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20/8/'14 : ARDAGH GLASS CUP - SECTION 4
MUIRKIRK 0 LUGAR BOSWELL THISTLE 4
Lugar kept alive their hopes of qualifying for the quarter-finals with a comfortable victory at Burnside Park. Two goals in the first three minutes set them on their way and Muirkirk never really recovered.
Two minutes in, a ball into the Muirkirk box was played back to Iain McCreadie who blasted a low shot past 'keeper Shaun Kirkland to give the visitors the lead. Sixty seconds later Kirkland pushed out a dangerous shot from Alan Orr but only as far as Craig Muir who nodded in goal number two.
'Kirk should have got a goal back when a cross from the left by Martin Griffin was headed past the post by Jason McCuaig. Lugar remained in control, however, and Kirkland did well to parry Andy Boyle's shot after the latter's impressive run down the right.
The third goal came in the twentieth minute when Chris Todd ran on to a through pass and was brought to earth by a double challenge from Kirkland and Paul Flaherty just inside the box. Referee Ross Menzies saw Flaherty as the offender and showed him the yellow card before Stuart Wark thundered in the spot-kick that ended any prospect of a Muirkirk comeback.
The home side did make some headway though, and a long cross by Griffin had to be palmed away by goalkeeper Ryan Kelly. A corner from the right by Billy Arthur gave McCuaig another chance but, as before, the header missed the target.
The visitors ended the half on top and Wark brought a good save from Kirkland after the striker showed great persistence to win the ball on the left wing. A cross from Alan Orr fell just behind Wark and, although the latter managed to spin and get a shot in, Flaherty was able to block it on the line.
After the break, as the wind blew colder, there was little to warm the spectators up. Wark scooped a shot over the bar from Orr's pass and a deflected effort from Muir was held under the bar by Kirkland but 'Kirk had slightly the better of the exchanges.
Griffin should at least have hit the target after finding himself through on goal then a cross from substitute Jack Campbell beat Kelly but was headed behind by David Roxburgh. Diarmuid Turnbull hit a shot from the edge of the box that cleared the crossbar, and Shaun Gallagher fired wide off a centre by Griffin.
Five minutes from time Lugar made the home side pay for their profligacy when Todd pounced on a slip by Arthur and played the ball through to sub Allan Paterson who gave Kirkland no chance with a low shot. Right at the end Lugar almost scored again when sub James Ferguson struck a shot on the turn off Paterson's cross but Kirkland dived to save and, in fairness, Muirkirk didn't deserve to lose any more heavily.
MUIRKIRK : Kirkland, Bryson, Gilmour, Flaherty, McCuaig, Arthur, Turnbull, McAllister, Boyle, Gallagher, Griffin.
Substitutes - Campbell, Quitongo, Hilston, Blair, Smith.
LUGAR BOSWELL THISTLE : Kelly, McGeady, Biggart, Roxburgh, Muir, Douglas, Boyle, McCreadie, Todd, Wark, Orr.
Substitutes - Wilson, Paterson, Ferguson, Lyle, Menzies.
16/08/2014: ARDAGH GLASS CUP - SECTION 4
CUMNOCK JUNIORS 1 LUGAR BOSWELL THISTLE 1
Unfortunately Martin Rogan, our 'Rogan Reporter', was unable to attend the match due to a hospital appointment. Here's hoping you are on the mend Martin and will be back soon.
Lugar made one change to their line-up from Wednesday's match as new signing Steven Shankland was unavailable due to work committments. Roddy Paterson took his place in the starting eleven. Cumnock kicked off into the driving wind and rain that was set to prevail for the duration of the game and the Premier League side showed their intent straight away as they surged forward in numbers. Perhaps the 'Nock' management had done their homework on the visitors and reckoned they were susceptible to losing an early goal as they had done in some of their earlier matches. But this time Lugar were better prepared for the early onslaught and dealt with whatever came their way.
Loan signing Ryan Nisbet fired in a shot from 25 yards that just went wide, then striker, Paul Quinn shot from the same distance, but his shot went well over the bar. Cumnock's goal attempts from outside the box continued and this time Colin Williamson foud the back of the enclosure with his effort.
The game then threatened to boil over when a through ball found Lugar's David Roxburgh and Cumnock's Robert Love tussling for the ball. The Cumnock player seemed to spin round and Lugar's keeper, Cammy Menzies, collected the ball but his momentum carried him on and he collided with Love. As the Nock player fell to the ground Menzies stumbled over him and it appeared to those quite a bit away, falsely I hasten to add, that he had actually stamped on the player. There then followed a bit of pushing and pulling that was not helped by the ref's persistant blasts on the whistle as it seemed to make it look worse than it was. When the dust finally settled Menzies and Quinn both found they were in the ref's book for aggressive behaviour. Lugar's goal efforts were few and far between, but one breakaway attack saw Ally Semple reactig smartly to smother an Ian McCreadie shot following a good ball from Craig Muir.
Roddy Paterson also tried a long range effort but it was poorly struck and went wide of the target. Play again switched back to the visitors end of the field and a Quinn header was well held by Menzies. The Lugar keeper was in top form and his heroics were proving to be more than a match for anything the home side flung at him. But with the clock ticking down to half time it was the under pressure Lugar side that got the breakthrough. Allan Paterson got the better of a couple of defenders and he burst through to a one on one with Semple. The Lugar winger calmly rounded the keeper and struck a shot low into the net for the opening goal. This proved to be the last action of the half as referee Chris Graham blew for the interval straight from the restart.
Half Time Cumnock 0 Lugar 1
The second half provided the watching faithful with more of the same, wind, rain and a lot of huffing and puffing from both sets of players, but again, although Cumnock had by far most of the possession, they seemed devoid of any worthwhile tactic or idea of how to overcome a resolute Lugar rearguard other than route one, lump it forward and hope something happens. So much so that there was practically nothing worth noting for most of the second period other than that it was the Cammy Menzies show as time and time again he thwarted the Cumnock attacks. But I suppose when you have as much pressure as the home side had, something had to pay off eventually and it duly arrived with about 15 minutes left. Semple took a free kick from 20 yards inside his own half and swung the ball into the Lugar penalty area, this time the Thistle defence were caught out, Chris McKnight was able to rise up behind the defenders and his header looped up and over a stranded keeper for the equaliser. It was backs to the wall stuff now for Lugar as they found themselves down to 10 men for the remaining minutes. Defender David Mathieson was forced off injured and as the Bunnets had used all their subs they were unable to replace the hospital bound player. Lugar did hold out however and were obviously the happier of the two sides when the final whistle sounded.
13/8/2014 : ARDAGH GLASS CUP - SECTION 4
LUGAR BOSWELL THISTLE 3 KELLO ROVERS 1
Lugar secured their first win of the new season against a Rovers team that is still a work in progress.
The home side had enough chances to put the game beyond Kello in the first half-hour but Ryan Dunsmuir proved a significant obstacle. The goalkeeper blocked a shot from former Girvan player Alan Orr in the opening minutes after a good pass from Allan Paterson and when he wasn't good he was lucky, like when a Paterson shot off Steven Shankland's centre struck him on the leg.
A certain inability to hit the target also helped keep the scoreline blank as Stuart Wark headed Iain McCreadie's corner over the bar, then Orr did something similar off a Paterson cross.
For all their pressure, Lugar could have fallen behind when, in Kello's first meaningful attack, Robert Hampson went on a run down the left and hit a cross to the far post where Stephen Auld headed wide when it seemed easier to score.
The breakthrough for Lugar came after 31 minutes when Paterson sent the ball in low from the right and, although Shankland failed to make contact, Orr ran in at the far post to prod the ball into the net.
Five minutes later it was 2-0 after Rovers failed to clear a corner and when Orr slung the ball back into the box, Craig Muir was on hand to smash a shot past Dunsmuir and in at the 'keeper's right-hand post. Muir almost repeated the trick minutes later but this time the ball flew wide.
Dunsmuir then palmed away a cross from Orr with Lugar players lining up at the far post to knock it in but Rovers again passed up a golden opportunity when Kieran Pagan missed the mark from point-blank range off a deep cross from the right.
Kello did get back into the game six minutes into the second half when Auld hit a snap shot from the edge of the box that beat Cammy Menzies by his right-hand post. Martin Shaw came close to equalising with a 25-yard free that just cleared the bar but in the 59th minute Paterson restored Lugar's two-goal advantage when he fired a low shot past Dunsmuir after a good run down the right.
Blair Wilson missed a good chance when he shot wide off a low cross by Orr while Kello's best chance of a second goal went begging when Shaw hit a shot past the post following a free kick by Auld.
The second half produced less goalmouth action than the first but Lugar almost got a fourth goal when substitute Rodney Paterson showed good skill on the left wing before striking a dipping shot that rattled the crossbar with Dunsmuir beaten. There were no further goals though, and the home side will no doubt be satisfied with the win if not the winning margin.
LUGAR BOSWELL THISTLE : Menzies, Mathieson, Biggart, Roxburgh, Muir, Wilson, A.Patterson, McCreadie, Shankland, Wark, Orr.
Substitutes - R.Paterson, Bennie, Todd, Fergusson, Crolla.
KELLO ROVERS : Dunsmuir, Bell, Orr, Shaw, Kilpatrick, Ross, Auld, Bell, Hampson, Jardine, Pagan.
Substitutes - Bennie, Aitken, Gall.
9/08/2014 Ardagh Glass Cup
Talbot 7 Lugar 0
Talbot were in seventh heaven on the opening day of the season as Graham Wilson and David Gormley both grabbed hat-tricks against a new-look Lugar side. Lugar had the wind at their backs in the first half but it was Talbot who blew the visitors away with some powerful attacking play.
Just three minutes in Wilson took a through pass from William Boyd and placed a shot past 'keeper Cammy Menzies to give Talbot the lead. Lugar actually enjoyed their best spell of the game in the next ten minutes or so and former Lugar favourite Andy Leishman was fully occupied in the Talbot goal. First he saved from Marti Watt after some defensive indecision then he blocked a Chris Todd effort with his foot after Allan Paterson had created the opening. Leishman also dived to hold a David Roxburgh drive but the Lugar storm soon abated and Menzies was in action at the other end saving shots from Boyd and Dwayne Hyslop.
A low centre from the left by Gormley undid the visiting defence in the 25th minute and Hyslop swept the ball into the net to double to double the lead. Three minutes later it was 3-0 after Lugar conceded a free kick just outside the box and Wilson hit a perfect shot into the top left-hand corner of Menzies's goal.
Talbot were rampant now and Lugar were saved by the woodwork on two occasions as Hyslop hit the post and Wilson rattled the crossbar. Three minutes before the break, however, Gormley took a pass from Wilson and fired in goal number four.
Auchinleck started the second half as they had finished the first and Lugar's attempts to push forward simply provided further openings for their opponents. When one such attack broke down in the 52nd minute, Gormley raced clear down the left and slotted in goal number five.
Both teams took the opportunity to bring on substitutes in the second half but Talbot remained dominant. Lugar couldn't really compete in midfield and, with so many new players in the team, they resembled eleven characters in search of an author.
A straightforward header by Wilson off a corner from Kenny Connolly gave the striker his hat-trick in the 68th minute and Lugar boss Carlo Walker's frustrations boiled over after Talbot were awarded a penalty in the 73rd minute. Gormley robbed Stuart Peacock on the end-line to the right of the goal then went down under Craig Muir's challenge. Ref Steven Reid gave the penalty and Gormley secured his hat-trick from the spot. That completed the scoring on an afternoon that proved little for either side. As expected, Talbot won in a canter while Lugar still have work to do if they are to make a team out of their current collection of individuals.
AUCHINLECK TALBOT - Leishman, K.Connolly, Pope, Lyle, McCracken, Hyslop, Latta, White, Gormley, Wilson, Boyd.
Substitutes : C.Connolly, Spence, Armour, Young, Kerr.
LUGAR BOSWELL THISTLE - Menzies, Roxburgh, Orr, Peacock, Muir, Douglas, Paterson, McCreadie, Shankland, Watt, Todd.
Substitutes : Ferguson, Reilly, Mathieson, Wilson, Kelly.