Largs Thistle 1, Auchinleck Talbot 0

Thistle recorded one of their biggest wins of the season on Tuesday night as they triumphed over Auchinleck Talbot for the first time in 12 years.

It was fitting that it was the returning David McGrath, making only his second start after a long injury lay-off, who netted the winning goal after a top quality first half move.

And perhaps the most pleasing thing for Thistle's players, management and supporters was that not only was it thoroughly deserved - but that Largs should have won by a greater margin.

It was a terrific team display with Thistle staying solid throughout the 90 minutes with every man standing up and being counted.

This was a huge win for Stuart Davidson's talented young side, who ended a three-match winning run for Tommy Sloan's team - and put a spanner in the works as Talbot gear up for their West of Scotland Cup final against Clydebank this Friday night.

It was a very scrappy opening 25 minutes with very little in the way of chances or entertainment as the ball was played mostly in the air with passing moves regularly being broken down.

Talbot looked like they were marginally getting the upper hand with two headed opportunities in the box from Boyle which went over and wide.

However, it was Largs who took the lead on the half hour - and it was a moment of magic starting with a slick move down the left out of defence.

Liam Devine took forward the ball into the Talbot half and supplied buzzing winger Jamie Martin, who darted away, and then a clever one-two resulted in Devine racing to the byline and slotting the ball across to the far post.

The ball was met by McGrath, who slammed the ball home with his left foot for a sweet strike.

Stuart Faulds' fiercely struck free kick from the left wing was then beaten away by Andy Leishman in the Talbot goal moments later.

At the end of the first half, Martin's waltzing wing play resulted in a dangerous cross which had to be headed away by a Talbot defender.

The second half started with the East Ayrshire outfit looking for an equaliser and Largs keeper Jamie McGowan made an excellent save to his bottom right to scoop away a dangerous header from a free kick out on the right.


But after that, Largs were in control, and never really gave Auchinleck a look-in, while the visitors were very much on the defensive for a 20 minute period in which Largs really dazzled.

Martin was left wondering how he didn't score after Sewell's wing magic and cross as positions were swapped - and the ex-Meadow man headed wide with the goal gaping on 58 minutes.

On 62 minutes Lewis Davidson was on the end of another fast-paced Thistle move but dragged his shot inches wide of the target.

And then on 65 minutes, Sewell skillfully hooked a high cross towards goal with an overhead volley which was acrobatically palmed over the bar by Leishman.

A raft of substitutions followed as the game developed into the footballing equivalent of a chess match, with neither side managing to outmanoeuvre the other.

Scott Adam and Craig Forbes came on for McGrath and Martin, who had both run themselves into the ground - as had David Ramsay upfront, who required treatment for cramp as the minutes ticked away near the end.

The full time whistle greeted a spectacular sunset as cheers rallied around the ground for a historic win for Largs which keeps them on target for their highest league placing in the Premier League for many years.

Full credit goes to Thistle who really cancelled out Talbot and looked the more dangerous team in attack.

Manager Stuart Davidson was thrilled with the performance and praised the work-rate and spirited attitude of every player who featured on the park.

With the bulk of this squad already signed for next season, the future looks bright for this exciting and dynamic Thistle outfit.

Team: McGowan, McLeod, Devine, Hughes, McCreath, Faulds, Martin, Davidson, Sewell, Ramsay, McGrath. Subs: Adam, McMaster, Tennent, Nimmo, Forbes, Walker (GK).

Next up for Thistle is a trip to Buffs Park to face Kilwinning Rangers on May 6 (KO 2pm).