Carluke Rovers travelled the short distance to play Newmains United in this West of Scotland league game.

The pitch was uneven as Newmains had played several games on it in the last week so no one expected pretty football and that was the way it turned out.

There was not much action in either goal mouth in the early stages but from nothing in the 13th minute Newmains took the lead. A long clearance from their keeper was allowed to bounce and was picked up by their No11 who got into the box and fired a left foot shot across Josh McGill in the Carluke goal to make it 1-0 to Newmains.

Then in 24 minutes a mistake at the back when the Rovers fullback pulled down the Newmains winger as he rounded him on the bye line forcing the Ref to give a penalty kick which was duly converted. 2-0 to Newmains.

It looked as if the roof was caving in on Carluke when 2 minutes later Newmains got a third goal. A speculative shot from the edge of the box by Newmains No11 was deflected past McGill in the Carluke goal to make the score 3-0.

It took till the 31st minute for Carluke to have their first real effort on goal. Striker Christy Lawlor latched on to a through ball and managed to get his shot away but the Newmains keeper had done well to close the angle and cleared the ball to safety off his legs.

Then right on half time the Newmains keeper came out his box to collect the ball but it got caught under his feet and Dom Small managed to dispossess him and slip the ball to Josh Bell. The Newmains defenders were getting back which forced Bell to hit for goal early and with the bumpy pitch the ball went wide.

The second half started with Carluke knowing they needed an early goal to get back into the game. Unfortunately it did not come and it looked as if Newmains were going to extend their lead in the 59th minute. A corner on the right for Newmains was cleared to the edge of the box where it was met sweetly by the Newmains player. The ball looked net bound but for a brilliant diving save from Josh McGill in the Carluke goal.
This save seemed to spark Carluke into a bit of belated life and they started to press Newmains back.

Carluke finally got a goal in the 66th minute. Connor McKenzie flicked the ball wide to Dom Small who in turn chipped the ball into the box. It fell to the feet of Christy Lawlor whose low shot from 18 yards found the inside of the side netting. 3-1 to Newmains.

Carluke kept pressing and nearly got a second in the 80th minute. Good play by McKenzie saw him pass to Brandon McKenzie. He beat the fullback very easily and shot with his left foot only to see it cleared off the line. This was to be the last action on a disappointing afternoon for Carluke Rovers with Newmains running out as 3-1 winners.

Next Saturday The Rovers visit Bellshill for what will be a difficult game as the season draws to a close.

Photography by Kevin Ramage