Season: 2016/17

A makeshift Talbot eleven were comfortably beaten by Bo’ness in this pre-season encounter at Beechwood.
The visitors took the lead in the 7th minute. A shy from the left found WRIGHT just outside the area turned he turned smartly before hitting a 1st time volley which flew over a surprised Hewitt into the roof of the net.
Bo’ness almost doubled their advantage in the 23rd min. Rod McLennan played it into the feet of Wright who laid the ball off into the path of Ruari McLennan. His low drive was heading inside the post until Hewitt dived low to his right to turn it wide.
Talbot’s 1st meaningful attack came in the 25th minute. Shankland squared it across for White & he drilled a shot inches wide of the right post.
The game meandered on without purpose in typical friendly fashion until 4 minutes before the interval when Bo’ness moved two ahead. A Bo’ness corner from the right was headed clear in the centre but only came out as far as WRIGHT whose shot from 15 yards crept past Hewitt with the aid of a deflection to send the visitors in 2-0 ahead at the interval.
The opening phase of the 2nd half passed without incident but when a chance did finally arrive it came for the visitors who should have moved three ahead in the 59th minute. Wright laid the ball out right to find Walker racing into space and his early cross found Ruari McLennan in the centre but he missed a sitter; side-footing it wide from 6 yards out.
Ritchie had a lucky escape in the 61st minute. Wilson was racing to get onto the end of Pope’s ball through the centre when the Bo’ness keeper flattened him outside the area. In a competitive game he might have seen red but the ref contented himself with awarding a free kick just outside the area. Shankland hit it, and his shot clipped the wall & sailed a cat’s whisker past the left post with the keeper beaten.
Talbot’s 1st effort on target came in the 68th minute. Wilson headed Hewitt’s long ball downfield into the path of Shankland & Ritchie had to turn his powerful drive over the bar.
A minute later Wilson came very close to pulling one back for Talbot. He turned on the left outside the area & curled a shot just wide of the left hand post.
Talbot were having a good spell but made and missed a few good chances in a short period.
Wilson nearly converted Pope’s cross at the back post and a few minutes later Wilson set up Shankland in the centre but he sclaffed his shot wide of the far post where McGoldrick couldn’t quite reach it to turn it home.
Wilson spurned a good chance to pull one back in the 74th minute. Shankland did well down the left & cut it back for Wilson but from 6 yard out he scooped it over the bar.
Bo’ness completed the scoring in the 76th minute. Talbot were caught napping at a short corner & Sloan slung a high hanging ball into the centre which MURPHY headed back across goal & inside the right post.
Talbot’s stretched squad was stretched thinner with 10 mins to go when Lyle picked up a facial knock & couldn’t continue, leading to a late cameo appearance from Tucker.
Next Saturday it’s down to business as Talbot visit Muirkirk for the opening game of the season.

Talbot – Hewitt, Lyle, Pope, McPherson, Boyle, Drummond, Michael McGoldrick, White, S Wilson, Shankland, Latta
Subs – Kirkpatrick, Sloan, Martin McGoldrick

Bo’ness – Ritchie, Gemmell, Donnelly, Murphy, Hunter, Ruari McLennan, Walker, Philp, Wright, Sloan, Rod McLennan
Subs – Eddington, Keast, Smith

Talbot shot themselves in the foot as they gifted three goals to a slick Kilmarnock side who cashed in on Talbot’s misfortune for the first two goals and then punished the Talbot defence for slack marking. Kilmarnock sent down a strong squad to Beechwood for the LSY Testimonial match and it was evident that they were not turning up to make the game nothing more than a spectacle.

The Rugby Park side made up their side with a host of new signings including five players who were on the bench against Morton the day previous. They also boosted the bench with a number of Development players who proved to be a decent back up.

The game was 2 minutes started when Andy Leishman pulled off a superb one handed save to deny ex-Spurs kid Souleymane Coulibaly. The same player opened the scoring on the 15 minute mark when  Adam Frizzell picked up upon slack play by Talbot and his pin point cross into the Talbot box was stroked into the net by the Ivory Coast internationalist.

Five minutes later Talbot were 2-0 down when once again they were caught in possession. The Killie visitors made sure Talbot were punished and after some slick play the ball was threaded through to ex Sheffield United youngster Callum McFadzean who passed the ball past Leishman and into the net.

The Talbot faithful must have been anticipating  an avalanche of goals and it took two great saves from Leishman who denied Albanian striker Flo Bojaj who is on loan at Rugby Park from Huddersfield Town on both occasions.

It took until the half hour mark before Talbot showed their hand when Bryan Young flashed a drive at the Killie goals but it was meat and drink for Davies. Minutes later Talbot were awarded a free kick about 25 yards out and Mark Shankland managed to get the ball over the Killie wall but his ferocious shot just curled past the post. Talbot looked like they had finally settled and seemed to have dammed the Killie flood toward their goal in the latter part of the half and actually had a chance to pull a goal back when Young cut into the box and his low cross was turned into the side netting by Steven Wilson.

Both teams showed changes at the start of the second half with Steven White replacing McPherson while Killie replaced Frizzell and Coulibaly with Hawkshaw and Liddington. Talbot were first to show when Milliken tried a shot from 30 yards but it went well past Davies’s goals, but it was thanks to Leishman who once again denied Bojaj with a spectacular save.

On the 55^th minute Talbot swapped Colin Spence for Willie Boyd and a minute later they forced their first corner. This was swung into the box where Gordon Pope seemed to be fouled going for the ball and referee Mr Wilson pointed to the spot. The penalty was taken by James Latta who hammered the ball into the body of Davies where the keeper seemed to let the ball squirm under his body and into the net.

Killie made a raft of changes on the hour mark and this paid dividends when Lewis Clark was left unmarked to power a header which was his first touch of the ball into the net to make it 3-1. Talbot hit back when Gordon Pope swung a superb ball away out to the wing where Shankland latched onto the pass, drove into the box and smashed a low pass right across the front of the Killie goals but unfortunately there were no takers. Talbot made a number of changes as the game started to peter out with new signing Danny Boyle replacing James Latta, Michael McGoldrick swapping with Steven Wilson and a keeper change with Brian Hewitt stepping in for Andy Leishman. “Butch” Young became the last change when he was replaced by his brother Mark.

The plethora of changes seemed to nullify the match and although both sides still made a good game of it there was little goalmouth action although the visitors were always the more dangerous.

Talbot can take a lot from this game as they came up against a well organized and ultra fit team which saw the “Bot” working very hard in every part of the pitch. Kilmarnock punished every mistake and although they will not come up against a team of this class in the coming season, mistakes will have to be few and far between.

TALBOT: Leishman, Latta, Pope, Lyle, Drummond, Spence, Young, McPherson, Milliken, Shankland, S.Wilson SUBS: Boyle, White, Boyd, Michael McGoldrick, Mark Young, Hewitt.

KILMARNOCK: Davies, Cobain, Boyle, I. Wilson, S. Smith, McKenzie, Dicker, McFadzean, Bojaj, Frizzell, Coulibaly SUBS: Lyle, Queen, Clark, Liddington, Hawkshaw, McLean, Dempsie, Whittaker, Morrison, A. Wilson

Talbot started their pre-season campaign with a hard won match against East Region cracks Newtongrange Star. The victory was more pleasing when you consider Talbot’s lack of players saw Tucker having to name himself as a substitute. As was said at the recent AGM three trialists were in the starting line up and the three lads put in a decent display which helped Talbot record their narrow win.

The game was only two minutes old when Mark Shankland tried a speculative shot from thirty yards. The keeper seemed to have misjudged the danger ad let the ball run by him which curled towards the goals and came off the outside of the post. This was the only action in a dull opening portion but on 22 minutes Shankland chipped a good ball over the Star defence which Bryan Young hit on the olley but the effort sailed over. A minute later Shankland launched a piledriver of a shot which Jackson got a hand to and the keeper was quick to react when he saved at the feet of James Latta who had pounced on the loose ball.
Young and Shankland were causing major problems for the visitors and on the 34^th minute Young turned provider when his cross was met on the volley byShankland but his shot went well over the bar. This was the last of the action in a stuffy first half.

Newtongrange made six changes for the second half ut it was Talbot who started brightest when Pope curled adecent ball into the box which Drummond headed into the hands of the keper. On the 57^th minute Sinclair hada chance to put the visitors ahead but a superb tackle by M
cPherson denied him the chance. Star were proving to be a bit more dangerous and had a decent chance when Lalley headed a Swaney cross past the goals. Talbot replaced the hard working Oke for Lee Sloan.

The deadlock was broken on the 67^th minute when Pope was allowed to tear down the left wing where he dinked a great ball through the defence into the path of Shankland who slotted the ball past Doddsthe substitute keeper. A minute later Star should haveequalised when Richardson latched on to through ball by O’Brian but McGoldrick was on hand to thwart the danger.

On 73 minutes the Young, Shankland combination caused a bit of mayhem in the visiting defence but thetricky one two between the players didn’t have the preferred outcome when Young shot well past. Twominutes later Shankland tested Dods with a low shot which the keeper saved easily, and a minute later Steven Wilson should have done better when he got his head onto a Latta cross but he put too fine a touch to it and the ball flew past the far away post. Wilson made

amends on the 80^th minute when he picked up a loose ball which he turned into the path of Shankland. The striker then left two defenders in his wake and chipped
the ball over the advancingDodds to put Talbot 2-0 up.

Star pulled a goal back a minute later when O’Brian picked hole in the Talbot defence and the dangerous Richardson had time to leave Leishman with no chance as he picked his spot. Willie Lyle picked up a slight nock near the end and was replaced by Steven White but that was last majot talking point as a patched up Talbot took the honours.

TALBOT: Leishman, Lyle, Pope, McGoldrick, McPherson, Drummond, S.Wilson, Young, Latta, Oke,Shankland. Subs. T.Sloan, L.Sloan, Kirkpatrick, White.