Carluke were hoping to get back to winning ways after what has been a barren few weeks with several tight losses in both the league and cup competitions. So it was with some trepidation they travelled to Bishopbriggs to take on Rossvale who were sitting near the bottom of the Division.

The game got underway and Carluke nearly took the lead as early as the second minute when a good move down the left wing saw the ball passed into Ross Steele. His effort was saved and his second attempt went harmlessly over the bar.

Carluke had started the game with a sense of urgency and in the 4th minute had another opportunity to open the scoring when a corner from the right was dummied by the returning Gary Stewart to Mark Cassidy. However the defender’s resultant first time effort just went past the post from 10 yards out.

Carluke’s early pressure did bear fruit in the 6th minute. Slack play at the back by Rossvale saw a pass intercepted by Nicky Prentice. He in turn found Ross Steele with a clear look at goal. The midfielder’s initial shot was saved but he followed up and coolly slotted his second effort into the back of the net to make it 1-0 to Carluke.

It wasn’t all one way traffic and Rossvale were showing a lot of spirit in an attempt to get back into the game. The were unlucky in the 16th minute when a good move down the left saw the ball crossed in low. A clearance by Mark Cassidy only found a Rossvale player whose shot was well saved onto the post by Garry Black. This was followed in 22 minutes when another good break and shot was thwarted by Black in the Carluke goal.

However it was to be another error at the back in the 28th minute which would be harshly punished by Carluke. A poor pass at the back was intercepted by Gary Stewart who in turn squared the ball to the onrushing Nicky Prentice putting him through on the goal. Alex Kerr in the Rossvale goal came out to dive at the feet of Prentice but the Rovers player had the foresight to deftly chip the keeper as he went down. 2-0 to Carluke.

The rest of the half was played out in midfield with both defences on top and restricting the attacking players to very few efforts on goal. Halftime score Rossvale 0 Carluke Rovers 2

The second half started very much as the first ended with plenty of endeavour from both sides without much to show for it. That was until the hour mark when Gary Stewart put the game beyond Rossvale with a great finish. Ross Steele broke down a Rossvale move and threaded the ball through to Stewart who found himself one on one with a defender. The striker turned one way, then the other tying the defender in knots to find that bit of space enabling him to fire his shot past the despairing Kerr into the Rossvale net. 3-0 to Carluke.

From a corner only 3 minutes later the same player had a brilliant overhead kick which rattled the bar and as the resultant effort dropped from the sky the Rossvale keeper came out to punch the ball but missed and took down Nicky Prentice. A penalty to Carluke which Gary Stewart took but unfortunately Kerr in goal quessed correctly down to his left hand side and made the save. He didn’t hold on to it though and Kyle McAdam hit the post with the rebound.

This miss appeared to give Rossvale some belief and they came more into the game over the next 10 minutes. In fact they got a goal back when a break through the middle found the Rovers defence exposed. Ryan Walsh had a shot which was saved by Garry Black but the ball went under his body and was moving to the line when Walsh followed up and made sure. 3-1 to Carluke.

In the last 20 minutes Rovers Manager Thomas Devine made several changes to freshen thing up and Carluke were never really troubled much in the last 15 minutes.

In fact it was Carluke who were to put the finishing touches to the game. A good move down the left wing saw the ball at the feet of Mikey Downs. The striker then threaded a great ball across goal to the unmarked Nicky Prentice who signed off on a man of the match performance and his own second goal with a side footed shot into the bottom left hand corner. This was to be the last of the action and in the end Carluke ran out comfortable 4-1 winners.

Next week it is back to cup action when Carluke take on St Rochs at the John Cumming Stadium in the Strathclyde Demolition Cup with a 2pm kickoff. This will be another tough cup game for Carluke with the visitors sitting high in the First Division.

Photography by Kevin Ramage