A good crowd turned up to the John Cumming Stadium for this West of Scotland League game against Easterhouse .Although cold the conditions for the match were perfect without a breath of wind and bright sunshine.

The first half was a bit of a stalemate with both sides cancelling each other out in an evenly matched contest. Easterhouse had a half chance in the 14th minute when their No 9 shot over the bar when a low cross field pass came in along the 6 yard line. Then only 2 minutes later good play by Carluke’s right back Declan McAuley saw him thread the ball through to Christy Lawlor. He ran in on goal but pulled his shot past the far post narrowly missing. Apart from this there was not much to threaten either goalkeeper and the halftime score was 0-0.

The second half got underway and it was to be a very different affair with chances and goals at both ends. Rovers were the first to create when good play by Mark O’Reilly on the right saw him pass to Christy Lawlor who in turn found Dom Small in space. The striker took his time but his shot was well saved by the Easterhouse keeper diving to his right.

Only a minute later Easterhouse were to take the lead. A corner came in from the left and what looked liked like an innocuous looping header over the bar dipped underneath it and into the goal. It had looked to be going over and so caught out Josh McGill in the Carluke goal. 0-1 to Easterhouse. This goal gave Easterhouse a huge lift and it didn’t take long for them to double their lead when again from another corner. This time it came in from the right, fired in low and Easterhouse No 8 nicked in front of the Rovers defender to glance a header in at the near post. 0-2 to Easterhouse.

Carluke Rovers were shell shocked with this double blow and it took them a good 10 minutes to regain their composure. They could have got a goal back in the 68th minute when Dom Small slipped in Josh Bell but his side foot effort across the keeper saw him just get a hand to it to keep the ball out.

This was the start of a frantic last 20 minutes where Rovers had Easterhouse pinned back for the bulk of the time. Then in 77 minutes Carluke got a penalty. A long through ball was chased down by Josh Bell into the box. As the ball bounced Bell got up to header it bravely knowing he would be clattered by the onrushing Easterhouse keeper. This is exactly what happened and the Rovers striker was flattened with the Ref having no option but to point straight to the spot. The kick was duly converted by Josh Fullerton who sent the keeper the wrong way. 1-2 to Easterhouse.

This was the first time new manager Thomas Devine was able to see his new charges and took the opportunity to get a look at as many players as he could making several substitutions. However if anything this strengthened the team as the match wore on and Carluke nearly got their equaliser in the 89th minute. Brandon McKenzie, who had looked lively since coming on on the right got the ball played to him. He went on run and whipped a great ball to Josh Bell. He in turn brought it under control and from about 8 yards out shot but the Easterhouse keeper did very well to close down the angle and block the volley with his chest. This was to be the last chance of the match and Easterhouse held out for 2-1 victory.

A very entertaining second half and a great opportunity for the new Manager Thomas Devine to get a feel for his squad and the individual players at his disposal. The lads worked hard today and deserved at least a point but continue to get punished for individual errors. However the team continues to move in the right direction and with Thomas Devine on board as Manager and Paul Davies moving to Committee, where his experience and knowledge of Scottish football, will be invaluable the future is looking bright for the Club.

Photography by Kevin Ramage