Glenafton Athletic

Glenafton Athletic travelled to Rothienorman in the heart of Aberdeenshire to face Rothie Rovers based at the village’s public park off Forgue Road. Rovers were formed in 1983 and played in the Aberdeenshire Amateur Football Association. In Season 2020/21 they joined the Scottish Junior Football Association and the following season they were crowned North Region Junior Football Association 2^nd Division Champions to gain promotion to the NRJFA Championship. They have had a great start to the season winning 4 of their 5 league games and sit 5^th in the 16 team league which includes Glen’s former Junior cup opponents – Banks O’Dee, Cruden Bay, Islavale, Newmachar United and Sunnybank. In their Scottish Junior Cup 1^st round tie Rothie beat Armadale Thistle 4-2 here at Forgue Road– something the Glens couldn’t do, having lost 2-1 at Armadale in the only meeting between the two sides in the Scottish back in Season 1965-66!

Both sides ran out onto to the immaculately kept pitch, which very much resembled the luscious neighbouring bowling green, in the bright sunshine accompanied with a nippy breeze.

Prior to kick-off Rothie Rovers kindly agreed to Glenafton’s request to hold a minute’s silence in memory of life-long Glenafton supporters Andrew Wylie & Willie Kelly and former Glenafton Boys club player Jack Grozier.

Although Rovers kicked off, it was visitors Glenafton that were first to threaten with Sean McKenzie winning a corner-kick in the opening minute that Jamie McKernon floated into the six-yard box where captain Craig Pettigrew won the ball in the air only for his claims of a push in the back to be waved away by the referee. Glens continued to press and Dylan O’Kane had a close range shot blocked by a line of defenders before McKenzie won another corner and Michael McMullin headed Leon Murphy’s kick wide of the post.

On 10 minutes McKernon, from the outskirts of the box, curled a high ball into the goalmouth where keeper Lewis Milne leapt high to clutch the ball cleanly under pressure from McKenzie. After mopping up a Rovers attack the visitors countered with a quick break which concluded with Murphy switching play from wide on the left to Paul Paton on the right who hooked the ball high into the goalmouth for the incoming McKenzie only for Milne to intervene and punch it clear at the near post.

Rovers responded through Lewis Hendry’s free kick from wide on the left, launched to the back post where keeper David Markey leapt to pluck the ball out of the air as Murray Cormack closed in.

A huge dark cloud began to drift over Forgue Park as Calvin Kemp whipped a dangerous ball from the right flank to the far post where Murphy sneaked in behind Scott Chalmers to try and guide the ball home from the corner of the six-yard box only for the keeper to fall to his knees and stop the ball with both hands at the base of the post while Chalmers was content to boot the loose ball behind as O’Kane threatened. McKernon’s kick was met at the far side of the box by Ollie Rowe who powered a header goalward that keeper Milne stopped with a strong hand and Ryan Walker hoofed it clear to set up a counter attack that fizzled out.

However, on 16 minutes back came the Rovers and enjoyed their best spell of possession in the contest thus far. Chalmers nicked the ball from Murphy on the right, just inside the Rovers half and then took McKernon out of play as he clipped the ball inside to Cormack who drove forward through the middle and giving Pettigrew the slip before drilling a low angled shot from 22 yards that drifted just wide of the post as Markey was scurrying across his line. Another Rovers break was foiled by Rowe as he stripped Stewart of the ball as he tried to control it in the “D”.  

The inevitable rain duly arrived as the home side continued to press. Hendry whipped another free kick from wide on the left into a packed box that was deflected wide for a corner which was hooked out the box by McKernon at the near post and Keith Walker’s attempt to gather the ball was impeded by O’Kane’s challenge.  The Glens’ wall lined up on the 18-yard line ready to block Stewart’s free kick but instead he played a low diagonal ball to the unmarked Hendry on the right-hand edge of the box where he zipped a low ball into the crowded box and fortunately for the visitors Rowe was in the right place to launch it clear for a throw just inside the Glens’ half. From here Rovers won another corner that was eventually cleared by a determined defence and won back by Rovers only for Markey to snatch the ball as Hendry challenged.

After surviving some seven minutes of intense pressure Glenafton broke the deadlock on 23 minutes against the run of play, it’s fair to say.  Down the left McKernon returned a short throw to Murphy who whipped a glorious ball to pick out Adam Caldwell’s run into the far side of the box who then took a touch before slipping a short pass to Paton who in turn back-heeled the ball with his right foot before Kyle Walker’s slide tackle whipped the left leg from him. However, as Caldwell claimed for a penalty Dylan O’Kane pounced on the loose ball and kept his cool to fire a low shot, as both Wood and Chalmers tried to block the ball with outstretched legs, which whizzed past the keeper on the line for the young striker’s first goal for Glenafton. Glens 1-0 up.

The rain abated and Glens with a new found spring in their step continued to push forward and the young Rothie keeper did well to race from his line to intercept a great ball into the box for McKenzie. Soon after the big striker chased down another ball into the box only for the impressive full back Craig Smith to time his tackle to perfection and clear the ball upfield. The one-way traffic continued as McKernon broke forward before cutting inside to hammer a shot from 22 yards that was deflected wide for a corner which was headed clear to the edge of the box where Murphy nipped in front of Stewart and to cleverly control the ball before cracking a shot that rattled of the cross bar. Rowe gathered the loose ball and rolled it back out to the inrushing Kemp who then clipped a high ball over the keeper’s head for McMullin at the back post only for the ball to crash off the post and rebound off the keeper’s chest and fortunately bounce along the bye-line rather than into the net.

Rovers weathered the storm and got themselves back into the game as an attacking force as play began to fall into a pattern of back and forth. Markey got down to save Stewart’s low shot from 22 yards and soon after leapt high at his post to hold the ball tight as Ethan Grant hoped topounce on any spillage.

At the other end McKernon’s corner kick to the back post was won in the air by a great leap from McMullin where claims that he was impeded by Stuart Gray were waved away. Soon after, another McKernon corner was clawed away from under the bar by keeper Milne.

Two minutes before the break the Glens doubled their lead. Rowe on the right, just inside the Glens half, launched a high ball into the box which took a bounce before Sean McKenzie killed it on his chest and then twisted and turned to shake off Wood before flicking the ball up and then as Ryan Walker closed in, lashed a shot from 7 yards out that the keeper could only deflect into the roof of the net.

HT Rothie 0 Glens 2

Glenafton made a change at the break with Leon Murphy making way for David Blyth.

A lively start from both teams began with a Rothie free-kick whipped into the box and Grant flashing a header over the bar. At the other end Milne clutched a McKenzie header from a Paton free-kick and soon after clawed McKernon’s corner away from under the bar.  

The visitors countered with Chalmers and Stewart combining down the right before the latter fired a low ball to the back post for the incoming Keith Walker only for McMullin to slide in and send the ball high over the bar. The corner was played short to Chalmers only for his shot to hit a defender and Keith Walker blasted the rebound wide of target.

Back came Glens through Caldwell laying the ball off to Blyth to burst to the right-hand side of the box before whipping a vicious ball across the face of the goal and hair’s breadth from the head of the inrushing McKenzie.

Play continued at a relentless pace and on 55 minutes the home side had a strong claim for a penalty kick. A high cross was played into the box and although McMullin and Hendry leapt together both missed the ball and as they chased to retrieve it, the former grabbed a handful of the latter’s shirt, but despite a host of Rovers arms raised in appeal, play continued and Chalmers chip to the back post for Keith Stewart was cleanly gathered by Markey.

Five minutes later Hendry and McMullin tussled for the ball again on the touchline directly in front of the dug-outs. The Rothie man slid in to rob the Glens man of the ball with both players ending up on lying on the ground and the referee clearly spotted something as they tried to separate, resulting in McMullin being shown a red card.

60 minutes played, Glens 2-0 up and a man down. brought a new complexion to the game.

Another incident near the dug-out saw Kemp take a sore one on the back of his heels and despite treatment had to come off, with James Martin taking his place.

The home side’s tails were up as they pegged the visitors back deep in their own half and also introduced fresh legs with Chris Wood making way for Bryce Dawson. Glens broke down another attack and countered with Blyth’s run through the middle only for Chalmers to win the ball back which was eventually played to Cormack wide on the left. From here he squared the ball into the box for Stewart only for Pettigrew to get the slightest of touches to divert the ball into the path of Smith who scoop it over the bar from close range.  70 minutes gone and a golden chance spurned to halve the deficit against 10 men.

To rub salt in the wound, two minutes later the Glens extended their lead.

Markey launched a back pass upfield that bounced on the outskirts of the Rothie box where McKenzie chased it down and held off a couple of defenders before rolling it back to O’Kane who quickly picked out Martin on the right hand side box from where he curled a high ball to the far side of the six yard box for McKenzie and Paul Paton, but the latter quickly sussed that Keith Walker was going to win the header and took a few steps back anticipating where the ball would drop before lashing an unstoppable shot into the net for his first goal for Glenafton. The visitors 3-0 up on 72 minutes as patches of blue sky reappeared.

Two minutes later and the Glens added a fourth. Rowe cut out a cross into the box and the ball was gathered by Blyth one the edge of the centre circle in the Glens half from where he clipped a perfectly weighted ball down the left wing for Sean McKenzie to beat the offside trap and show Dawson a clean pair of heels as he burst into the box. From here he turned the stubborn defender before the sharp-eyed sharp-shooter drilled a low shot past the back-tracking Gray on the six-yard line and keeper Milne.

Glens continued to press and Blyth switched play to O’Kane wide on the left who then cut inside before curling a shot from 25 yards that Milne cleanly clutched. Rovers responded with a quick break down the right that ended with Cormack lashing a shot from a tight angle that bulged the side-netting.

On 79 minutes Rothie made a double substitution with Keith Walker and Ethan Grant making way for Sam McAlley and Shaun Faskin.

Smith picked up the ball inside the Glens half and although his attempt to pick out Stewart’s run into the box deflected off Paton the ball still bounced into the box forcing Markey to rush from his line to punch it clear from the head of Stewart only for Cormack to collect the ball and with a peach of a pass found Hendry in the box who cracked a low shot that Markey did well to block with an outstretched leg.

With five minutes to go Rovers made another double substitution with Matthew Tewnion and Andi Bremner coming on for Lewis Hendry and Ryan Walker while Glenafton brought on Ryan Nisbet for Dylan O’Kane.

On 88 minutes Rovers openeded their account. Stewart gathered the ball in the centre circle and curled a ball down the right wing for Cormack to chase and cut into the box before progressing to the edge of the six-yard box from where he lashed the ball beyond Markey at his near post and across the face of goal where it deflected off the unfortunate Rowe and into the net.

Credit to the home side they refused to settle for a consolation goal and pushed for another. Bremner clipped a forward pass into the box for Stewart to chase down only for Caldwell to make a timely tackle with the outside of his boot that sent the ball into the hands of Markey and Stewart tumbling to the ground while the referee rightly waved away claims for a penalty.

To rub the salt into the wound (again) Markey launched the ball upfield where McKenzie held up the ball before being tripped by Dawson. A number of  Rothie  players lined up on the 18 yard line without forming a wall and up stepped Jamie McKernon to laser the free-kick into the top corner of the net with literally the last kick of the game. Glens 5-1 on 91 minutes and full-time.

FT Rothie 1 Glenafton 5

The hospitality shown before, during and after the match by Rothie Rovers was warmly received by Glenafton and their supporters. Rothie also produced what was their first programme for a competitive match and makes a precious addition to the collection.

Prior to kick-off, Glenafton manager Ryan Stevenson and Club Secretary John Stewart posed with Marie Walker, today’s match ball sponsor.  Marie sponsors a match ball every season and her support is greatly appreciated.

The Glens also donned the new home strip for the first time this season and the club is extremely grateful that local business Iain Watt Haulage Ltd. has sponsored both the home and away kits.

Glenafton Athletic welcomed East Kilbride Thistle to Loch Park for the 1^st round tie in the Clydebuilt Home Improvements Scottish Junior. The two sides last met in the competition in the 4^th round of Season 2016/17 at The Showpark with the visitors running out 4-0 winners and indeed they would go on to beat Auchinleck Talbot in the final.

Glenafton made three changes to the 11 that started against Bonnyton last week David Blyth, Dylan O’Kane and Cameron McKenzie making way for Leon Murphy, Calvin Kemp and Hugh Kerr.

Starting for East Kilbride was captain David Gray, a member of the Glens treble-winning (Scottish Junior Cup, Super League Premier Division Champions Evening Times League Champions Cup) side of 2016/17. On the bench was player / assistant manager Aaron Connolly leading goal-scorer in the Scottish Junior Cup finalist side of 2013/14 and Ayrshire League Cup winner the following season.

The visitors kicked-off on another gloriously sunny day in New Cumnock but things didn’t look too bright for them in the opening encounters.

Leon Murphy’s attempt to lob the keeper from wide on the left dipped over the bar. He then played a long one-two with Hugh Kerr before curling a cross into the six-yard box that was headed clear. Calvin Kemp won the ball on the outskirts of the centre-circle in the Thistle half and then fed Murphy down the left who promptly rolled the ball back to Kemp to clip a high ball into the box for the incoming Hugh Kerr and Sean McKenzie surrounded by three Thistle players. Kerr and Barry Russell challenged for the ball in the air but instead it fell to the feet of Sean McKenzie who managed to hold off Jordan Hutchinson before lashing the ball home from 6 yards out. Gens 1-0 up on 4 minutes.

Two minutes later Russell floated a free kirk from the centre circle to right hand side box where Sean Winter got the jump on Michael McMullin with a tremendous leap to send a looping header toward Jamie Longworth at the back post only for Ollie Rowe to intervene and head the ball clear.

At the other end McMullin won the aerial battle to get on the end of Jamie McKernon’s ball deep into the box and although his bullet header went through keeper Tam Kane’s legs Russell was on hand to hook the ball clear.

On 11 minutes the visitors equalised in spectacular fashion. It began with Hutchinson’s long pass up the left wing for Craig Hastings to gather but with his way into the box blocked he doubled back and picked out David Sinclair in acres of space in the middle of the park who took a touch before unleashing a shot from 35 yards that whizzed past players from both sides before bulging the net a foot inside the post.

Glens were soon back on the front foot after another good ball into the box by Kemp which eventually fell for McKenzie only for Hutchinson to get in the way of his shot from 12 yards. A corner followed soon after which created panic in the box and Kane forced McKenzie to play the ball back to McKernon who chipped the ball to back post for Kerr but his close-range header sneaked inches wide.

Thistle countered with Kane launching a goal kick long and high up the right for Winter to flick on with his head, taking two defenders out of play, allowing Longthorne to gather the ball and break into the box unimpeded and as Ollie Rowe closed in, he squared ball to Ally McDonald but from 6 yards out he clipped the ball past the advancing keeper David Markey and well wide of the back post.

Paul Paton from deep on the right fired a long diagonal ball for Murphy to collect wide on the left who then skipped past Winter before clipping the ball to the back post for Kerr to climb above Hutchinson only for his header to loop high over the bar. At the other end McDonald chased down a ball into the box but his low shot was comfortably held by Markey.

On 20 minutes the Glens regained the lead after Kemp intercepted Hastings infield pass to David Gray before breaking forward at speed, slipping past one defender then another before laying it off to Sean McKenzie who continued the run into the box before drilling a low diagonal shot that beat Kane to fly into the far corner of the net.

Glens continued to press and almost doubled their lead 7 minutes later after Sam McKee curled a vicious shot from the right corner of the box that dipped over the outstretched hand of the keeper only to crash off the base of the post and Murphy’s attempt to slot home the rebound slipped wide of the post.

Played then flowed back and forth with both sides searching for an opening with the better of the chances falling to the home side. A shot from Kemp inside the box flew inches wide and soon after McKee‘s shot was deflected wide of the post for the first of three corner kicks in quick succession the last of which saw McKernon  float the ball into the heart of the six yard box where Sean McKenzie rose head and shoulders above all comers to head the ball into the net to complete his hat-trick.

HT Glens 3 EK Thistle 1

Glens made one change at the break with Leon Murphy making way for Ryan Nisbet who switched wings with Sam McKee and it was McKee’s cross from the left into the box that Hugh Kerr rose to head home beyond the reach of the diving keeper from 10 yards out to put the Glens 4-1 up

Soon after McKenzie robbed Russell of the ball on the right-hand side of the box and squared it to Nisbet on the right touchline to whip a vicious cross into the six-yard box where the incoming Kerr beat the keeper to the ball only for the header the crash off the bar and McKenzie’s effort to bury the rebound deflected wide for a corner that was cleared. Kerr then met another Nisbet cross and his downward header bounced high into the air only for Kane to push the ball away with both hands.

On 55 minutes the Glens extended their lead after keeper Kane ran from his line to gather a long harmless ball into his box. He then threw the ball out the box in preparation to launch it back upfield only for the alert Hugh Kerr to rush forward and leap high in the air to block the ball sending it deep back into the box and then win the race to chase down the ball and stroke it into the empty net from a few yards out for 5-1.

Credit to Thistle they continued to plug away and forced a corner-kick that was cleared by Rowe’s powerful header.

A sixth goal and hat-trick for Hugh Kerr followed soon after. Kemp won the ball in the centre circle and picked out Nisbet wide on the right who clipped another dangerous ball into the box and although Russell prevented it reaching McKenzie the loose ball was about to be pounced on by Kerr only for Hutchinson to bring down. Kerr sent keeper Kane the wrong way from the spot to make it 6-1 with an hour gone. The smiling striker was then replaced with Dylan O’Kane leaving the pitch to loud applause. 

Longworth and Hastings combined well in the box but could find no way through to test Marky.

Markey rolled out the ball to Craig Pettigrew who squared it to Rowe who then launched a long high ball over the Thistle back-line into the right-hand side of the box where O’Kane, having beat the offside trap, was free to chase the ball down and gather it short of the goal line. From here he threaded the ball back between two back-tracking defenders to Sean McKenzie who instantly lashed it home from 7 yards out for his fourth goal of the game, despite Thistle concerns that there was no offside flag. 7-1 with 63 minutes gone.

Glens replaced Sean McKenzie with his brother Cameron and Sam McKee with James Martin, both players leaving to loud applause.  Martin took up his place on the right wing while Nisbet switched to the left.

C. McKenzie came close, after chasing down McMullin’s long ball into the box and lobbing the ball over the advancing keeper only for the ball to dip over the baR.

McKernon then pinged a ball from the middle of the park to Nisbet on the left-hand corner of the box from where he rolled it back to Michael McMullin who continued his run to the corner of the six-yard box before lashing a low shot into the net to make it 8-1 on 75 minutes.

Martin broke down the right before whipping a ball into the goal where O’Kane came within a whisker of getting his head to it, soon after Martin turned provider again as O’Kane burst into the box only for substitute Matt Gray to block his shot.

At the other end after some patient build up play from Thistle ended with David Gray cracking a low shot from outside the box that Markey did well to get down low and smother. Back came Glens and O’Kane skipped past a couple of defenders to drive to the far side of the six-yard box only for Kane to smother his attempt.

FT Glens 8 East Kilbride 1

Glenafton will travel to Rothienorman, Aberdeenshire to face Rothie Rovers, in the 2nd round if the Scottish Junior Cup on Saturday 24th September 2022, KO 2:30 pm. Rovers defeated Armadale Thistle 4-2 in their 1st round tie.