PDM Buildbase WOSFL | Match 12	04/09/2021 KO 2:00pm	Loch Park, New Cumnock
Glenafton Athletic	1 (0)	Pettigrew
Bonnyton Thistle	0 (0)

Glenafton hosted Bonnyton Thistle from Kilmarnock, in the first competitive game between the two clubs. The club is managed by Kilmarnock legends, Alan Robertson and his assistant Paul Wright.

Glens made a couple of changes to the side that drew at Blantyre Victoria.  Sam McKee returned to the front line with Sean McIlroy dropping to the bench while Darren Curtis and Gregor Fotheringham filled the central midfield slots vacated by the injured Cammy Marlow and Aaron Miller.  

Filling the right back position for Bonnyton Thistle was Rhys Wallace who had a brief spell with Glenafton before the club closed down for Season 2020/21.

Indeed, it was Wallace, along with Dylan Stevenson, that was heavily involved in the first attack of the game down the right flank that won the visitors a corner-kick in the opening 30 seconds! Taken short, the ball was then played into the box where it eventually fell for No. 10 who blasted his shot high and wide of target from the edge of the box .

Glens responded immediately through Pettigrew’s long pin-point pass picking out Sean Bennie tight on the right wing who cushioned the ball brilliantly, before breaking forward to square it for Leon Murphy deep in the box and although his cute touch evaded a defender the ball rolled across the face of goal to be mopped up by Wallace.

On 2 minutes Ollie Rowe gathered a pass from keeper Daniel Sloan at the edge of his own box and slipped past the incoming forward before launching a long ball up the middle for Gregor Fotheringham who burst between two defenders before killing the ball with one deft touch and then with another curling it past the keeper Stephen Barr and into the net.  But no, the far side linesman flagged for offside!

Matters settled down after the frantic start and play got bogged down with keepers occasionally called upon to make only simple catches.

Sam McKee won Glens first corner kick which was played to the far side of the box where Pettigrew gathered and made space for a low drive that was booted clear by Wallace.  McKee then picked up a pass from Fotheringham and skipped past a clutch of blue shirts before shooting from 22 yards which Barr got down low to push away. Wallace was on hand again to clear up and set up a counter-attack which ended with the striker being robbed of the ball by Pettigrew before he could set up a shot from the edge of the box.

Murphy made a great run into the box only for his shot from 12 yards to be blocked by the advancing keeper and the ball quickly recovered by Fotheringham only for his cross to be cleared for a corner-kick which was taken by David Blyth and cleanly clutched in the air by Barr.

On 20 minutes Pettigrew, from the left, clipped a ball into the box where Murphy got the jump on the defender to bullet a header downward only for Barr to get a late hand to the ball and push it round the post for a corner; which the keeper again claimed securely.

Alan Cairns and Bennie then combined to clear a free-kick floated into the box as Thistle too struggled to make the most of their set pieces; while many of their high balls from open play were headed clear by Rowe and by some distance.

Another Glens corner was headed to the edge of the box where Pettigrew trapped the ball and lashed a shot through a busy box that whizzed wide of the post. Murphy won another corner-kick which came to nothing.

Fotheringham released Murphy down the right and with his way into the box blocked he wrong-footed the defender before curling a dipping shot that Barr pushed over the bar with one hand. Rowe’s looping header from the resulting corner was comfortably gathered by the goalie.

Thistle enjoyed a good spell of pressure after Kris Kerr worked his way deep into Glens’ box but was robbed of the ball by Darren Curtis only for Wallace to recover it and whip it back to the near post where Kerr was beaten to the ball by Rowe at the expense of a corner. This eventually fell for Kerr at the far side of the box only for his cross back into the box to be cleared by the Glens defence.

At the other end Barr comfortably gathered crosses from Fotheringham and then from McKee as Mark Gilmour threatened. Murphy won a couple of corner kicks, one of which was comfortably cleared and the other ended with Rowe’s powerful header blocked on the line, catching the defender sore in the bread basket.

In the last action of the half Cairns floated a high free kick into the six-yard box where Barr, under pressure from both Rowe and Bennie, leapt to push the ball over the bar with his finger-tips. The corner-kick was headed away by Wallace as the whistle blew.

Ht Glens 0 Bonnyton 0

In the early action of the second half Thistle’s keeper continued to deal comfortably with high balls into the box clutching a couple of free-kicks while a third was headed wide by Pettigrew.

Attempts at goal from open play were thin on the ground not for the want of trying particularly from the home side when some decent attacks often broke down in or around the box. Their corner-kick count continued to mount but again the keeper wasn’t seriously tested.

At the other end Sloan was only called upon occasionally and when needed he handled and distributed the ball well.

On 63 minutes McKee’s deflected shot earned the hosts another corner kick which ended with Pettigrew’s downward heading bouncing wide. Kerr made a good run through middle slipping the ball to the left but the incoming cross was cleared and then recovered allowing Kerr to turn and shoot but rather tamely into the hands of Sloan.

The home side continued to enjoy the lion’s share of possession but couldn’t conjure up an opening and Pettigrew’s shot from 25 yards roared over the bar.  Corner-kicks came and went, including one which saw Rowe’s downward header bounce up and sneak wide of the post. Soon after, Murphy’s run into the box concluded with his attempt to lob the outrushing keeper drop over the bar.

Thistle responded with Kerr’s angled shot from inside the box being blocked by Curtis and the ball retrieved by Wallace to drive to the bye-line and whip a ball across the face of goal which Sloan held firmly with both hands.

On 76 minutes Glens made a double substitution with Jordan Ryan replacing Sam McKee and Scott Sherrie coming on for David Blyth and both were soon in the thick of the action.

Sherrie’s corner from the right was partially cleared and recovered wide on the left to be played back into the heart of the box where the incoming Rowe’s header flew over the bar.

Murphy picked up the ball in the middle of park and squared to Gilmour to release the ball forward for Ryan to chase down in the box only for his attempted cross to be deflected wide for a corner. Sherrie’s corner, deep in the six yard was won in the air by Ryan only for the ball to bounce back out to Sherrie who clipped it back to from where it came, and in a flash Craig Pettigrew bulleted a header home from 8 yards out.  The captain’s celebrations were of a similar quality as the Glens broke the deadlock on 80 minutes.

Two minutes later Thistle won a free-kick on the left-hand corner of the penalty box only for the Glens’ wall to do its job as Curtis blocked the ball.

There was a new found sense of urgency as Thistle fought to find an equaliser while the Glens didn’t sit back but instead went in search of a second.  The final action fell to Bonnyton with a corner-kick which was headed over the bar.

FT Glens 1 Bonnyton 0

GLENAFTON ATHLETIC

1. David Sloan 2. Sean Bennie 4. Ollie Rowe 6. Craig Pettigrew 3. Alan Cairns  7.. 18. David Blyth (17. Scott Sherrie) 8. Gregor Fotheringham 5. Darren Curtis 13. Mark Gilmour 7. Leon Murphy 11. Sam McKee (10. Jordan Ryan). Subs Not Used : Ryan McChesney, Calum Thomson, Brian McGarrity (gk)

BONNYTON THISTLE

Match Photos

Glenafton Athletic v Bonnyton Thistle