Published: Monday, 5th November, 2007 15:35
Thistle blast Buffs with late winner
Comments (0)
Print Article
Kilwinning 1 Largs Thistle 2
Largs moved into third spot in the Stagecoach West 1st Division after sub Graham Black scored an injury time winner to maintain Thistle’s good run against the Buffs.
It was a brilliant result for the Barrfields side but the big talking point was the behaviour of maverick bad boy Phil Cannie who scored a wonderful chip to put Thistle in the lead but angrily reacted to being subbed in the second half.
The referee gave the Thistle forward a second yellow and therefore a red card for kicking loose training balls on to the pitch during the course of play.
However, this unfortunate sideshow did nothing to take away from Thistle’s commendable result as Black scored the winner following some late pressure from Kilwinning.
Thistle opened the match in dominant fashion with some good moves with forward Jamie Marks causing plenty of problems while keeper Stephen Connick got down well to grasp Mullen’s header from a curving free kick.
On 18 minutes, John Robertson had a penalty claim turned down after falling under a challenge in the penalty box while Cannie’s double effort came to an end after he handled on the second opportunity after the first effort was blocked.
On 25 minutes, Cannie then warmed the hands of the Kilwinning keeper Ross with a belter of a free kick from 24 yards on the outside left which was palmed over the bar.
Johnson cut in from the left but swiped a 20 yarder just wide of the right post for Kilwinning on the break. On 43 minutes, Largs scored a deserved opener in some style as Phil Cannie scored a sensational chip from the right side of the penalty box which was perfectly measured over the backtracking keeper before falling into the top left corner of the net.
The Buffs nearly levelled matters on the stroke of half-time but Connick saved at the second attempt from an onslaught of players following a fiercely driven free kick from Steven McCulloch.
Thistle had chances to double their lead early in the second half with Ross again coming to the rescue of the Buffs with some sturdy saves while sub Graham Black replaced the injured Roberston.
Cannie was booked for shirt tugging before the Buffs netted an equaliser on 68 minutes as Darren Docherty found space down the left wing before racing along the byeline and smashing home an angled drive to the near post which Connick got a hand to but couldn’t keep out.
This signalled the beginning of some strong Kilwinning pressure with premature celebrations as a header was ruled out for offside while Derek McCulloch volleyed a sitter over the bar from just a matter of yards to let Thistle off the hook.
The arrival of Fulton on the park provided some fresh impetus for Largs and the winger nearly scored a cracker after some clever feints past defenders and drilling a low effort just wide of the right post.
Cannie was far from happy at being subbed and was dismissed by the ref while sitting on the bench for kicking training balls on to the park during the course of play. The striker further incensed the referee after refusing to run around the perimeter of the park to the dressing rooms and instead ran across the field of play.
After that drama was over, we were able to at last carry on with the match and thankfully Largs put the incident behind them to score a last gasp winner after a quick breakaway following late Kilwinning pressure.
Tam Jamieson teed up Graham Black who cut across from the left hand side to slam home from the edge of the area past the outrushing keeper on 92 minutes.
It was an excellent and hard-working team performance from Largs who have now moved up into an impressive position in the Stagecoach West 1st Division but it is important to keep the momentum going in this cut-throat league. For the second week running, a sub has scored the winning goal for Largs which goes to show that the full squad is playing its part in Thistle’s surge to third spot.
Thistle: Connick, Molloy, Hendren, McColl, Shearer, Dow, Robertson (c), McCann, Cannie, Marks, Jamieson. Subs: McCabe, Black, Fulton, Cummings, McClure.
Del.icio.us
Digg
Facebook
Reddit
Stumbleupon
Further Details
Largs karate men Scottish champs