Venue: Recreation Park

Photography: Craig McGhee, Media: Lee Conn

FIVE STAR TALBOT CRUSH DARVEL

Talbot followed their impressive six goal fest against Pollok two days earlier by adding another five in yet another dominant display against Darvel.

Darvel made a reasonable start to the match and their early passing and distribution was giving Talbot a few issues in the battle for midfield control, however despite a few promising raids, the home side created little in the way of opportunity.

Talbot’s response was to give Jamie Glasgow freedom to roam as he interchanged between both flanks and through the middle. Gaps suddenly started to appear, and Talbot started to control the match and looked dangerous with every attack.

The first chance came in 15 mins when a neat passing interchange that was started by Slooves at the edge of his own penalty area and involved Gillies, Glasgow, Boyd and Boyle saw the latter release a ball from the halfway line that gave Smith the opportunity to chase and harass the home defence. Goalkeeper Howie looked to have the run covered but spilled the ball and was relieved when Ross’s attempted lob into the empty net was blocked.

A few minutes later, another swift passing interchange between Schoneville & Smith produced a cut back to Glasgow 25 yards from goal, this time coming in from the left. The young Darvel goalkeeper positioned himself well to deny the strike at his right hand post, but again he spilled the ball and was forced to make a further save to deny Luke Gillies’ on target effort.

Talbot had Darvel firmly under the cosh now and a vicious in-swinging Wardrobe corner from the left saw Howie under pressure again as Gillies beat him in the air at his near post, but his glancing header was thwarted as Sideserf kicked the ball off the line.

The goal was only delayed though and Darvel who had managed to find space in the early stages of the match were now struggling to cope with the high Talbot press and when Moore failed to control a forward pass, he was quickly dispossessed by Slooves who prodded to ball forward. Again, the Darvel midfield over dwelt on the ball and Gillies quickly tackled to steal possession. The loose ball was gathered by Smith who constant movement and distribution was causing Darvel no end of problems. Suddenly Talbot swarmed forward and Smith released Gillies on the left edge of the penalty area; this time he elected not to shoot but to direct a pass across the six yard box which was latched on to by JAMIE GLASGOW who gave Talbot a 23^rd minute lead.

Talbot doubled their lead four minutes later. Boyd won possession as he was picked out by a long ball from Schoneville. The striker did well to keep control and was able to regain his footing after being grounded in the dual for the ball. His cross field pass found JAMIE GLASGOW who this time popped up on the right hand side. The Darvel defence backed off as Jamie moved into the penalty area and a nice decoy run from Tariq Abed on the outside gave Jamie space and time to fire a well hit shot across the goalkeeper and into the net.

Talbot continued to dominate. Again, Smith’s movement was  to the fore as he firstly made space before releasing Schoneville on the left, his pace and trickery created space to find Gillies again on the left side of the penalty area. Luke, similar to creating the first goal, sent a dangerous low cross come shot into the six yard area that produced a fingertip save from keeper Howie to deny Wardrope at the back post.

The young goalkeeper denied the visitors a third goal, and Jamie Glasgow a hat-trick when he again produced a fingertip save at full stretch to deny an accurately placed shot that was destined for the bottom left hand corner.

Darvel briefly came into the match just before half time when Moore and Sideserf combined to create space on the right. The cross found O’Halloran who’s excellent first touch set up a half chance which he took on the volley but it sped across the face of the Talbot and the hosts were denied an undeserved lifeline back into the game.

The half ended with Talbot’s dominance again to the fore and despite strikes from Smith & Wardrope (who has recently extended his contract)  the score remained 2-0 in our favour at the break.

Any thought of a Darvel comeback was swiftly dispelled as Talbot picked up where they had left off at the start of the second period. Not only were they dominant in possession, they threatened with every attack.

Tariq Abed another top performer found space on the right as Darvel struggled to cope with his pace. Cutting inside, he fashioned a neat one two with the ever available Ross Smith before producing a cut back to find Connor Boyd whose first time volley was destined for the top left hand corner before keeper Howie clawed the ball from under the crossbar and onto the post.

The third goal was merely delayed though, and it came in the 51^st minute. Again, Ross Smith was full of running, this time directly through the middle. His intended pass to Gillies was blocked but still found its mark. In yet another flowing team move, Gillies found Wardrope on space on the left and he showed great composure before feeding the ball into the area to again find Gillies as he continued his run. The Darvel defence probably thought there was little danger, but a first time back heel found SCOTT SCHONEVILLE whose showed good control before hitting a left foot strike that crept inside the post to give Talbot a well-deserved 3-0 lead.

The threats continued as twice in quick succession Talbot opened Darvel up on the right hand side. Firstly, Glasgow found Wardrope in space and his cross into the area looked to have produced a tap in for Gillies until he was prevented by a last gasp clearance.

The roles were reversed in the next attack when it was Wardrope’s turn to release Glasgow whose powerful net bound effort produced a magnificent save from keeper Howie high to his left.

Darvel were chasing shadows by now but to their credit they continued to try to salvage some positives from the game and captain Syme got on the end of a free kick from the left hand side, but his powerful header was high and wide of Glavin’s left hand post.

The respite was short lived however as Talbot added their fourth goal on 67 minutes. Schoneville received possession on the left and level with his own penalty area. He quickly shifted the ball forward to Boyd who found Gillies on the left on the halfway line. The free flowing move continued with Gillies making ground before returning a pass to Boyd inside the penalty area. A quick feint from Boyd gave him the necessary space to reach the bye line before squaring across goal to provide ROSS SMITH with a well-deserved tap in.

Talbot replaced Glasgow, Abed, Smith, Boyle & Wardrope with Lennox, McCracken, Langan, Kennedy & Nimmo. ALEX NIMMO has been plying his trade for most of the season with the Development squad, so it was great to see him being used as a substitute in both tonight’s match and at the weekend against Pollok.

He was soon showing why he was given his chance when he was firstly put through on goal by Boyd only to see his net bound shot kicked off the line. However, his first goal for the senior squad was only delayed when in the 83min he was bundled over in the box and took the resultant penalty kick himself, calmly sending the keeper the wrong way to complete the scoring.

Auchinleck Talbot – Glavin, Abed, Schoneville, Slooves, McPherson, Boyle, Gillies, Wardrope, Boyd, Smith, Glasgow.

Subs – Henry(GK), Lennox, Langan, Kennedy, Nimmo, McCracken.

Darvel – Howie, Baird, Bronsky, O’Halloran, Sideserf, Murphy, Walker, Syme, Aitken, Paterson, J. Moore.

Subs – Leishman, G. Wilson, Hutton, Duncan, R. Cairns, Ronney, Dunlop.

Darvel

MURRAYS REPORT

Talbot came from behind twice to secure a valuable point and maintain their lead at the top after an end to end battle at Darvel played out in front of a bumper crowd.

As the rain and hail lashed down Talbot got off to a strong start winning in a free kick in a good area within the 1^st minute after Boylan was sent tumbling. Wardrope took it and his shot clipped the wall & flew just wide of the right post.

It was the Bot making the early running and Talbot had another chance in the 3^rd minute. Boylan whipped over a good cross from the right that Hyslop headed just wide of target.

Darvel showed their attacking intent in the 5^th minute when a ball down the left found Mackenzie running in behind McPherson. He squared it across to the far side of the area where Miller drove a low shot on target which Leishman saved well with his feet.

Leishman came to Talbot’s rescue again in the 13^th minute. McCracken’s pass from the back was intercepted and Darvel broke forward through Morrison whose shot from 22 yards was turned round the right post by Leishman.

The Bot then had a half chance down the other end when the Darvel defence failed to clear their lines as the ball zipped around their area. It eventually broke out to Aiden Wilson who blasted his shot well over the bar.

The opening goal came Darvel’s way with 21 mins gone. A ball through the centre caught the Bot defence square and MACKENZIE beat the offside trap to run through on goal and take it round Leishman before passing it into the net.

Darvel’s lead though proved to be short lived and Talbot drew level in their next attack in the 24^th minute. Wardrope found space on the left and crossed it into the area. It took a deflection and sailed to the back post where KIER SAMSON turned it home – taking a head knock in the process.

Talbot had the ball in the net again in the 27^th minute but the goal didn’t stand. Hyslop slipped the ball out to Boylan on the right and his cross hit off Caldwell and spun high in the air. Graham Wilson jumped with the keeper and forced it home but the ref awarded Darvel a free kick.

Two minutes later Talbot were denied the lead by the woodwork. Boylan gathered on the right and fed it down the line to the overlapping Samson. He swung a cross to the far post where Graham Wilson powered a header off the post with the keeper beaten.

The Bot were having a good spell and next to try his luck was Healy when he volleyed over the bar when he met a cross from the right.

The large travelling support & Talbot bench were enraged in the 32^nd minute when Miller raced onto a ball down the right. He looked about 10 yards offside but the linesman was way off the pace and kept his flag down. Fortunately, no harm came of it as Miller drove the ball across the face of goal but there was no one in the centre. The referee then came across to book Tucker for his protests and moments later McPherson was yellow carded for a challenge on the far side.

In the 37^th minute McCracken tried his luck from the edge of the area only to see his shot blocked and spin high toward goal. Graham Wilson pursued it in and challenged the keeper but he was booked for his trouble.

Healy almost gave Talbot the lead in the 38^th minute when he drilled a left foot shoot just past the left post.

Darvel now swept up the other end and regained the lead with a well-worked goal. A quick series of one-twos ended with MCSHANE rifling an unstoppable shot past Leishman from 18 yards to make it 2-1.

Talbot looked for an early response and won a free kick just outside the area when Graham Wilson was downed. Wardrope took it but got underneath it and lifted it well over the bar.

A minute from the interval Samson got a sore one when Caldwell went right through him resulting in a booking for Darvel’s full-back and soon after the whistle sounded and Darvel went in with a narrow lead at the interval.

When the teams re-emerged for the 2^nd half Darvel had made a change between the sticks with Avci coming on in place of Truesdale.

Just as they had from kick off Talbot made a positive start to the 2^nd half and threatened the Darvel goal within a minute of the restart. Boylan gathered on the left and skipped past Darvel’s right-back before floating a cross onto the head of Healy who nodded it over the bar.

Talbot missed a golden opportunity to level on 50 minutes.  Boylan drove forward through the centre before releasing it left to find Wardrope. He cut it back across goal where the defence failed to clear and it came to Graham Wilson who fired past the post from 15 yards.

Wardrope was next to have a go for Talbot. Boylan’s early ball found him breaking down the left. He cut inside onto his right foot but his shot lacked the power to test Avci.

In the 56^th minute Meggatt received a caution for impeding Samson as he made to get onto a through ball. Wardrope took the free kick and aimed it in toward McCracken but it was just a shade too far in front of him in the centre.

The Bot had another good chance in the 59^th minute when Boylan was sent free on the left. He raced into the area and knocked it wide of the keeper but went over in the box and was booked for simulation.

It was Talbot doing the pressing and the Bot had another glimpse at goal on the hour mark. Another ball threaded through the defence found Boylan on the left. He drove to the edge of the area and let fly for goal but a defender dived in to block his shot behind for the corner.

The heavy rain was making life difficult for the players and Avci nearly fell victim to it in the 63^rd minute when he slipped when going to make a routine clearance. He managed to recover and partially cleared it but only as far as Graham Wilson who bent a cross over from the left but there were no takers at the back post.

Darvel hadn’t offered much in the 2^nd half but they won a free kick in shooting range when McShane was brought down by Healy’s sliding tackle. Healy received a booking for the challenge and McShane took the set piece but it was easily held by Leishman.

In the 66^th minute Mackenzie had an opportunity to tie it up for Darvel when the ball broke kindly to him inside the penalty area but his low drive was brilliantly saved by Leishman low to his left.

Tucker made his first change of the evening in the 71^st minute when the tiring Samson made way for Glasgow and the change paid off immediately with Talbot levelling within a minute.

Wardrope cut in off the left and flighted a cross to the far side where Glasgow guided a header back across goal for DWAYNE HYSLOP to steer a header beyond the keeper.

Talbot were dealt a blow in the 74^th minute – firstly when they conceded a free kick just wide of the penalty area – but also as McPherson picked up a knock and had to limp off with Crawford coming on in his place. The free kick was flashed across the goal mouth and flew behind for the goal kick.

With 10 minutes remaining Talbot came agonisingly close to taking the lead. Wardrope’s cross from the left was only cleared out as far as Healy on the 18 yard line and his low drive took a slight deflection before sliding inches wide of the left post.

Talbot made their final change in the 82^nd minute with Shankland coming on for Boylan.

Both sides were tiring and Darvel’s no 10 and Glasgow both picked up cautions for fouls in the closing stages.

In the 87^th minute Talbot had a late chance when Shankland laid the ball off toward Graham Wilson on the right of the area. He burst through on goal but Avci was quickly off his line to slide it clear. The ball came to Glasgow 16 yards out but his shot was blocked by a defender.

In the final minute of regulation time Wardrope split the Darvel defence with a ball out to the left to find Shankland breaking in behind but he lost his footing on the slippy surface and the chance was lost.

As the game moved into added time Darvel pushed forward looking for a late winner but couldn’t find a way through and the game ended all square.

A good away point for Talbot who now face an equally tricky midweek visit to Blair Park to face Hurlford as the Bot look to maintain their lead at the top of the table.

Darvel – Truesdale, Allan, Caldwell, Eadie, Mackenzie, McShane, Meggatt, Miller, Morrison, Stirling, Thomson

Subs – Avci, Boland, Galt, Kirkpatrick, Little, Reid, Moore

Auchinleck Talbot – Leishman, Stafford, Aiden Wilson, McPherson, Craig McCracken, Healy, Hyslop, Wardrope, Boylan, Samson, Graham Wilson

Subs – Shankland, Glasgow, Crawford, Armstrong, Robbie McCracken, Hewitt

PHOTOGRAPHS BY PAUL FLYNN.