Finnart were the visitors to the John Cumming Stadium for this friendly.

The day however, kicked off on a sad note with both teams and spectator having a minutes silence in remembrance of former Rovers committee member Brian Smith who sadly passed away earlier in the week.

Finnart having just won WOSFL Division 4 were a team full of confidence and they quickly showed there ability in this match and threatened the Rovers on several occasions.

Carluke almost took the lead with a fine shot from Jonny Wilson but the Finnart keeper pulled off an excellent save.

With more chances at either end it was Rovers who took the lead in this match thanks to Gareth Kerr who slotted home from in front of goal.

The game was pretty even but became more difficult as the referee chose to send off the Finnart midfielder for a kick out at Greg Kane, an offence that could surely have been handled better and perhaps just asking the Finnart management team to substitute the player.

You would have thought the numerical advantage would have helped Rovers but Finnart were still very much in the game and scored an equaliser in the second half with a fine shot that Adam Brown in the Rovers goal had no chance with.

The match looked like petering out as a fair 1-1 draw but a free kick deep in the Rovers half and with minutes remaining was quickly taken by the Carluke defender but his urgency in getting the gam moving resulted in a pass straight to Finnart striker. With the Rovers keeper well off his line the striker hit a pinpoint lob over the keeper and into the empty Rovers net.

This was an excellent run out for both teams and Finnart showed why they were worthy winners of the WOSFL Division 4. Finnart will be in Carlukes league next season and will certainly provide excellent opposition for all teams in the league.

Photography by Kevin Ramage