Lost chances mean Killearn miss final

Aug 29 2008 by Jean Pedder, Stirling Observer Friday

DEANSTON 1

KILLEARN    0

YET another trophy slipped away from Killearn on Sunday, when they were unable to beat 10-man Deanston in the Telfer Cup semi-final at Drymen.

It started off well enough for Killearn and they carried most of the early threat, although they failed to cash in on their pressure.

They had the ball in the Deanston net after a goalmouth scramble but the referee ruled Alan More offside.

It was a keenly contested game and several players had their unwanted contribution noted. Deanston's David McAlpine was one whose name went into the book and in 32 minutes he took a pointless run at the Killearn keeper, earning himself a second yellow and instant dismissal.

The one-man advantage should have seen Killearn in Easy Street but they were still unable to score. Just before the break they were made to pay for their carelessness when Deanston left back Rob Mercer carried the ball out of defence and raced down the touchline. He seemed to have lost his chance when he played the ball too far forward but the Killearn defender dallied and was quickly dispossessed, allowing Mercer to carry on to the penalty area and cross for Alan Inglis to score.

Killearn came out full of menace for the second half and Ryan Campbell struck a post in the first minute – but that proved to be as near as they would get to scoring. Killearn missed chances galore, poor finishing, bad luck and excellent goal-keeping their downfall. They rang the changes in the side – some thought they were sacrificing skill for muscle – but nothing worked for them and in the end Deanston held on for a 1-0 win and a place in the final.

BLANEFIELD THISTLE4

THORNHILL1

SUNDAY'S Telfer Cup semi-final at Fintry was a close contest for an hour but once Blanefield went ahead the writing was on the wall for Thornhill.

Andy Bailey put Thornhill ahead with a magnificent 20-yard drive and there was nothing at all between the sides for the rest of the first half.

It looked as if Thornhill would carry their lead into the second half but, just as the oranges were being halved, Jimmy McNeill popped up to head in Blanefield's equaliser.

The teams carried on in the second half with a good old ding-dong of a cup tie which might have gone either way. With 15 minutes gone Mark Linning ran at the Thornhill defence, cut in and shot Thistle into the lead for the first time. After that they stepped up a gear and there was little that Thornhill could do to stop the inevitable.

Mark Linning added his second goal and when Adam Hopes was downed in the box regular penalty kick taker Drew Lowrie stood down to allow Mark Linning to complete a notable hat-trick.

Blanefield now face Deanston in the Telfer Cup final on Sunday, September 7.

BALFRON ROVERS0

GARGUNNOCK3

AN UNDER-strength Balfron side faced Gargunnock at Donaldson Park on Sunday to decide the remaining place in the MacGregor Ferguson Cup semi-finals.

Goals early in each half settled the well-balanced Gargunnock side and only in the last half-hour were they put under real pressure. By then they had a very comfortable three-goal margin.

Their first goal after six minutes was a beauty and of the unstoppable variety. Gargunnock won a corner on their left and right back Joe Monaghan arrived late to bullet a tremendous header into the Balfron net. That was the only goal of the first half but only 30 seconds after the interval James Rock scored Gargunnock's second in a goalmouth scramble. Ten minutes later Steven Drummond made it 3-0 with a header.

That should have been the end of the story but to their credit Balfron had much the better of the last half-hour and on another day their closing efforts might have given them something. Their back men broke forward on every possible occasion, delivering a tempting succession of crosses into the danger area, but Gargunnock held on with keeper Duncan Petrie showing that he is still much better than your average stand-in.

RESULTS

Sunday: Telfer Cup, semi-finals: Deanston 1, Killearn 0; Blanefield Th. 4, Thornhill 1.

MacGregor Ferguson Cup, round one: Balfron Rovers 0, Gargunnock 3.

FIXTURES

Saturday: MacGregor Ferguson Cup, semi-final: Kippen v Deanston (at Thornhill, 6pm).

League: Aberfoyle Rob Roy v Killearn (at Gartmore, 6.30pm).

Sunday: MacGregor Ferguson Cup, semi-final: Thornhill v Gargunnock (at Thornhill, 2pm).

Cameron Cup, semi-final: Blanefield Thistle v Fintry (at Balfron, 4.30pm).