It was the turn of Dalry Thistle to visit the John Cumming Stadium in the WoSFL game. This would be a good test for Carluke against a mid table team to gauge how far they have come since their poor start to the season. Carluke welcomed back Dom Small and Christy Lawlor to the starting line up.

The game got underway with Carluke playing with a slight wind at their back. The pitch was slick following the rain before kickoff and that was to make it difficult for both teams in the first half.

After a cagey start it was Carluke who were to create the first clear cut chance when the ball was slipped through to striker Connor Curran midway inside the box but as he tried to slide the ball under the advancing Keeper it was blocked.

In the 20th minute Dalry created their own first opportunity when a ball played into the Carluke box ricocheted off a couple of players before being fired over the bar by the Dalry No7.

The first half was evenly matched with very few chances and any that were created were well managed by both Keepers. However just before halftime the Dalry No9 bustled his way through the Carluke defence but was falling back when he struck the ball and his effort went over the bar. This was the last action of the first half and the teams went in at 0-0.

The second half got underway with both teams knowing that the opening goal could be all important in such a tight match and Carluke came out in determined mood. It took them only 3 minutes after the re start to create the best opportunity of the match. A Carluke shot was firstly cleared off the line by Dalry No3. The ball fell to Christy Lawlor whose shot from close range was brilliantly saved by the Dalry Keeper. The ball broke to Dom Small who twisted and turned to find some space and his effort hit off the bar. It was ana amazing escape for Dalry and they were to make the most of it. Within 2 minutes the ball was at the other end of the park and a shot by Dalry No9 was parried down by Josh McGill in the Carluke goal. However a mix up enabled the Dalry No 10 to nip in and lash the ball into the roof of the net from 6 yards out. 0-1 to Dalry and a real body blow to Carluke who had looked the most likely in the second half.

To their credit the Carluke heads did not go down and they pressed Dalry for an equaliser creating several chances. Firstly from a corner a powerful header from Greg Miller went just over the bar. This was followed in the 80th minute when Dom Small found Dillon Black wide on the right and the winger curled in a great cross but unfortunately the onrushing Christy Lawlor could only direct his header wide of the target. Black was coming more into the game on the right and had another couple of very good crosses which went abegging. However it was not all one way traffic and in the 82nd minute Dalry almost got their second. A long ball out from the Dalry keeper eluded everyone and the hardworking Dalry No9 found himself through on goal but he was thwarted by Carluke Keeper Josh McGill who hadn’t put a foot wrong all day with another excellent performance between the sticks.

Unfortunately for Carluke though, try as they might, they could not get the equaliser their play in the second half had merited and Dalry held on to record a 1-0 victory.

Next week Carluke Rovers are back on the road as they travel to play local rivals Lesmahagow in a game they will hope to get something from.

Westcoast Storage and Removal Limited
Rovers Man of the Match
Josh McGill

Photography by Kevin Ramage