Whitletts Vics - Match Report
CRAIGMARK BURNTONIANS 0 - WHITLETTS VICTORIA 4
Whitletts Victoria cruised to a comfortable victory over Craigmark but now have to beat Maybole at Dam Park on Saturday to qualify of the quarter finals of the Ardagh Cup.
Minus a number of key players, Vics assistant boss Jonny Baillie started his first match for over two and a half years in a much changed side from the one that lost to Troon on Saturday and within five minutes the big central defender had opened the scoring when he rose to head home a Tony Balfour corner.
Balfour could have given Vics an even earlier lead, inside the first 10 seconds, but his angled drive flashed wide and that was a signal of things to come for the Whitletts hitman.
Craigmark had a chance to equalise in the 10th minute but as Dylan Dunn bore in on goal he was thwarted by a last ditch tackle from Baillie.
In the 17th minute the Ayr side doubled their advantage. 17 year old Sean Ewart picked the ball up 20 yards out and curled a beauty past Stevie Douglas into the big keepers top left corner. It was a great moment for the youngster scoring in what was his first competitive start for the club.
The Dalmellington side were not out of the match and continued to press forward at every opportunity and former Vics’ defender Dom Boyle almost pulled one back but Ally McInnes touched his cross come shot over the bar.
Baillie almost notched his second but his header came back off the post and a cheeky backheel by Raymond Buchanan was blocked on the line.
A third goal was always likely for the visitors and it came in the 34th minute. Balfour raced onto an Alan Love pass to fire past Douglas.
The second period followed a similar pattern with Whitletts always looking to add to their tally while Craigmark pressed forward at every opportunity but rarely troubled McInnes. But it probably is a 45 minutes that Vics’ leading scorer Tony Balfour will want to forget as the little striker squandered a host of chances to add to the visitors tally.
Within ten minutes of the restart Balfour was denied by a Douglas save, fired just wide form the edge of the box and went close with two other attempts from inside the box.
The chances were all coming for the visitors. Midway through the half Balfour did well to shrugged off the attentions of a defender to race clear but fired wide across the face of goal.
Keiran Nisbet then also went close with a drive across goal before Balfour again raced clear only for his thunderbolt to beat Douglas and come crashing back off the bar. He then had and shot that dipped just wide and moments later broke to the bye-line and fired low across goal but found no takers.
Ewart was then brought down inside the penalty area but referee Nicolle Andrews waved aside Vics’ appeals.
At the other end ‘Marks’ striker Dylan Thirtle saw his striker from 20 yards dip just over but it would have been an injustice for all his hard work had Balfour not got his name on the scoresheet again and he finally did so with eight minutes remaining. It came from the penalty spot after the referee adjudged Nisbet to have been tripped inside the box.
Balfour then had another attempt deflected into the side netting while skipper Graham Longair struck an ambitious angled drive only to see it come back off the post.
But with Maybole’s shock victory at Troon, it has set up a thrilling finale to the section with Maybole visiting Dam Park on Saturday in a game that Whitletts simply must win if they are to qualify from the section. There’ll be a big afternoon of football in store this weekend.
CRAIGMARK BURNTONIANS
1. Douglas 2. Boyle 3. Barratt 4. Kirkwood 5. McKay (Henderson 80) 6. Dempster 7. Hall (Murphy 67) 8. Dunn 9. Thirtle 10. Reid 11. Steel
Subs (not used) 14. Ewing
WHITLETTS VICTORIA
1. McInnes 2. Reynolds 3. Longair 4. Buchanan 5. Baillie 6. Love (Kerr 55) 7. Nisbet 8. Hanvey 9. Wilson 10. Balfour 11. Ewart
Subs (not used) 14. Holland 15. Simpson
REFEREE: Nicolle Andrews
Whitletts Victoria cruised to a comfortable victory over Craigmark but now have to beat Maybole at Dam Park on Saturday to qualify of the quarter finals of the Ardagh Cup.
Minus a number of key players, Vics assistant boss Jonny Baillie started his first match for over two and a half years in a much changed side from the one that lost to Troon on Saturday and within five minutes the big central defender had opened the scoring when he rose to head home a Tony Balfour corner.
Balfour could have given Vics an even earlier lead, inside the first 10 seconds, but his angled drive flashed wide and that was a signal of things to come for the Whitletts hitman.
Craigmark had a chance to equalise in the 10th minute but as Dylan Dunn bore in on goal he was thwarted by a last ditch tackle from Baillie.
In the 17th minute the Ayr side doubled their advantage. 17 year old Sean Ewart picked the ball up 20 yards out and curled a beauty past Stevie Douglas into the big keepers top left corner. It was a great moment for the youngster scoring in what was his first competitive start for the club.
The Dalmellington side were not out of the match and continued to press forward at every opportunity and former Vics’ defender Dom Boyle almost pulled one back but Ally McInnes touched his cross come shot over the bar.
Baillie almost notched his second but his header came back off the post and a cheeky backheel by Raymond Buchanan was blocked on the line.
A third goal was always likely for the visitors and it came in the 34th minute. Balfour raced onto an Alan Love pass to fire past Douglas.
The second period followed a similar pattern with Whitletts always looking to add to their tally while Craigmark pressed forward at every opportunity but rarely troubled McInnes. But it probably is a 45 minutes that Vics’ leading scorer Tony Balfour will want to forget as the little striker squandered a host of chances to add to the visitors tally.
Within ten minutes of the restart Balfour was denied by a Douglas save, fired just wide form the edge of the box and went close with two other attempts from inside the box.
The chances were all coming for the visitors. Midway through the half Balfour did well to shrugged off the attentions of a defender to race clear but fired wide across the face of goal.
Keiran Nisbet then also went close with a drive across goal before Balfour again raced clear only for his thunderbolt to beat Douglas and come crashing back off the bar. He then had and shot that dipped just wide and moments later broke to the bye-line and fired low across goal but found no takers.
Ewart was then brought down inside the penalty area but referee Nicolle Andrews waved aside Vics’ appeals.
At the other end ‘Marks’ striker Dylan Thirtle saw his striker from 20 yards dip just over but it would have been an injustice for all his hard work had Balfour not got his name on the scoresheet again and he finally did so with eight minutes remaining. It came from the penalty spot after the referee adjudged Nisbet to have been tripped inside the box.
Balfour then had another attempt deflected into the side netting while skipper Graham Longair struck an ambitious angled drive only to see it come back off the post.
But with Maybole’s shock victory at Troon, it has set up a thrilling finale to the section with Maybole visiting Dam Park on Saturday in a game that Whitletts simply must win if they are to qualify from the section. There’ll be a big afternoon of football in store this weekend.
CRAIGMARK BURNTONIANS
1. Douglas 2. Boyle 3. Barratt 4. Kirkwood 5. McKay (Henderson 80) 6. Dempster 7. Hall (Murphy 67) 8. Dunn 9. Thirtle 10. Reid 11. Steel
Subs (not used) 14. Ewing
WHITLETTS VICTORIA
1. McInnes 2. Reynolds 3. Longair 4. Buchanan 5. Baillie 6. Love (Kerr 55) 7. Nisbet 8. Hanvey 9. Wilson 10. Balfour 11. Ewart
Subs (not used) 14. Holland 15. Simpson
REFEREE: Nicolle Andrews