

Bob McHugh, Lewis McTaggart and Neil McLaughlin (2) were on target as St Cadocs emphatically beat Glenafton 4-0 while the game between Arthurlie and Hurlford United was abandoned after the visiting side’s experienced defender Ross Fisher sustained a double leg break.

Meanwhile , a few more surprises occurred again in the First Division, headed up by tabletoppers Rutherglen Glencairn suffering a 2-0 reverse away to Blantyre Vics for whom Scott Jarvie and Dale Jones(pen) were on the mark.

The Ru’Glonians remain atop the pile ( on goal difference) ) thanks to nearest challengers Shotts Bon Accord dropping another two points ( seven in their last three games) in a 0-0 draw at home to Thorniewood United but menacingly up to just a point adrift of the leading pair are Drumchapel United whose 40 year old veteran striker James Marks netted a hat trick in a 6-1 trouncing of nine-man Kilbirnie Ladeside.

JAMES IS STILL GOING STRONG AT 40

Ally Small, Jo Jo Gillespie, Keiran Brophy ,Hamish McKinlay and Dale Simeon did the scoring damage as Johnstone Burgh went fifth thanks to overcoming Cambuslang Rangers 5-2 but even more handily placed are St Rochs , able to go top if they win their game in hand, after Jordan Thompson(2) and Eddie Ferns netted in a 3-0 defeat of Whtletts Vics.

Nobody sends out a clearer sign of just how tight things are shaping up in the First Division standings better than Petershill, not so long ago occupying top perch, but now down in seventh spot in the wake of back-to-back losses, their latest a 3-2 defeat at the hands of Kilwinning Rangers.

Gavin Millar’s opener for the Buffs was cancelled out by a Connor Higgins leveler prior to an own goal affording the Peasy a slender half time lead wiped out by Jordan Stuart making the score 2-2 and Marl Lamont restoring the home team’s advantage that they held onto despite Ben Lewis getting his marching orders for denying a goalscoring opportunity.

Still atop the Second Division are Ardrossan Winton Rovers ,three points to the good after Marc Wardrope, Alex Dean a Ryan Wilson were on the scoresheet in a 3-2 win over Bonnyton Thistle.

Jointly heading up the chasing pack are Vale of Clyde, 3-0 winners over Caledonian Locomotives through Nikky Fraser and prolific marksman Kevin Turner (2), alongside Cumbernauld United whose goals in a 5-2 success over Larkhall Thistle came from Evan Bembo(2), Ally Seaton, Dale Fulton (pen) and Gavin Mackie .

Kyle Craig kept Bellshill Athletic five points clear atop the Third Division with a 1-0 victory over Threave Rovers while St Peters 4-0 besting of Eglinton through Lewis Whitelaw, Thomas Haggerty and a Taylor Fadrian double has ensured the Paisley outfit’s noses remain in front of Glenvale in the Fourth Division stakes

WEEKEND RESULTS: P.D.M HUWS GRAY Premier Division. Pollok 4 Largs Thistle 2, Darvel 3 Benburb 2, St Cadocs 4 Glenafton 0, Troon 2 Rob Roy 2, Beith 1 Auchinleck Talbot 0, Clydebank 5 Cumnock 2. P.D.M HUWS GRAYFirst Division. Maybole 1 Neilston 0, Renfrew 3 Ashfield 1, Drumchapel Utd 6 Kilbirnie Ladeside 1, Cambuslang Rangers 2 Johnstone Burgh 5,Petershill 2 Kilwinning Rangers 3, Shotts Bon Accord 0 Thorniewood Utd 0, Blantyre Vics 2 Rutherglen Glencairn 0, Whitletts Vics 0 St Rochs 3. PDM HUWS GRAY Second Division. Maryhill 1 Forth Wanderers 2, Cumbernauld Utd 5 Larkhall Thistle 2, Craigmark 2Yoker Athletic 3, Ardrossan Winton Rovers 3 Bonnyton Thistle 2, Kilsyth Rangers 3 Glasgow University 1, Wishaw 0 Glasgow Perthshire 6, St Anthonys 4Muirkirk 1,Vale of Clyde 3 Caledonian Locomotives 0. PDM HUWS GRAYThird Division. Finnart 2 Ardeer Thistle 2, Port Glasgow 1 Dalry Thistle 2, Threave Rovers 0 Bellshill Athletic 1, Lemahagow3 Glasgow Utd 2, Lanark Utd 1 Kilsyth Athletic 0,Greenock 2 Girvan 0,West Park Utd 3 Vale of Leven3. PDM HUWS GRAYFourth Division. Newmains Utd 0 Lugar Boswell 3, Easterhouse 3 Glenvale 8, Eglinton 0 St Peters 4, Thorn Athletic 4 Campbelltown Pupils 1, Knightswood 3 Giffnock S.C.1, Royal Albert 1 East Kilbride Thistle 3, Saltcoats Vics 0 Carluke Rovers 2.

Regards Jim O’Donnell