Match Report
Carluke had won this reverse fixture in the West of Scotland League match 3-1 at Carluke and so travelled to Kirconnel to play Kello Rovers with some confidence.
The game kicked off on in perfect conditions although the surface was very bumpy. This made the opportunity for slick passing through midfield very limited and long balls would be the order of the day.
It was Carluke who were to show first when in the 2nd minute Christy Lawlor hit a looping volley from 25 yards which hit the top of the bar and went over. Kello had not shown much in the early stages but then in the 10th minute they were awarded a penalty when a Carluke defender mis timed a tackle bringing down a Kello player in the box when there didn’t seem any danger. The kick was duly converted by the Kello No10 to make the score 1-0.
Rather than deflating Carluke they pushed forward and controlled most of the first half. They nearly got the equaliser in 20th minute when a corner from the left found the returning Arthur Martin. His header hit the underside of the bar and bounced down onto the 6 yard line. A brief melee broke out but when the ball broke to Connor McKenzie his resultant shot went just wide. Carluke continued to push and in the 25th minute a good move down the right found Greg Miller out wide. He fired in a great low cross right across the Kello 6 yard box but there was no takers and the ball ran to safety.
Kello were not offering much in attack at this stage and again it was Carluke who were to threaten in the 40th minute. Dominic Small received the ball on the right wing and turned his man but his left foot shot was cleared off the line by a Kello defender denying the equaliser.
Josh McGill in the Carluke goal had not had a lot to do but was called into action in the 42nd minute when a cross from the left was met by the Kello No8 but his header was parried round the post by McGill. Then, just before halftime, Carluke were to suffer a sucker punch. Carluke had possession of the ball in defence but in trying to pass it on the bumpy surface the ball went straight to a Kello player. He in turn passed it through the middle between The Rovers central defenders and the Kello No 6 ran onto it and lobbed the onrushing Josh McGill to make the score 2-0 at halftime.
It was imperative in the second half that Carluke got off to a good start by getting the first goal. They had had the best of the first half and a quick goal would keep them on the front foot. It took only 5 minutes for them to get the goal their play to this point had merited. A direct freekick was given on the edge of the Kello box. Greg Miller stood up to take the kick and his thunderous effort nearly burst the back of the net to make it 2-1 to Kello and bring Carluke right back into the game.
The next 10 minutes ebbed a flowed with both teams putting in plenty of effort but it was Kello who were to inflict a body blow on Carluke in the 61st minute. A cross to the back post was picked up in space by their No2 and his resultant shot, although not well struck, hit the left hand post and appeared to just cross the line before it was cleared. 3-1 to Kello.
This did take the wind out of Carluke’s sails and although they kept pushing a further couple of unnecessary errors were to put a flattering scoreline on a game where there was very little between the teams.
The first came in the 85th minute when Carluke failed to deal with a long ball and the Kello No10 lost his marker and rifled a shot into the roof of the net 4-1. Then with the game over as a contest Carluke switched off when a throw in on the right found a Kello attacker near the byline and unmarked. It was a simple task for him to cut the ball back to the same No10 who again shot high into the net to make the final score 5-1 to Kello.
This was a harsh lesson on Carluke about taking their chances when on top and at the same time tighten up at the back to reduce the number of soft goals been given away. Next week Larkhall Thistle are the visitors to Carluke
Match Report by Stevie Kane
Westcoast Storage and Removal Limited
Rovers Man of the Match
Arthur Martin
Photography by Kevin Ramage