ARTHURLIE FIGHTBACK STUNS BENBURB

TWO GOALS FROM DYLAN WINS THE DAY FOR ARTHURLIE

Colin Reilly hailed the never-say-die spirit among his Arthurlie players after they prevailed in the wake of a quite woeful start to run out 2-1 winners over Benburb.

There were marked signs of the Barrhead outfit having rediscovered their once renowned Dunterlie steel under the down to earth Reilly whose persuading former Pollok and St Cadocs midfielder Dylan Dykes (scorer of both Arthurlie goals) to play up front has been a masterstroke.

On another day the 27 year old and his team mates might easily have won by a greater margin yet it’s equally true to say the game could and should have been out of their sight before half time.

“We were all over the place and simply didn’t deal with the pressure Benburb put us under during that opening 25 minutes spell “admitted the Lie gaffer afterwards.

“It took until we got ourselves a bit more organized and playing to our strengths rather than worrying about theirs` that we looked remotely more comfortable and second half when our full backs played further up the pitch, there really was only one team in it .”

Asked about his inspired positional switching of Dykes brought a typical unassuming response.

“ It’s the first time Dylan has operated as an out and out striker and he’s been nothing short of outstanding for us but all the credit is due to him for his attitude in making things work so well.”

Arthurlie’s line-up was noticeably shorn of several regulars which may have contributed to their struggle to cope in the face of a Benburb onslaught (shooting down the slope) from the first whistle which was rewarded with the game’s opening goal with a mere 4 minutes on the clock.

Declan McDonald powered a 25 yard free kick goalward ,the ferocity of which clearly caught Lie keeper Max Clark by surprise because being only able to stick out his hands and parry the ball back in the direction from which it came allowed visiting winger Jack Purdue to react quickest and head home the rebound from six yards range.

The lively McDonald then expertly controlled a pass forward from Paul Doyle only to pull his scoring attempt wide of Clark’s far post prior to the young shotstopper producing a stunning reaction save to keep out a point blank Aaron Black headed opportunity.

Benburb going for the kill had Arthurlie looking a clear second best at this stage and home supporters were yet again counting their blessings as Clark dived low to keep out another Black effort before acrobatically preventing what looked a certain second score for the men from Govan in touching away a netbound shot by their attacking full back Dylan Cole.

The one-way traffic was not for letting up however out of the blue, Arthurlie levelled matters in 25 minutes after Dylan McGuigan ,their summer months midfield capture from Vale of Clyde , out-muscled Bens defender Ryan Livingston in a tussle for possession near the touchline and delivered in a low cross that Dykes expertly turned home with all the aplomb of a seasoned front man.

Benburb’s response was an Ollie Smith shot inches over the crossbar and they were denied once more by Clark superbly stopping a Purdue scoring attempt prior to calamitously conceding a second goal when Dykes was sent crashing inside the area by a despairing Robbie Halliday tackle allowing the Lie hitman to firstly dust himself down before expertly tucking a low shot into the corner of the net for 2-1.

The second half getting underway saw Benburb’s indifferent defending come close to being punished again as a Connor Bulger corner kick was met by Lee Roulston rising highest to send a header just over the crossbar,

This near thing turned out to be the thin end of a particularly thick wedge as Arthurlie played their way back into the game and if anything appeared the more likely of the teams to score again .

Benburb were doing little other than punting hopeful high balls upfield that were being won more often than not by home team stopper Michael McNeil whose aerial dominance ensured little was being seen of the hitherto dangerous Bens forwards McDonald and Black.

Arthurlie were to become increasingly comfortable as the 90 minutes were played out much to the frustration of visiting team boss Paul Lovering as he was to point out later,

A crestfallen Lovers said ” We had Arthurlie hemmed in and could have been 3 or 4 up had we taken our chances but conceding a sloppy goal and a penalty kick knocked us for six and we stopped doing all the things we had been getting joy from up to then.

“Second half we didn’t show the necessary desire to get back into it and the fact their goalkeeper wasn’t called upon to make a single save tells you everything about our performance.

“To think Arthurlie were able to manage the game to a close is disappointing and we really must do better.”

PAUL HAD NOTHING TO SMILE ABOUT AT DUNTERLIE

Elsewhere in the top flight, Auchinleck Talbot finally got the rub of the green to end their inglorious start to the season with a 2-0 win away to Premier Division newcomers Gartcairn.

The Ayrshiremen had lost two from two (0-1 and 1-2) and looked destined for yet another closely fought contest with the teams locked in a 0-0 stalemate halfway through their MTC Stadium contest however second half goals from Ewan Thomson and Ross Smith (pen) got Tommy Sloan’s men off and running with a first three points haul of the season.

Reigning champions Beith preserved their status as the only Premier team able to boast a 100% record when a double from hitman Ciaran Diver in between Carlo Monti and Ryan Monan scores proved enough to see off Irvine Meadow by an emphatic 4-0 scoreline.

Second place in the standings, two points adrift of the Mighty, is occupied by Hurlford United following a 0-0 draw in their derby clash against Darvel while Pollok remained unbeaten but arguably damaged somewhat after two points were ceded up by a 3-3 draw at home to Rob Roy.

Stewart Maxwell’s side had responded in the best way imaginable to Ryan Tierney putting the Rabs in front by chalking up two strikes of their own from Grant Anderson and Calum Gow before the interval.

Big stopper Gow making it 3-1 not long after the restart looked to have clinched victory only for the visitors to come storming back with Adam Kettings and Michael Baber counters earning a share of the spoils .

Cumnock, Clydebank and Largs Thistle belatedly clinched their first wins of the new WoSFL campaign with Nock followers grateful for winger Tam McGaughey bagging the only goal of the game away to St Cadocs.

Matters looked slightly more ominous for the Bankies at Holm Park against Glenafton when they fell behind to a well struck Kevin Fraser shot however a couple of decisive incidents leading up to the break turned this encounter in favour of Gordon Moffat’s troops.

Thomas Collins levelling the scores undoubtedly acted to raise spirits but another crucial boost arrived when Sam McKee’s red carding in 41 minutes , Glenafton’s second first half dismissal in consecutive matches , enabled the numerically superior Bankies to get on top and add further scores from Joe Slattery, Ciaran Mulcahy and Collins again.

This handsome winning margin was bettered by a rampant Largs for whom Will Sewell(2), Simon McBryde, Liam Lapsley and Blair Devine were on target in running out 5-1 winners away to Troon whose solitary score by Kyle Gilroy did little more than put a better complexion on the scoreline.

WILL SEWELL SCORING AGAIN FOR LARGS

Meanwhile , there were a few unexpected twists in the First Division stakes where previous joint top of the table pair Johnstone Burgh and Petershill were found wanting when it came to asserting their early season promise.

The Burgh needed an 89^th minute Kieran Brophy effort to scratch out a 2-2 draw away to Whitletts Vics for whom Robbie McCracken and Thomas Donovan had been on the mark after Ryan Wallace’s opener for the visitors.

But an even more painful `crash back down to earth` fate befell the Peasy in going down 4-1 at home to Ashfield despite getting their noses in front through returning from suspension striker Thomas Sinclair claiming his first goal of the new season.

Bobby Barr(2), Sean Slaven and Aidan Quinn did the scoring damage to help Mick Oliver’s men bounce back from losing 3-2 in midweek to a Shotts Bon Accord side ,now sitting proudly atop the pile after Adam Hunter’s first half goal secured a hard fought 1-0 victory over Neilston.

Newly holding down third place in the standings are Maybole yet to taste defeat following a 3-2 win over Thorniewood United while a Jordan Shelvey scoring brace was the highlight of Cambuslang Rangers` 4-1 victory over St Rochs.

Paul McColl’s revamped side similarly remain unbeaten to date as do near neighbours Rutherglen Glencairn after recovering from falling 2-0 behind at half time against Drumchapel United to earn a battling draw with second half Anthony Maguire and Dom McLaughlin goals.

WEEKEND RESULTS: P.D.M HUWS GRAY Premier Division. Troon 1 Largs Thistle 5, Pollok 3 Rob Roy 3, Gartcairn 0 Auchinleck Talbot 2, Clydebank 4 Glenafton 1, Arthurlie 2 Benburb1, Beith 4 Irvine Meadow 0, St Cadocs 0 Cumnock 1, Darvel 0 Hurlford Utd 0. P.D.M HUWS GRAY PDM Buildbase First Division. Shotts Bon Accord 1 Neilston 0, Blantyre Vics 2 Kilbirnie Ladeside 1, Cambuslang Rangers 4 St Rochs 1,Renfrew 2 Kilwinning Rangers 1, Drumchapel Utd 2 Rutherglen Glencairn 2, Petershill 1 Ashfield 4, Maybole 3 Thorniewood Utd 2, Whitletts Vics 2 Johnstone Burgh 2.PDM HUWS GRAY Second Division. Ardrossan Winton Rovers v Glasgow Perthshire,Wishaw v Bonnyton Thistle, St Anthonys v Forth Wanderers , Vale of Clyde v Yoker Athletic, Kilsyth Rangers v Larkhall Thistle, Cumbernauld Utd v Glasgow University , Craigmark v Caledonian Locomotives, Maryhill v Muirkirk . PDM HUWS GRAYThird Division. Irvine Vics v Vale of Leven, Finnart v Bellshill Athletic, Port Glasgow v Glasgow Utd, West Park Utd v Kello Rovers, Lesmahagow v Dalry Thistle Lanark Utd v Girvan, Threave Rovers v Greenock v Kilsyth Athletic. PDM HUWS GRAYFourth Division. Saltcoats Vics v Giffnock S.C, Royal Albert v Rossvale, Newmains Utd v Campbeltown Pupils , Thorn Athletic v Lugar Boswell, BSC Glasgow v East Kilbride Thistle, Knightswood v Carluke Rovers, Eglinton v Glenvale, Easterhouse FC v St Peters.

Regards

Jim O’Donnell