It was back to the John Cumming Stadium today for Carluke Rovers after a few games on the road. Following a defeat by bottom of the table St Anthonys a couple of weeks ago it was an opportunity to get back to winning ways. However todays’ opponents East Kilbride Thistle are sitting top of the table, undefeated so far this season. So it was going to be a difficult encounter.

A gusting wind was blowing across the pitch slightly favouring EK Thistle in the first half. They nearly took advantage of it in the second minute. The first long throw of many from EK Thistle’s Mark Cuthbertson caught the Rovers defence out and only poor finishing from very close range saved Carluke from going one down. After this initial throw the Rovers defence coped admirably for the rest of game with this much used tactic by EK Thistle.

Just as the game was settling down a mix up in the EK Thistle box allowed Ben Rennie to steal in and the wide player didn’t need a second invitation as he thundered a volley into the roof of the net giving Jordan Brown in the Thistle goal no chance and Carluke an early lead.

The goal was a settler for Carluke and they started to play excellent one touch football that EK Thistle were finding difficult to contain. It wasn’t long before Carluke could have scored a second. Rovers Kiwi striker Ashton Pellow beat his man on the touchline and cut the ball back but a weak finish allowed keeper Brown to push it round the Thistle post.

Pellow and Rennie then combined on 15 minutes when Rennie saw off two Thistle defenders before sliding the ball to Pellow. The big striker hit a great effort across the Keeper only to see it cannon off the post back across goal.

The Rovers midfield were dominating proceedings with local lads Ross Steele, Jamie McIntyre and Kyle McAdam giving their counterparts no time to settle and when in possession producing some incisive passing turning the EK Thistle defence.

Another good run by Ben Rennie saw the midfielder find the space to get his shot away but it went just wide of the post. The halftime whistle came at the right time for EK Thistle as it gave them the time to gather themselves but there was also a feeling in the stands that Carluke’s dominance in the first half had not resulted in more than a slim 1-0 lead and they could pay a price for that.

The second half followed a similar pattern to the first albeit EK Thistle were a bit more involved and playing further up the park. Although they were enjoying more possession due to throwing more men forward they rarely threatened Eoin Wallace in the Carluke goal.

The other issue that this caused Thistle was that they were prone to getting caught on the break and in the last 15 minutes they were caught several times. The first opportunity fell to Ashton Pellow. The striker shrugged off his marker and with just the Keeper to beat he knocked the ball slightly too far in front enabling the Thistle keeper to tackle and clear the danger. Unfortunately Pellow took a knock in the tackle and had to be substituted but his replacement Mikey Downs has been having a good season and was to have a big influence on the final outcome of this game.

His first effort came in the 77th minute when a bouncing ball dropped to him near the penalty spot. He swiveled and fired in a shot but it was straight at the Keeper who held it comfortably. Next up was Ross Steele in 82 minutes who made a good run into the box but again his shot was straight at the keeper who smothered it.

At this stage it seemed just a matter of time before Carluke got their second and it duly arrived a minute later. Mikey Downs laid a lovely ball into Ben Rennie’s path and the winger cut inside and lashed his shot into the top of the net much to the relief of everyone in blue and white. 2-0 to Carluke and effectively game over.

To their credit EK Thistle never gave up and in the 90th minute they won a direct free kick just outside the box in the middle. It was well struck low down but Wallace in the Rovers goal got down brilliantly to his left and managed to push it round the post.

This was a frenetic end to the match and Carluke went straight up the other end and when clear on goal Mikey Downs had his effort saved again by Brown in the Thistle goal from point blank range when it might have been easier to square to Callum Hume who was unmarked on the penalty spot.

The striker was not to be denied though and when the Ref pointed to the spot in the 93rd minute it was Downs who was given the responsibility of taking the kick. Fortunately for him when the keeper saved it the ball sat up nicely for him and he finally rippled the back of the net to make the final scoreline 3-0 to Carluke which was more reflective of their dominance on the day.

This is a result that will build belief in the squad that they can compete with anyone in this league and more than compete with most teams. Next week though it is another tough assignment at the John Cumming Stadium when they welcome Ardrossan Winton Rovers in the third round of the Scottish Communities Cup with a 2:30pm kickoff.

Photography by Kevin Ramage