Carluke Rovers made the long journey to Campbeltown today for this re arranged West of Scotland league game. After a long season The Rovers only needed a point to ensure promotion to the third division. However a victory would help the side in their attempts to finish in the top three.

The game kicked off in perfect conditions with the rolling hills of the Kintyre Peninsula in the background. The first 10 minutes were an even affair with both sides creating a half chance but the first real opportunity went the way of Carluke when Gary Stewart was put through on goal. He rounded Reid Anderson in the Campbeltown goal but as defenders were getting back to the goal line he lifted his effort over the bar.

Despite their position at the bottom of the league Campbeltown were competing well and there wasn’t a lot between the teams for the first 20 minutes. However in the 23rd minute Carluke were to break the deadlock making use of the devasting long throw prowess of Connor Coyle. His throw went to the backpost where it found the head of Mark Cassidy whose header went inside the post to give Carluke the lead. 0-1

Although Garry Black in the Rovers goal was having a relatively quiet afternoon there was plenty of competitive football being carried out in the midfield and defence but when Carluke got their second you could sense that Campbeltown had lost some of their fight. It came after a good move down the left saw the ball passed into Jamie McIntyre. The midfielder swiveled on the edge of the box and fired an unstoppable shot into the bottom corner. 0-2

This was the beginning of the end for Cambeltown and the third goal was not far away when in the 43rd minute another long throw from Coyle, this time from the right, was met by the head of Ronan Shiels from close range. 0-3. A fourth quickly followed when McIntyre was barged in the back in the box. The same player took the spot kick and fired an unstoppable shot off the underside of the bar to get his own second and Carluke’s fourth in the second minute of injury time. 0-4 at halftime.

The second half was to follow a similar pattern to the first but there was an early setback for Carluke when a pass back to the goalie was intercepted and although Garry Black made a good initial save he was deemed to have pulled down Campbeltown’s Calum Ellis in the aftermath. The penalty was duly converted with a shot down the middle by Calum Ellis. 1-4

Unfortunately for Campbeltown any thoughts of a comeback were dashed a minute later. A good Carluke move saw the ball fed to Ben Rennie by Ross Steele. The midfielder used his close control skills to evade a defender before shooting, forcing Anderson to parry his save but only to the feet of Gary Stewart who knocked the ball into the empty net. 1-5. This goal seemed to invigorate the striker as he went on to complete his hat trick in double quick time with a wonderful volley into the far corner in the 68th minute and a deft header following a beautiful cross from the outside of Nicky Prentice’s right foot 3 minutes later.

The game was long over as a contest but Jamie McIntyre was not to be out done as he to got his own hat trick when he bundled over from close range following a byline cutback from a mazy Ben Rennie run along the touchline. Final Score Campbeltown Pupils 1 Carluke Rovers 8

This was to be the end of the scoring which made the formality of Carluke’s promotion official. There is still work to be done though as the Club looks to maintain their recent good form with a tough game this coming Tuesday against Royal Albert. The boys would welcome your support with both teams vying to finish in the top three. The game kicks off at 8:15pm at the John Cumming Stadium under the lights.

Photography by Kevin Ramage