FRIENDLY
Glenafton Athletic	6 (2)	Kerr 2, McKee 3, Mullen
Lugar Boswell Thistle	1 (1)
Sat 20 July 2024	KO 1:00 pm	Loch Park, New Cumnock

Prior to kick-off a minute’s applause was held in memory of Jimsie Kirkland, who passed recently. Jimsie was manager of both clubs and several others in the ‘Ayrshire Juniors’.

Glenafton got off to a flying start after winning a corner on the left. Evan Maley drilled the ball low into the box towards the penalty spot for Shuggy Kerr only for the centre-back to clip his heels. Kerr picked himself and slammed home the spot-kick on 4 minutes.

Lugar quickly regrouped and enjoyed a good spell of possession in the Glens half keeping the home defence and midfield on their toes.

However, Glens threatened again on 11 minutes after McKee played a neat one-two with Kerr before leathering the ball from the outskirts of the box only for the keeper to pull off a great save, at full stretch to push the ball round the post.  Soon after Kerr’s header from a McKee cross flashed wide of the far post. Stephen McLelland under pressure from a defender on the left-hand side of the box did well to lay the ball off to Evan Maley to slip his way deep into the box only for his curling shot to be deflected wide for a corner, which like the previous one was cleared.

At the other end substitute No. 12 weaved his way to the edge of the box before laying it off for No.11 only for his shot to scream wide of the post. Indeed, it was No. 12 that drew the sides level on 26 minutes following some sustained pressure from Lugar after successive crosses into the box were headed clear by Ollie Rowe and then by Craig Pettigrew, the latter was chested down at the ‘D’ before drilling a low ball that was deflected wide and fell for No. 12 at the back post to guide home from 2 yards out as keeper Ally Semple scrambled along his goal-line.

The visitors continued to press through floating balls high into the box initiating some head tennis from McLelland, Ross Lindsay and Rowe, all winning their aerial battles, while soon after another high ball from a free-kick dipped over the Glens bar. Semple quicky gathered the ball and rolled it out to Pettigrew at the corner of the box to launch it upfield for Kerr to chase it into the box with No. 4 on his heels and although the Glens striker seemed to have lost control deep in the box, he held off the defender and rolled the ball back to the inrushing Sam McKee to first time a vicious a shot from 20 yards to fly between two defenders and beyond the reach of the keeper at full stretch. Glens 2-1 up on 33 minutes.

Two minutes later Michael Mullen was released down the right and with a free run into the box forced the keeper to advance from his six-yard box and block his shot with his shins. Soon after Kerr chipped the ball into the box for Mullen to skip past one defender only for a back-tracking defender to perfectly time his slide-tackle and block his shot from 7 yards out.

Back came Glens through Cammy Ross to burst down the right before whipping the ball into the heart of the box for Kerr only for his glancing header to be held cleanly by the keeper. Maley then attacked from the left floating a high ball to back post or the incoming Mullen but the keeper leapt to tip the ball away in the nick of time.

HT Glens 2 Lugar 1

Glenafton made three changes at the break with Ally Semple, Lyall Holding and Stephen McLelland making way for David Markey, Lewis Currie and Ryan Walker.

The home side enjoyed a blistering opening ten-minute spell beginning with a header from Kerr that flew inches wide of the post. On 50 minutes Ross, from deep and wide on the right, floated a cross into the heart of the box where Kerr leapt to send a high looping header that beat the keeper but slipped inches wide of the post.  Soon after, Ross switched play from wide on the right to wide on the left for Maley to gather and clip the ball into the six-yard box where the incoming Michael Mullen got between two defenders and with a cute back-heel nicked the ball over the head of the diving keeper,to score on his debut.  Glens now 3-1 up on 53 minutes.

Two minutes later Glenafton struck again. Ross Lindsay gathered the ball on the left and picked out Kerr in a busy Boswell box before breaking to the edge of the box to collect the return pass and feed Mullen deep in the box who knocked it back to Sam McKee to smash a low volley from 17 yards out and although the keeper looked to have it covered it slipped through his hands and into net.

Glens made a couple of other changes with Dylan O’Kane and Armand Dollani coming on for Cammy Ross and Michael Mullen.

The home side continued to press as Lugar, after a competitive first half, had seemingy lost their way. Maley released Kerr down the left to lob a high ball to the edge of the six-yard box where Dollani leapt head and shoulders above the centre-back to bullet a header wide of inches.

On 61 minutes Walker broke down the left and curled a ball high into the box as Kerr and Dollani lined up, only for it to go over the head of the former and although the full back blocked it from reaching the latter, it was a poor touch sending the ball deep into the six-yard box where Shuggy Kerr got the jump on the advancing goalie and poked the ball into the empty net from 4 yards to make it 5-1.

Some respite for the visitors as a break down the right created some panic in the Glens box as No. 12 looked to add to his tally only to be denied by a strong sliding-tackle by Pettigrew and although Lugar recovered the ball the follow-up attack was mopped up by Currie and the danger cleared.

Glens were back on the front foot with Maley breaking down the left before clipping a cross into the box where Kerr and No.4 leapt together only for the ball to bounce free and fall for Sam McKee on the right-hand corner of the box to laser an unstoppable shot which whizzed past the diving keeper and cracked off the inside of the post at the junction with bar before bulging the net. A fantastic hat-trick from Sam to put Glens 6-1 up on 70 minutes.

Walker came close to making it 7-1 after driving to the edge of the box before drilling a low shot beyond the reach of the diving keeper only to come back off the post.

Credit to Lugar as they camped in the Glens box for the closing ten minutes in search of a late consolation. The tall No. 10 gathered the ball in the six-yard box and although marshalled by Rowe and Markey he managed to squeeze it across the open goal mouth for No. 14 but again Pettigrew’s sliding tackle sent the ball behind for a corner. Rowe and Markey combined to clear but only briefly as Lugar picked up possession and No. 12 fired a shot from 6 yards that bounced off Rowe’s back and flew over the bar. From the corner on the left the ball eventually fell for No. 16 on the right hand side of the box to drill a low angled shot through a mass of bodies only to slip wide of the back post.

FT Glens 6 Lugar 1

GLENAFTON ATHLETIC
Glenafton Athletic: 1. Ally Semple (David Markey) 3. Lyall Holding (14. Lewis Currie) 4. Ollie Rowe 5. Craig Pettigrew (capt.); 2. Cammy Ross (16. Dylan O’Kane) 8. Stephen McLelland (14. Ryan Walker) 7. Sam McKee 6. Ross Lindsay 11. Evan Maley; 9. Shuggy Kerr 10. Mick Mullen (12. Amand Dollani)

LUGAR BOSWELL THISTLE
Sorry no team lines.

Match Photos

Glenafton Athletic v Lugar Boswell Thistle