Carluke Rovers were back at the John Cumming Stadium this Saturday for the first time in weeks after several away cup ties. Today’s opposition were the new boys to the West Of Scotland family, Gartcosh United in a League Cup tie.

It was to be a blustery day with the wind gusting across the pitch but it didn’t have much impact on proceedings in what was to be a keenly fought contest.

It was clear from the start that this was going to be a tight affair but Gartcosh did start the brighter and it was no real surprise that they took the lead in the 17th minute. A corner on the right found Dylan Kerr on the left wing. He cut inside and shot from 20 yards. Although Eoin Wallace saw it late he managed to get hands to it but couldn’t keep it out of his bottom right corner. 0-1 to Gartcosh.

This goal seems to spur Carluke into life and there was more urgency about their play following this early setback. However the Rovers nearly fell further behind in 22 minutes when a misplaced pass out of the defence went straight to Gartcosh.s Jack Fagan. The midfielder moved into the box and shot to the bottom right corner but a great fingertip save by Wallace saw the effort slide just past the post.

After this close call Carluke got their equaliser in the 24th minute when good interplay through the middle saw the ball fed to Dylan Watt on the left wing. He took his man on and crossed in a great low effort across the six yard box and there was striker Mikey Downs to side foot it into the net from close range. 1-1

Carluke almost took the lead in the 26th minute when good play through the midfield saw Jamie McIntyre through on goal but Lewis Hamilton in the Gartcosh goal managed to deflect the resultant shot out for a corner off his legs. Then just a minute later Ben Rennie worked his way into the Gartcosh box and shot a cross the keeper only to see his effort cannon off the post. The ball went straight to Ross Steele but his effort from close range went harmlessly over the bar.

Carluke were on top at this stage and it was no real surprise when they took the lead in the 40th minute. Gartcosh were playing the ball out of defence to build their attacks and were doing a good job of it but in the 40th minute they got caught out and when the ball broke to Ben Rennie the midfielder wrapped his left foot round it and fired it into the bottom corner to give Rovers a 2-1 lead.

With only 5 minutes to halftime Carluke were happy to see the rest of the time out but Gartcosh had other ideas and one minute into injury time they equalised. Dylan Kerr, who had been a thorn in Rovers side for most of the half, got down the left wing and cut the ball back to Michael Lone who had time and space to pick his spot and score the equaliser from in front of goal. 2-2.

This was a blow to Carluke and a lift for Gartcosh just before the break but in a keenly fought game the spoils shared at halftime was about right.

There was everything to play for in the second half with penalties a distinct prospect but both teams went out with the attitude of winning it in the 90 minutes.

However for the first 25 minutes of the second half neither Keeper saw much action but the introduction of Kyle McAdam for Carluke on the hour mark injected a bit more creativity into the Carluke ranks. In fact it was McAdam who was pulled down just outside the box in the 70th minute. The freekick was taken by Ben Rennie from about 20 yards. The midfielder saw a space round the wall and picked his spot giving the Gartcosh keeper no chance and a second for the midfielder. 3-2 to Carluke.

Carluke were comfortable to see the game out but having used all five subs Connor Coyle got injured. Rather than going off the fullback hobbled through the rest of the game which showed great commitment to his team mates and spirit that is currently within the camp. That said Carluke were basically down to ten men for the remainder of the match and were content to surrender possession and defend their goal. This they did manfully restricting Gartcosh to no real chances in the closing minutes but were still grateful to hear the final whistle running out 3-2 winners.

Next Saturday Rovers are on their travels again with a trip back to Dundee this time to take on current Midland League Champions, Dundee North End in a Scottish Communities Cup Round 2 match.

Match Report by Steven Kane

 

 

Photography by Kevin Ramage