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PHOTOGRAPHS BY PAUL FLYNN.

MATCH REPORT FROM ADMIN

Talbot progressed to the 5^th round of the Challenge Cup after a decent win at Meadow Park. This match would have had the supporters looking forward to a real humdinger but with the two teams meeting each other the week previous the hunger seemed to be missing in this tie.

Talbot came out the traps in determined fashion and as little as 4 minutes severe Talbot pressure paid off when they forced corner which Waters palmed into the path of Boylan who looped a cross onto the head of Armstrong to give the visitors a dream start.

Minutes later Talbot should have doubled their lead when Stafford slotted a pass into the edge of the box which the home defence were favourites to clear but for some reason the ball ping ponged around the area which Glasgow pounced onto and after getting a decent shot on target the ball cannoned off Findlay and squirmed past the post.

On the 10^th minute the Meadow midfield was caught out after mounting a rare attack when Shankland picked out the unmarked Glasgow who swung the ball across the park onto the path of Boylan who homed in on the goal area but his well struck shot from an acute angle was well parried by Waters

It took until the 16^th minute for the hosts to mount an attack on the Talbot goal, this coming from a Wardrope free kick which was easily dealt with at the expense of a corner which came to nothing.

The game settled down with Talbot on the ascendency as they probed constantly at the home defence with the Meadow attack coming by way of long balls up the pitch which was easily dealt with by the Talbot back line.

On the 36^th minute Talbot were dealt a blow when Shankland was badly injured when he jumped with two Meadow defenders trying to win a high cross that actually looked to be going well over their heads. The striker who had not started a full match since just before Christmas seemed to twist his ankle as he landed awkwardly near the hoardings.

After a few minutes it looked as he was in considerable pain and hobbled off to be replaced by Mason.

On 40 minutes Martin Findlay became the first player in Mr McDonald’s book after he deliberately pulled Glasgow back as the player outstripped him on the left wing.

After such domination in the game Talbot were to rue their missed chances when a ball over the Talbot defence was hoofed out the park by McCracken at the expense of a corner three minutes added on for the Shankland injury. The resultant set piece proved to be a lifeline as Wardrope sent over a pinpoint cross that was met by Gow who produced an explosive header that flew Leishman who had no chance to react.

The second half had just started when McLennan  was booked for a late tackle on Healy, and shortly after Talbot should have been back in the lead when Armstrong split the Meadow defence with a pinpoint pass into the path of Boylan who after a short burst towards the goals laced a tantalising ball across the front of goals that was just missed by Mason.

Talbot continued to press and a Glasgow cross was swung onto the head of Boyd whose weak attempt seemed to deceive Waters and he fumbled the ball out his grasp which was swept away by Whyte for a corner.  With so much pressure on the home goal Talbot were reminded that Meadow were still in the game when Slooves tried his luck from 20 yards but the ball fizzed past the post with Leishman in attendance.

Waters gave his defence another round of palpitations when an Armstrong cross was dropped in front of Glasgow but the keeper made up for his mistake with a fine save to deny Glasgow the goal.

Talbot were to take the lead on the hour mark thanks to the relentless work of Bryan Boylan who’s pace was giving the home defenders a torrid time. This time the striker weaved his way into the box before placing a shot that Waters did well to palm away, unfortunately for the Meadow the loose ball fell into the path of Aiden Wilson who shot was powerful enough to squirm over the line with Waters just not getting enough of his body behind the ball to keep it from going over the line.

Meadow change of personnel in the 65^th minute with G.Boyd coming on for Martin  while Hyslop replaced the hard working Boyd moments later. On the 73^rd minute Talbot won a corner which Glasgow took. The corner count was now in double figures but in most occasions they were poorly hit but this time Glasgow found the head of Boylan but unfortunately for him the keeper had sensed the danger and was well positioned to parry the ball which was then cleared from danger

With the game going into the last quarter Talbot replace Boylan with Samson as they strove to put this game to bed. Aaron Mason became the Talbot’s only yellow card after he flicked a sly kick in the way of Findlay but it was spotted by the referee who had no option but to caution the youngster.

With Meadow now committing players to the attack they were nearly two down when Glasgow threaded a ball through to Samson into the path of the onrushing striker. With only the keeper to beat he managed to round the keeper but somehow Waters got his positions correct and got his body in front of Samson’s shot.

With minutes remaining Talbot finally got the goal they were desperate for when like the Samson chance the ball came off a defender into the path of Glasgow who made no mistake by rounding the keeper and slotting the ball into the empty.

This killed the game as a competition and the remaining few minutes went by with little incident. Talbot had beaten Meadow an amazing five times this season putting them out of three cups into the bargain. It was a great feat but you got the sense that the players and the supporters of both teams were fed up looking at each other.

MEADOW: Waters,  Findlay, Willet, Slooves, Gow, Whyte, McLennan, Wardrope, C.Boyd, Martin, McCloy. SUBS: G.Boyd, Sivewright, Long, McKie, Angus, Latta, McLean(GK)

TALBOT: Leishman, Stafford, A.Wilson, McPherson, C.McCracken,  Armstrong, Healy, Boyd, Glasgow, Shankland, Boylan. SUBS: Hyslop, Mason, Samson, McDowall, R.McCracken, G.Wilson, White, Hewitt(GK)