FORDY’S SHARPSHOOTING WON THE DAY
eam boss Stewart Maxwell gave thanks to prolific hitman Adam Forde for keeping his Pollok side’s Indigo Comms West of Scotland Cup aspirations on track through a 3-1 victory over Petershill on Saturday.
A further embarrassment to follow on from Lok’s midweek Scottish Junior Cup exit to Dalry Thistle had looked more than a distinct possibility when they conceded the opening goal through in Springburn however Maxi’s men proceeded to serve up a performance steeped in character and determination en-route to running out fully deserved winners.
And leading from the front …as ever…was 28 year old Fordy who even allowing for the home side’s lack of defensive diligence, must have strengthened his case to be regarded as one of the most feared WoSFL strikers currently going the rounds by ruthlessly bagging an opportunistic hat trick, inclusive of his 100th goal for the Southside giants and his 17th of the season to date.
Said his manager at the final whistle,” Scoring 100 goals for a club is a special achievement which requires a special player and Adam has certainly been in that category since this season got underway.
“He and Pollok are reaping the rewards from him working his socks off during the summer months to get himself into great condition and he’s so much fitter and sharper now while his awareness in and around the penalty box is nothing short of phenomenal.”
Maxi’s demeanor was much more engaging and convivial than it had been when Referee Thomas Denholm took it upon himself to award Petershill a penalty kick nearing the end of a first half dominated territorially by Pollok though without seriously calling Peasy No 1 Kyle Miller into action other than when he touched a close range Forde header over his own crossbar..
Then with the 38th minute having come and gone, nobody wearing Petershill’s maroon colours, on the pitch or off it for that matter , felt anything was untoward as a far flung free kick into the visiting penalty box appeared to bring an aerial coming together between bodies from both sides however Mr Denholm clearly saw something because he was seen to point unerringly to the spot and was not for changing his mind despite the volley of protests that followed his call.
Connor Higgins stepped forward to make a terrific job of lashing the ball past Jordan Longmuir to give the home side a 1-0 lead but it was not one they were to hold overlong because less than five minutes later Pollok equalized with a goal of stunning simplicity.
An under pressure clearance upfield headed back through a discombobulated Peasy backline (by Ryan McGregor) sparked a foot race between Forde and veteran stopper Ross McCabe and at the same time caused a rush of blood to young goalkeeper Miller’s head because he came running from his line and was stranded in no-man’s land as the Pollok striker cleverly clipped the ball high over him and into the net via the underside of the crossbar.
Any notion that Petershill were going to capitulate as a consequence of losing their slender advantage was quickly dispelled when their former Pollok signing Del Hepburn smacked a superb 22 yard free kick against the face of the crossbar with Longmuir left clutching thin air however a fairly uneventful first half duly concluded with Pollok’s forward going pair Forde and Andy Gallagher coming close with goal attempts.
Maxi was to say, “We had started the better against a battling Petershill side and were in control despite a bobbly pitch and swirling wind working against our preferred way of playing..
“To then recover from a penalty kick decision that should never have been shows great character and it’s to the players’ credit that they’ve gone on to find a way to win the game.”
IT WAS NEVER A PENALTY ACCORDING TO MAXI
A Forde lob hitting the crossbar and coming down on the line had visiting fans loudly and undeservedly claiming another score shortly after the second period got underway however it was to take until the closing 15 minutes for Fordy & Co to put a shine on their performance.
His second goal of the day took until the 76th minute to arrive when a high ball fired into the Peasy penalty area was headed down by Ryan McGregor and the scoring ace who had slipped his chains somehow contrived to squeeze the ball home at Miller’s near post when nothing seemed on to everyone else inside Petershill Park.
A wonderful piece of penalty box opportunism at its best but unfortunately the same cannot be said about Forde’s icing on the cake score which came about when goalkeeper Miller made a hash of coming to collect a cross played in from out left and the lurking Forde applied a headed finish he probably knew little about to send the ball into an empty net.
Losing gaffer Stevie McNeil lamented, “ Del’s free kick hitting the bar denied us the bit of luck we needed on the day but knowing the goals we then conceded were self-inflicted wounds is a sore one to take .
He added , “ On the plus side, we asked the guys to go toe to toe with one of the Premier Division big guns and it’s encouraging to think we more than held our own and were never outplayed.”
Joining Pollok in the West’s last 32 standing are another surprise Junior Cup faller, Beith for whom the equally freescoring Ciaran Diver (aka Fordy ) was yet again on the mark along with Danny O’Neil , Ryan Monan (2) and Paul Frize as the Ayrshire cracks ran out resounding 5-0 winners over Premier Division bedfellows Benburb down at Bellfield .
CIARAN HAS STRIKING CREDENTIALS OF HIS OWN
Also through are reigning trophy holders Auchinleck Talbot after Tommy Sloan’s side chalked up their fifth win on the spin via a 2-0 defeat of Port Glasgow where Connor Boyd helped himself to a brace of goals .
Meanwhile, the team Talbot only just pipped to the 2022/23 silverware honours Clydebank, continue to have high hopes of going one better thanks to Alan Kelly (2) , Nikky Little and Callum Graham getting on the scoresheet in an emphatic 4-0 victory over St Anthonys.
And the beaten semi-finalists from last time out St Rochs and Kilwinning Rangers are likewise going along strongly, the Candy Rock on the back of a 3-1 Garngad triumph over Muirkirk through Jordan Thompson, Keiran Daw(pen) and Connor Hughes counters while the Buffs had Gavin Miller(2), Dylan Macklin and Neil McGregor on target in their 4-2 defeat of a battling Renfrew side that had spiritedly battled back from 0-2 down at Buffs Park to level the scores at the halfway point through set piece Andy Wright and Ben McLernan scores.
Jamie Taggart and Mark McGuigan netted doubles to go along with Darren Bowie, Jack McIlveen and Kamil Krol efforts in Gartcairn’s 7-0 trouncing of East Kilbride Thistle while Ally Small and JoJo Gillespie were treble marksmen in Johnstone Burgh’s 9-3 trouncing of Knightswood.
As is the norm in Cup jousts, there were a number of shocks, most notably David Goodwillie bagging a couple of goals to help Glasgow United recover from 0-2 down against Arthurlie to get the better of their top flight opponents in a penalty kick shoot out
A close second was Larkhall Thistle coming out on top 3-1 at home to higher league Drumchapel United while Cumnock, with new centreback signing Luke Watt at the heart of their defence , suffered shoot-out elimination by Troon for whom Mark Shankland’s 88th minute goal had cancelled out Findlay Frye’s opener for the home team and set up a spot kicks conclusion.
WEEKEND RESULTS: PDM HUWS GRAYThird Division. Irvine Vics 1 Girvan 1. INDIGO COMMS WEST OF SCOTLAND CUP.Second Round.Craigmark 3 Ashfield 2, Maryhill 2 Greenock 3, Hurlford Utd 3 Bonnyton Thistle 0, Port Glasgow 0 Auchinleck Talbot 2, Johnstone Burgh 9 Knightswood 3, Glasgow Utd 2 Arthurlie 2(United win 5-4 pens), Saltcoats Vics 1 Rob Roy 6, Lanark Utd 2 Neilston 1, Beith 5 Benburb 0, Cumnock 1 Troon 1(Troon win 4-2 pens), West Park Utd 2 Vale of Clyde 3, Kilsyth Rangers 1 Glasgow University 2,Lugar Boswell 2 Maybole 2 ( Maybole win 4-2 pens) St Rochs 3 Muirkirk 1, Petershill 1 Pollok 3, Giffnock FC 4 Rossvale 0, Lesmahagow 3 Whitletts Vics 0, Larkhall Thistle 3 Drumchapel Utd 1, Cambuslang Rangers 1 Glasgow Perthshire 1(Shire win 4-3 pens), Dalry Thistle 2 Glenafton 7, Threave Rovers 5 Finnart 2, Bellshill Athletic 3 Ardeer Thistle 0, Kilwinning Rangers 4 Renfrew 2, Clydebank 4 St Anthonys 0, Thorn Athletic 4 BSC Glasgow 2, East Kilbride Thistle 0 Gartcairn 7, St Peters 0 Irvine Meadow 5, Shotts Bon Accord 2 Thorniewood Utd 0, Campbeltown Pupils 1 Rutherglen Glencairn 3, Glenvale 0 Blantyre Vics 1,Largs Thistle 1 Wishaw 0, St Cadocs 4 Caledonian Locomotives 2, Royal Albert 3 Kello Rovers 0, Vale of Leven 3 Yoker Athletic 3 (Yoker win 5-3 pens).
| Regards Jim O’Donnell |
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