Report

MATCH REPORT BY MURRAY
Defence played attack in this midweek fixture and attack came out on top.
The visitors were up against it early on as they conceded a penalty in the 2nd minute. Milliken laid it off inside to Gillies and as he fired a shot for goal he had his legs taken from under him and the referee pointed to the spot. POPE stepped up to take it and coolly slotted home.
Talbot pushed hard for a 2nd goal to kill the game off and pushed Kello deep into their own half. Kilpatrick had an effort on target in the 10th minute but it was on his own goal. Lyle hit a good cross into the centre towards Milliken and Kilpatrick rushed back to cut it out and directed a header on target that fortunately for Dunsmuir & Kello was straight at the keeper.
Love tested Dunsmuir in the 13th minute when he let fly from outside the box, forcing the keeper to tip his drive over the bar.
Hyslop came close to doubling Talbot’s lead in the 16th minute, but it was the Kello centre-half rather than Talbot’s midfielder. Once again a Lyle cross caused the problem with Hyslop glancing a header just wide of his own right hand post.
There was a moment of controversy in the 18th minute when McGoldrick left a ball in behind for Johnstone after a shout from the keeper. Johnstone came to claim it just outside the penalty area and collided with Paterson but the ref saw nothing amiss and waved play on.
Dunsmuir made a good stop in the 19th minute to deny Milliken when the Bot forward hammered a low drive from distance that the Kello keeper saved to his right.
The keeper could do nothing a minute later though when Talbot doubled their lead. S WILSON raced into the area past a static defence and passed it into the net to make it 2-0 to Talbot.
Talbot were a fraction from extending their lead in the 22nd minute. Wilson intercepted a clearance and laid it off to Love who in turn squared it to Gillies whose shot was turned onto the underside of the bar by Dunsmuir.
The non-stop pressure continued and Talbot almost made it 3 on the half hour mark. Gillies fed it up the right to Wilson who whipped an early cross into the centre which Hyslop just couldn’t reach.
The 3rd goal did finally arrive in the 38th minute. Hyslop slipped a good pass into the feet of LOVE on the left of the area and he turned smartly away from his marker before firing past Dunsmuir.
There was no let up from Talbot who kept pushing for more goals but Kello managed to hold out until the half time whistle.
Tucker made a switch at half-time with Findlay on for Hyslop but otherwise the half went much as the first; only with fewer goals to show for Talbot’s dominance.
Findlay was only inches away from making an immediate impact. Love got free down the left & fired a pacey ball across the face of goal which Findlay just failed to connect with for a tap in. The defence scrambled the ball to the edge of the area where Wilson drilled a shot on target that went straight at the keeper.
The half was only 2 minutes old when the woodwork came to the visitors rescue. Love superbly lobbed the ball over Dunsmuir from 18 yards out only to see his effort come back off the face of the bar.
Kello made their 1st change in the 53rd minute when Thomson came on in place of Houston and they might have pulled a goal back two minutes later when Hill met Paterson’s corner and glanced his header just wide of target.
Kilpatrick had his name taken in the 56th minute for a late challenge on Wilson.
Dunsmuir came to Kello’s rescue just before the hour mark. Pope swept a dangerous low ball into the centre where Findlay directed it on goal, only for the Kello keeper to block with his legs. The ball came back to Findlay who knocked it across the face of goal but it didn’t fall for a Talbot player.
Two minutes later and Talbot came close again. Gillies fired the ball across the face of goal where Love tried to flick it home from close range. His effort was blocked into the path of Findlay who fired on target but Dunsmuir was behind it to make the stop.
The keeper was having a busy evening and produced a top save in the 63rd minute when he stretched to his left to touch Lyle’s net bound shot just wide of the post.
Tucker made a further change in the 66th minute when Wells came on in place of Milliken.
Talbot completed the night’s scoring in the 68th minute. LOVE timed his run to perfection to race in behind the defence down the right channel and steer a shot across the keeper and inside the right hand post.
Gillies had two chances in quick succession to add to Talbot’s tally. Firstly he latched onto Love’s cut back but drilled his shot straight at Dunsmuir and moments later he got onto the end of Lyle’s cross to glance a header just past Dunsmuir’s right post.
Talbot hit the woodwork once more in the 78th minute. Pope hit a great ball into the far post where Wells stretched out a leg to meet it, only to see his effort flash off the crossbar.
The closing stages saw Talbot camped out in the Kello half but unable to add to their lead and the game finished 4-0 to Talbot.

Talbot – Johnstone, Lyle, Pope, McGoldrick, White, Hylsop, Latta, S Wilson, Gillies, Love, Milliken

Subs – Young, Findlay, Wells, G Wilson, Shankland

Kello Rovers – Dunsmuir, Hill, Houston, Bennie, Hyslop, Kilpatrick, Weir, Shaw, Hampson, Paterson, Pagan

Subs – Thomson, McGinley, Ballantyne, Smith, Kennedy