Carluke Rovers made the over 500 mile round trip and a 6:30am start to the Highlands to play Golspie Sutherland. Golspie are one of the more prominent sides in the North Caledonian League having won that competition on many occasions over the years. They were established in1877 which made them 10 years older than their visitors Carluke Rovers.

This was the second preliminary round of the Scottish Gas Scottish Cup with the winner going into the draw for the first round proper. A very important match for both teams.

It was a lovely day in the tranquil surroundings of Golspie and a lively crowd of locals were in attendance for this important match. Golspie played in their home strip of all blue with Carluke in their tangerine away tops, black shorts and tangerine socks.

It was a cagey start by both teams as they weighed each other up to the quality of the opposition never having played each other before. In fact it took till the 24th minute for the first real effort on goal and it came from the home side but the speculative overhead kick from Golspie No7 went harmlessly past the post.

It was at this point that Carluke started to find their feet and play with a bit more belief. They were gaining more control of the midfield and with Ben Patterson on the wing causing their rearguard problems, it looked more promising for the visitors as the half wore on.

In fact it was Patterson who was to break the deadlock just before halftime. Good play in the midfield saw the ball past to Patterson from Steven Logan. He had timed his run perfectly into the box and as Oldbury in the Golspie goal came out to meet him he calmly slid the ball under the keeper from 10 yards to make the score 0-1 to Carluke just before halftime. This was a real blow to Golspie but a crucial goal for Carluke at a crucial time.

The second half got underway with Carluke buoyed by that goal and they started the quicker. In fact they could have doubled their lead in the first minute after the break. A good bit of play by Patterson on the right saw him cut inside before firing in a great shot that the Golspie keeper tipped over the bar. As the half wore on Inch, Logan and Fullerton in the Carluke midfield were now controlling matters and limiting Golspie to very little moving forward. Then in 50 minutes Mikey Downs had his shot parried round the post by Oldbury in the Golspie goal.

It was looking more and more likely that Carluke could add to their lead and it duly arrived just before the hour mark. Again it was Patterson who was to be the scorer. He got the ball on the right hand side and hit over a speculative shot. The Keeper had come off his line anticipating a cross but found himself exposed at his near post. As the ball came in he attempted to save it but could only palm it into his own net as he tried to get back on his line. 0-2 to Carluke.

The Rovers were now comfortable with a 2 goal cushion and manager Thomas Devine rang the changes by making a number of substitutions. One of the strengths of this current Carluke team is players on the bench are more than equal to players in the starting eleven and this turned out to be the case. With the subs on and the freshness in their legs Carluke maintained their control of the game and in the end ran out comfortable winners restricting Golspie Sutherland to virtually no opportunities to score.

The draw has been made for the first round proper and Carluke have another long trip to the north of Scotland for what they expect will be a stiffer test against Highland League big guns Buckie Thistle at the end of this month.

Anything from here is a bonus for the Club and everyone is enjoying the ride in the senior Scottish Cup but the team will be leaving no stone unturned in an attempt to get into the second round when they take on Buckie Thistle.

Match Report by Steven Kane

 

 

Photography by Kevin Ramage