THE BUFFS ARE READY TO GO FOR IT

A lowly third from bottom place in the Premier Division might be Arthurlie’s lot as league things currently stand but not too many opponents can claim to have pummeled the Barrhead men in the extraordinary manner that a Kilwinning Rangers side, whose own confidence was reputed to have been shot to pieces, did in their West of Scotland League Cup showdown on Saturday?

It would have been understandable if the Buffs had travelled through to Dunterlie feeling fragile and more than a little bruised ,on the back of a 6-0 midweek hiding at the hands of Auchinleck Talbot, but instead they were nothing short of rampant in serving up an embarrassment of attacking riches in every sense.

The Ayrshiremen were at the throats of their hosts right from the first blast of Andy Taylor’s whistle and by the anything but unlucky 13^th minute (unless you hailed from Barrhead ) were 3-0 to the good ,with the points as good as in the bag, and it’s no exaggeration to say the scoreline could easily have been doubled but for a string of saves by Lie goalkeeper Garry Black.

Perpetual motion front man Thomas Collins helped himself to a 2^nd minute opener after being set up by a clever flick by Ben Lewis who was the provider-in-chief again 11 minutes in when skipping past a couple of defenders to hang up a delightful back post cross headed home by Kieron Woods for a 2-0 lead that very quickly became 3-0 after bustling striker Dylan Macklin was criminally allowed to gather a pass and amble forward some ten yards before dispatching a left foot shot past the helpless Black.

KILWINNING STAR TURN BEN LEWIS

Arthurlie gaffer Craig Palmer admitted afterwards,

”The game was done after 13 minutes because you just cannot start away like we did today and expect to do well.

“Kilwinning didn’t produce anything special to score their goals ,just long balls forward that we didn’t handle well enough and I will not and cannot defend the guys when they’re guilty of such basic errors,

“The saddest aspect is Kilwinning appeared to want it more than us and though we offered up a better showing in the second half, it was too little too late as far as I’m concerned.”

The buoyed up visitors continued to dictate first half proceedings however their dominance brought only one further goal in 36 minutes after the outstanding Lewis , looking suspiciously offside it has to be said , turned the ball home from close range for 4-0.

Kilwinning’s early impetus had faded when the teams came out after the interval,possibly because the home side were competing better as a result of some stinging Palmer criticism and it was noticeable that Buffs No 1 Craig Gordon was now the busier of the two keepers, albeit he was not having to deal with a barrage of goal attempts.

A huge turning point arrived just after the hour mark when tricky Lie winger Aaron Healey and Buffs towering stopper Kevin Nicol had a bit of a tugging match ,chasing after a through pass, that sent both players crashing untidily to the ground.

Healey, reputedly a Queens Park signing target, appeared to have made the initial foul however Referee Taylor opted to favour the smaller man in this physical mismatch and instead brandished a yellow card at a vehemently protesting Nicol , a decision with acute consequences shortly afterwards when he brought down Dale Simeone with a crunching tackle that earned a second yellow and the Buffs captain’s marching orders .

Team boss Palmer was seen roaring his players forward to try and take advantage of their superior numbers but only once did they manage to breach Kilwinning’s defences, when the backing up Jordan Leyden’s low shot past Gordon from just outside the penalty area rounded off the scoring at 4-1.

Kilwinning team boss David Gormley’s response was straight and to the point when asked why a team that worked so hard could have conceded six goals to Auchinleck?

“ Because we simply didn’t work in midweek “ he said bluntly,” Everything we did today wasn’t done against Talbot and we paid a heavy price for what was a poor performance on the night.

“ This is no knee jerk reaction to Wednesday night because I’ve always believed the players at this club have it in them to move the ball quicker and better than most teams as Arthurlie found out today.

“That said it was a phenomenal display and easily the best since I came to Kilwinning but it sets standards that I will be looking for from now on.

Meanwhile, Arthurlie’s inability to make home advantage tell was also a marked shortcoming in the all-Ayrshire clashes taking place between fellow Premier Division rivals.

Irvine Meadow for instance, suffered their first defeat in the 8 games since George Grierson took up their managerial baton by going down 1-0 to Cumnock for whom Graham Boyd netted the only goal of a hard fought Meadow Park affair while Largs Thistle, leading by virtue of a Stuart Faulds penalty kick conversion right on the stroke of half time, were all but blown away by opponents Hurlford United staging a storming second half Barrfields comeback resulting in a 3-1 victory through scores from Paul McKenzie, Chris McKnight and Michael Mullen(pen).

As always, there was a fair sprinkling of Cup shocks to report on, most notably the one at Newlandsfield, where relative minnows St Cadocs staged a remarkable recovery (thanks in part to a totally inept Lok defensive display) after falling 1-0 behind to a well struck Darren Christie shot for higher league Pollok..

Gavin Mitchell adroitly eluding a Sean Burns tackle attempt at the back post to level the scores on the stroke of half time was followed by Ryan Thomson showing he `wanted it more` when rising to head home a free kick with just under ten minutes left to play. And worse was to come for home fans in the closing stages when a mistimed Craig Menzies challenge floored St Cadocs substitute Shaun Rodgers to bring a penalty kick award ,tucked away by Gary Muir for a 3-1 scoreline.

Petershill also suffered something of a West Cup upset , beaten 9-8 in a marathon penalty-kick shoot-out at home to two divisions lower down Forth Wanderers, that came about after the teams played out a 2-2 draw at Petershill Park which saw Terry Hewitt and Eddie Ferns counters capping a first half Peasy fightback from an 2-0 deficit inflicted by early oals from Forth duo Jay Keenan and David Donnelly.

Elsewhere, hard not to think the day’s scoring honours belong to West Park United striker Connor Irvine for bagging all the Fourth Division outfit’s goals in a 4-3 defeat of Benburb, even though Clydebank gave minnows Eglinton a 14-0 thumping.

WEEKEND RESULTS: P.D.M Buildbase Premier Division. Darvel 4 Rob Roy 3.PDM Buildbase First Division. Neilston 1 Johnstone Burgh 2. PDM Buildbase Second Division. Glasgow Utd 0 Glasgow University 2,Ardeer Thistle 3 Greenock 0, Craigmark 2 Kilsyth Rangers 2.PDM Buildbase Third Division. Lesmahagow 4 Royal Albert 0, Lanark Utd 2 Bellshill Athletic 1, Irvine Vics 2 Vale of Clyde 2..PDM Buildbase Fourth Division. Easterhouse F.A 3 Rossvale Academy 0.West of Scotland Football League Cup.Girvan 0 Rossvale 1, Renfrew 3 Threave Rovers 0, Saltcoats Vics 1 Kilbirnie Ladeside 4, Troon 4 Glasgow Perthshire 2, Kello Rovers 1Wishaw 1 (Kello win 4-3 pens), Newmains Utd 0 St Rochs 2, West Park Utd 4 Benburb 3, Bonnyton Thistle 2 Kilsyth Athletic 4,Largs Thistle 1 Hurlford Utd 3, Carluke Rovers 3 Finnart 3 (Finnart win 5-4 pens), Irvine Meadow 0 Cumnock 1, Port Glasgow 1 Yoker Athletic 2, Glenafton 2 Glenvale 1, Maybole 1 Beith 4, Petershill 2 Forth Wanderers 2 (Forth win 9-8 pens), Maryhill 1 Rutherglen Glencairn 4, Eglinton 0 Clydebank 14, Shotts Bon Accord 2 Ardrossan Winton Rovers 1, Arthurlie 1 Kilwinning Rangers 4, BSC Glasgow 2 Harmony Row 1,Ashfield 4 Lugar Boswell 1, Pollok 1 St Cadocs 3, Cumbernauld Utd 6 St Peters 0,Thorn Athletic 4 St Anthonys 1, Campbelltown Pupils 0 Gartcairn 2, Larkhall Thistle 1 Drumchapel Utd 7, Whitletts Vics 1 Blantyre Vics 2, Auchinleck Talbot 4 Muirkirk 1.

Regards

Jim O’Donnell