Today was the first ever meeting between these two clubs in a West of Scotland league fixture. It was also Carluke’s last home game of the season and they were looking to finish the home campaign on a high.

The first fifteen minutes were a cagey affair with both teams getting familiar with their opposition. The only effort on goal came from Carluke’s Jay Blair who hit a 25 yard free kick that the Rossvale keeper tipped over the bar in the second minute.

It took till the 18th minute for Rossvale to have their first attempt on goal and it proved decisive. A direct freekick was awarded 25 yards out. The resultant effort hit off the top of the wall, slowing the ball down and as it dropped just inside the six yard box there was a Rossvale striker to header the ball into the bottom corner from 6 yards out. 0-1 to Rossvale.

It only took Rossvale another 3 minutes to add to their lead. A ball down the left hand side saw their No9 turn the Rovers defender and cut in along the byline. A challenge came in and brought the forward down leaving the Referee wih no option but to award the penalty. It was duly converted into the bottom left corner. 0-2 to Rossvale.

Then in the 42nd minute Carluke had their best chance of the half when a cross from Graeme Goodall was not cleared and the ball dropped to loanee Josh McGrillen but his shot from 12 yards slipped past the left hand post. Halftime 0-2.

The second half got underway with Carluke hitting into the slight breeze which they hoped they could turn to their advantage but in truth, like the first, they found it difficult to penetrate the Rossvale defence. The game was going nowhere until the 72nd minute when Carluke conceded a free kick 25 yards out. Sanderson in goal set the wall up but it didn’t look as if he realised it would be struck with a left foot the way it was positioned. The resultant kick had clear daylight at the right hand post and Sanderson had no chance as it hit the bottom of the post and nestled in the back of the net. 0-3.

This was effectively game over but there was definitely no way back for Carluke when a minute later the Rovers keeper was caught in possession from a passback on the edge of his six yard box. The Rossvale player stole the ball and rolled it into the back of the net.0-4.

In 82 minutes Rossvale completed their afternoon’s work when the added a fifth. A corner from the right was partly cleared but then headered back in to the area where it bounced about for a bit before it was knocked over the line to make the score 0-5. This was to be the end of the scoring and Rossvale ran out comfortable winners in the end.

Although Rossvale were the better team on the day the scoreline did flatter as several of the goals that Carluke conceded were down to individual errors that were punished heavily. A good lesson for Carluke that highlights the importance of keeping focused for the full 90 minutes. There are a lot of good teams in this league who would be comfortable competing in higher Divisions and Carluke are on the path to becoming one of them despite today’s result.

Next week Carluke are not playing and this gives a couple of the injured players time to regain their fitness for the end of season run in.

Photography by Kevin Ramage