Carluke welcomed local rivals Royal Albert to the John Cumming Stadium for this midweek clash in this West of Scotland league match. With an 8pm kickoff and a good crowd in the ground it was an opportunity for Carluke to get their season up and running with a good result and performance. The team did not disappoint.

The game started quietly enough but with Carluke having most of the possession they were starting to exert a bit of pressure on the Royal Albert rear guard. It paid off for them in the 11th minute when Carluke won a corner on the left hand side. Dominic Small took the corner and knocked it short to Graeme Goodall who in turn knocked it back to Small who had come away from the corner flag. He received the pass and from the corner of the box looped a shot in the far corner over the keeper’s head and into the back of the net. 1-0 to Carluke.

Straight from the restart Carluke regained possession and a good sweeping move saw Josh Bell play the ball to Dom Small again who cut inside but just pulled his shot wide. Then Greg Miller, who has moved from midfield to striker this season, won a good 50 50 but his lob over the keeper went just wide.

It was a matter of time before Carluke added to their total and it duly came in the 23rd minute. Another corner was fired in and in the ensuing scramble in the box the ball fell to centre half Reiss Stewart who knocked it in from close range. 2-0 Carluke.

Carluke’s tails were up now and they were playing some good football through the midfield. However it was a mix up in the Albert defence that allowed Josh Bell to intercept and square the ball to Greg Miller who side footed the ball bat the keeper from 8 yards out to make it 3-0 to Carluke in the 37th minute. There was to be no more scoring in the first half and Carluke were good value for their 3-0 halftime lead.

The second half got underway very much as the first half had ended with Carluke on the front foot and Royal Albert finding it difficult to live with them. In fact it only took three minutes for The Rovers to extend their lead when more good work from the industrious Greg Miller saw his cross from the right collected by midfielder Craig Rutherford who calmly slotted it past the Albert keeper. 4-0.

To Royal Albert’s credit they did not go into damage limitation mode but in hindsight they should have as Carluke were rampant at this point and extended their lead further in the 52nd minute. Dom Small intercepted a pass meant for the Royal Albert full back on the right wing and as the keeper came out to meet him he simply crossed the ball to the unmarked Greg Miller who headed the ball in of the post to further increase the lead to 5-0.

In 56 minutes Greg Miller was to complete his hattrick with another header when a freekick to Carluke was passed wide to Arthur Martin whose cross was met again by Miller whose downward header bounced high into the roof of the net to make it 6-0.

To their credit Royal Albert tried to keep pushing forward and the got some consolation on the hour mark when Carluke failed to clear their lines and the ball fell to their No7 who’s shot from close range found the bottom corner of the net. 6-1.
 
This goal did not change the flow of the game and Greg Miller was continuing to terrorise the Albert defenders and nearly got his fourth in the 70th minute when he latched onto a through ball. However his shot at goal was brilliantly saved by the Royal Albert keeper.

Carluke were not to be denied further goals though and in the 75th minute they duly made it
7-1. Substitute Michael Small collected a through ball and with only the keeper to beat he coolly lobbed it over his head to make it 7-1.

In the 80th minute Greg Miller scored his fourth and Carluke’s eighth when he calmly side footed the ball home from six yards out. To their credit Albert got another consolation when a free kick from the right fell to their No8 ad he fired the ball home from just inside the box. This made the final score 8-2 to Carluke and gives the team a real confidence boost for the season ahead.

Photography by Kevin Ramage