Carluke Rovers travelled to Rossvale in at Bishopbriggs today for this West of Scotland League match. Rossvale are fighting for promotion so this was always going to be a difficult afternoon for The Rovers and so it transpired.

The game got off to a steady start in blustery conditions but it was Rossvale who seemed more at ease with the inclement weather. They were knocking the ball about well but without really threatening the Carluke goal. In fact it took until the 30th minute for the first real attempt on either goal and it proved decisive in the scheme of things as it resulted in a goal for Rossvale. The ball was played down the left wing and into the feet of the Rossvale No9. He then knocked it square to the No11 who with his back to goal was allowed to turn and fired in a low shot from 10 yards into the net to open the scoring. 1-0 to Rossvale.

Playing into the wind it was hoped that Carluke could hold out to halftime without conceding again which would have given them a fighting chance in the second half. However a couple of players switched off when Rossvale took a quick freekick down the right wing and allowed the Rossvale fullback to get a low cross into the box. The ball eluded everyone but when it was knocked back in from near the bye line there was Rossvale’s No9 on hand to slide the ball over the line from 4 yards out to make the score 2-0 after 41 minutes.

This was a little harsh on Rovers as they had limited Rossvale to only two attempts on goal in that first half but unfortunately both counted. Carluke’s first effort on goal came right on halftime but a Christy Lawlor freekick whistled past the right hand post. Halftime score 2-0 to Rossvale.

Carluke knew they had to start the second half quickly and score the next goal to get back into this game and it nearly came in the 50th minute. A corner from the right found Reiss Stewart at the backpost but his effort went agonisingly wide from a few yards out. Carluke were to rue this missed opportunity when a lack of concentration at the back allowed Rossvale to breach the defence and when Sanderson, in the Carluke goal, dived to smother the ball at the feet of the Rossvale player he was deemed to have brought him down and a penalty was awarded. This was duly dispatched into the bottom corner to make the score 3-0 and effectively give Carluke a mountain to climb.

It was about this time that Rovers manager Thomas Devine turned to what was a strong bench and rang the changes with several substitutions. This seemed to steady the ship and Carluke nearly got a goal back when after a direct freekick hit the wall the ball found it’s way to Dom Small but his effort went just over the bar.

However this was to be Carluke’s last effort at goal as only 2 minutes later Rovers Grant Mudd found himself booked for a second time for a foul on his Rossvale opponent and the Ref had no option but to send him off.

Rovers manager Thomas Devine had quite rightly made full use of his bench to try and instill some more urgency into proceedings and Rovers were playing with a bit more fluency but with the sending off It was now a case of simply managing the game out. However with 10 men and no more subs allowed Rovers were dealt a further blow. Captain Dom Small bravely went into a fifty fifty challenge which resulted in him twisting his knee. Although he battled on the management team made the correct decision to take him off. This left Rovers with only nine men on the pitch and they lost three rapid goals towards the end of the match being heavily outnumbered. The final score was 6-0 to Rossvale.

In summing up this was a chastening afternoon for Carluke Rovers on a day when every lapse was punished and anything that could go wrong did go wrong. This was compounded by the sending off and the injury to Dom Small reducing the team to nine men for the last 20 minutes. In short it was simply a day to forget against a very good Rossvale team but this result aside the team continue to make good progress as they build for next season.

Photography by Kevin Ramage