Blantyre Vics 4-2 Cambuslang Rangers
Sectional League Cup
Wednesday 16th August
at Castle Park
Cambuslang Rangers hopes of progressing to the Quarter Finals of
the Sectional League Cup were dealt a severe blow as they were thumped by a
hard working Blantyre Vics in Monday nights rearranged fixture. A disappointing
performance from Cambuslang saw them go down 4-2 and leave them struggling to
make the knock out stages. Leaders Glencairn now only need 1 point to secure
that spot from their 2 remaining games, Cambuslang away and East Kilbride away.
Cambuslang were without a few players
in the starting line up with, Doak, McGregor, Galloway Ferguson and Brown all
missing for various reasons. Cambuslang gave a start to Slovakian signing Josef
Petrik after gaining International Clearance allowing him to play. It was to be
this weakness at the back that would be finally exposed as Cambuslang on
numerous occasions failed to deal with the long ball into the box. It is these
errors that have to be eradicated and quick if the Somervell Park side are to
have any chance in the Super League that kicks off in the next couple of weeks.
just how the management at Somervell deal with this is anyone's guess as there
is no financial help available to Andy Cunningham and Scott Archer.
The match was 10 minutes old before any notable action and that
came from the foot of Blantyre's bustling forward, but Rowan in the Lang goal
saved easily. The home side should have opened their account on 15 minutes when
Ward got on the end of a cross but he was unable to trouble the Lang
keeper from 6 yards out. With 20 minutes gone it looked as though Vics would
take the lead, a superb free kick was heading into the top corner but a finger
tip save by Rowan touched the ball onto the bar before being cleared. It was
the visitors who opened the scoring just before the break, a bit of luck about
the goal as McCrae's free kick deflected of the defensive wall leaving the
keeper stranded and the Lang were 1 up. The lead lasted all of 1 minute as the
home side hit back. A long ball into the box was not dealt with by the Lang
defence allowing the Vics striker time to knock home. Stoppage time in the
first half and the Lang defence was once again posted missing allowing Blantyre
to score a second.
H-T 2-1
At the start of the second half Cambuslang replaced Petrik, who
struggled to make an impact in his first outing, with Galloway. Langs first
duty of the half was to collect the ball from the back of the net as
Blantyre extended their lead. A speculative effort to say the least from
20 yards bounced past, what one can only assume, an unsighted Rowan who made no
effort to get to the ball. Cambuslang picked up a booking after Burns was
harshly adjudged to have fouled Noble. Cambuslang replaced Richie Love with
Gary McGregor. The Lang man picked up a booking within a minute of entering the
fray. 64 minutes on the clock and Blantyre scored their 4th of the match. A
break up field left Cambuslang badly exposed at the back and Vics blasted home.
During the goal celebration the referee pulled 1 Vics player towards him and
showed him a Red Card, for what only he knows. Towards the end of the match the
visitors pulled a goal back McCrae's persistence rewarded when he tapped the
ball home. Cambuslang were reduced to 10 men when Galloway vented his
frustration in the direction of the referee and he was ordered off for foul and
abusive language to round off a quite miserable evening for Cambuslang Rangers.
Rowan, Burns, Graham, Feenie, Paterson, Coulter, McCarroll, Love(
McGregor 58), McCrae, Scanlon, Petrik (Galloway 45)