Winton reached the Ayrshire Cup Final in 1953 and played Irvine Victoria in four successive games.
IRVINE
VICTORIA 1 – WINTON ROVERS 1
Ayrshire Cup Final Drawn
Victoria Miss
Chances
Perfect weather conditions from the spectators point
of view, at any rate, although the players would possibly agree it was too hot,
favoured the final of the Ayrshire Cup which was played between Irvine Victoria
and Winton Rovers at Recreation Park, Stevenston last Saturday
(9 May 1953).
The crowd turned up to the tune of between six
and seven thousand, providing a gate of £285.
Victoria favoured their usual formation while
Rovers had the services of Cuthbertson, their former outside
right, at present in the services.
The game ended in a 1-1 draw and while it was
quite a good result, there was no doubt that Victoria, on chances, should have
had the game well won.
Territorially, too, they had the advantage, but
they didn’t turn it into account.
The teams were
Irvine
Victoria
- Ballantyne; Fowler and Clearie; Shedden, Hollywood
and Duffin; Hay, Barr, Norwood, Wark and Matthews;
Winton Rovers
- Frew; Leck and Gemmell; Thomson, Milligan and
Higgins; Bryceland, Cuthbertson, McEwan, Scollan and Kearney.
The referee was C McMurdo, Rutherglen.
Victoria
opened on an aggressive roll and a pass from Duffin saw Matthews get the break
from the block with Leck.
He quickly transferred it to Norwood who cut
right in and the centre was unfortunate to see his angular shot hit the far
upright with Frew well beaten.
He should have scored, however, and an aerobic
goal might have given them the zest for more.
The ball was returned, but was finally turned
round for a corner.
In these opening stages, the Irvine side was
definitely on top and one long lob upfield saw Norwood get the better of
Milligan but he was slightly stunned in the tackle and was unable to follow up.
There was danger in
the first Ardrossan attack and anything might have happened had
not McEwan got into an offside position.
Back came Victoria and a cute slip back from
Norwood to Wark saw the latter let fly a scoring shot only to see Frew bring off
a spectacular save.
The ball broke to Hay who sent it back over and
this time, Wark shot past.
A short spell of Ardrossan
offensive petered out without their having created any great danger and again,
it ws Frew who was in action, this time from a free kick.
The first goal, when it did come, was rather
unexpected.
The ball was swung across from the right and
while Frew and Milligan were apparently leaving it to each other, Matthews
slipped in to touch to touch it past the keeper who touched the half-hit shot
but failed to stop it.
There followed a further
period of Victoria pressure which failed to produce any material gain.
In the latter stages of this half,
Winton came more into the game as an attacking force and shortly before
interval, they drew level when Bryceland beat Clearie and Ballantyne to the jump
and headed through.
This spurred on Rovers to
greater effort and three times in succession, Ballantyne had to be smart to fist
the ball clear.
As in the first half, Victoria resumed on the
attack and they had an early chance when Norwood slipped the ball to Barr but
the latter failed to gather it properly and eventually turned it out to Matthews
who shot weakly past.
Frew was not as impressive,
as we have seen him, dropping the ball frequently.
On one such occasion, Norwood nipped in to get
the ball at the bye-line and slip it over in front of goal but his mates were
evidently taken too much by surprise to profit from the centre’s nippiness.
Hereabouts, Higgins, heading the ball,
sustained a cut on the forehead which required a couple of stitches but he
returned five minutes later and carried on at outside-left.
The Rovers also switched
Bryceland to inside-right.
While the half-back was off, the Irvine club
continued to press and with Frew beaten, the Ardrossan club was
fortunate to see another defender head away a Wark try.
Barr worked his way past Gemmell and sent
nicely over for Wark to head straight at Frew when he could have picked his
spot.
As in the first period, the
fire gradually died out of the Irvine play and Rovers began to
come into the picture.
Victoria were fortunate to survive an
Ardrossan claim when Higgins was on his way through and was obviously
obstructed in an illegal fashion by Fowler and Rovers
considered a corner kick poor consolation.
The kick, however, was almost disastrous for
Vics for, with Ballantine nowhere, Fowler headed the ball against the crossbar
and it was finally put past.
In the next raid, Ballantine almost brought
disaster on himself.
He had picked up the ball, and instead of
kicking it clear, he threw it out, but unfortunately, to the feet of Cuthbertson
and the winger’s return caused a stir.
Fortunately for Victoria, McEwan was offside.
Irvine pressure and a cross from the right gave
Barr a chance but he headed the ball straight at Frew.
Near time, Winton where again
dangerous but once again McEwan spoiled the move by getting offside.
This was not a great game by
football standards but what it lacked in the finer points was to a great extent,
compensated for the energy which both teams displayed.
We indicated last week that much would depend
on the Irvine forwards as to the ultimate result and this turned out to be the
case.
Had they accepted the chances that came their way, the
Cup would have come to Irvine without any possibility of doubt.
The defence, apart form odd moments, was sure
enough but the front rank was not a success on this showing,
The biggest weakness was on the wings where
Matthews was too eager to get rid of the ball and Hay revealed little
versatility in his attempts to get round Gemmell.
Too often Hay carried the ball to the back and
then foundered at close range in the tackle instead of opening out his tactics
when others frequently failed.
Barr, too, was seem only spasmodically.
Norwood was the live-wire and he was unfortunate several times when he just
failed to get the ball manoeuvred into proper position but even at that, he
provided openings for his colleagues that should have been sufficient to win the
game.
Rovers were not the
sprightly moving lot we have seen on previous occasions.
The scheming of Donnelly was missed in the
forward line and the inside men did not provide the wingers with the required
service.
This was especially the case on the left where
Kearney, always a danger man with a keen eye for the main chance, was
practically starved.
Milligan was the big man in every sense in the
Ardrossan defence but he it was who came to the rescue numerous
times when all seemed lost.
But for their forward lapses, Victoria could
have had the game well and truly won.
The replay was first fixed for the same ground
on Wednesday 20 May but it was later found the ground was booked for that date
and an alteration to Friday 22 May was necessary.
IRVINE
VICTORIA 2 – WINTON ROVERS 0
Irvine Teams To Meet In Vernon Trophy Final
Victoria Oust Winton in
Semi-Final.
With the winners due to meet Meadow in the final,
special interest attached to Monday (18 May 1953) night’s Vernon Trophy
semi-final at Victoria Park, especially from a Victoria point of view as a win
here would mean a local derby in the final with the prospect of a good financial
return.
The teams had already drawn 2-2 in the first game at
Ardrossan so that the issue was still a very open affair.
Vics were on their usual lines while
Rovers relied on the same side that disposed of Ladeside in the Western
League Cup semi-final on Saturday.
The game was a thriller all right and while the
home side had the advantage, the narrow margin separating them - a goal scored
by Norwood in the first half - always made an unexpected turn possible and kept
interest at its height until Matthews secured the second goal a couple of
minutes from time.
A fit Norwood in the second half, however,
would probably have seen the result settled earlier though Rovers had their
spells and Ballantyne played a big part in keeping them out with some fine
saves.
The teams were
Irvine Victoria - Ballantyne; Fowler and Clearie; Shedden, Hollywood and Duffin;
Hay, Barr, Norwood, Wark and Matthews;
Winton Rovers
- Frew; Black and Gemmell; Thomson, Milligan and Scollan; Bryceland, McEwan,
McKenzie, Higgins and Kearney.
Play
in the early stages, while keenly contested, was confined mostly to outfield,
the defences giving the opposing forwards little chance to settle at close
quarters.
Victoria, kicking towards the north goal, were first
to threaten danger when a Hay cross sailed into goal.
Frew got his hands to it and while he didn’t
hold it, he came on to recover possession and clear.
Norwood next worked his way to the left,
crossed the ball to the right where Hay hit it first time.
It beat Frew but Milligan was on the line at
the far post to kick clear.
A weak clearance by Clearie at the other end
brought unnecessary danger and McEwan made poor use of a grand chance by
shooting wildly past.
There was a period of sustained pressure by
Rovers hereabouts and a half-hit drooping shot by Higgins saw
Ballantyne do well to touch it over for a fruitless corner.
Surviving this,
Victoria set off and Frew’s charge next became the scene of some hectic
scrambles in which the keeper was prominent, particularly in saving one hard
shot at the foot of the post.
With almost half an hour gone, came the first
goal.
Norwood came out of a tackle by Milligan with the ball
in his possession, a sudden swerve took him clear of opposition and his left
foot shot sped hard and true to the corner of the net.
A few minutes later the centre-forward was
taken off with an arm injury and was off for the remainder of the half.
A lob into the home goal saw Ballantyne just
get there before McKenzie.
Then came another chance to Victoria when the
referee allowed Hay to travel on despite claims for offside but the winger
finished by shooting weakly at Frew who had no difficulty in saving.
A nice, combined move
by the Winton forwards put McKenzie within striking distance
but with a clear road for a shot but he elected to carry it further in and a
good opening was lost.
A corner was conceded followed by another and
there were some lively goalmouth scenes in which Ballantyne always came out on
top.
The siege ended when Bryceland from good position
banged the ball wildly past.
When the game resumed, Norwood went to
outside-left but as play proceeded it became clear that the limp arm was a big
handicap, depriving him of proper balance and quite naturally he could take no
chances.
It was nearly level-pegging a few minutes after the
restart when McKenzie beat Ballantyne in the rush for the ball.
The centre, however, instead of touching it
past the keeper, lobbed it over the bar when it seemed easier to score.
Wark almost showed
them the way when he connected with a Hay cross to hit the ball first time
towards the corner of the net but Frew threw himself across the goal to bring
off a grand save at the foot of the post.
The inside man had another run on his own,
finishing with a rising shot that narrowly missed the mark.
In an Ardrossan attack, a hard
shot was fired in which Ballantyne did well to fist clear.
Back came Vics and a flick from Hay to Barr saw
the latter, in grand position, shoot wildly past.
With only one goal still separating them,
Rovers turned the heat at this stage in an effort to save the
game and only sterling work by Ballantyne kept them at bay.
The keeper smartly saved a snapshot on the turn
by Kearney and later did the same with a shot from Scollan after slackness in
the home defence had given the Ardrossan player scope to go on and shoot.
With only two minutes
to go, came the decider.
Winton claimed offside against
Matthews when the ball was slipped to the latter, but the referee paid no heed
and he went on to touch the ball past the outrushing Frew into the net.
In point of play the result was just right.
Rovers certainly had their
moments and only the ability of keeper Ballantyne at these periods saved
Victoria’s goal from downfall but on the general run of play the home lot had
the edge.
The first half was the better of the two as play swung
from one goal to the other though even then Vics had a slight advantage
territorially.
It was keen cut-and-thrust stuff that kept the
crowd on their toes with anything liable to happen at either end.
Some of the fire went
out of play in the second half but there were spurts by both sides that
frequently threatened danger.
In this half also, Victoria had the advantage
despite the fact that Matthews and Norwood had exchanged places.
The former worked hard but he hadn’t the guile
of his colleague to turn some of the opportunities to greater profit.
Frew in the Ardrossan goal played a grand game,
with good backing from Milligan.
The Victoria defence was also sound even if
they had some slack moments when they took things too easily and might have paid
a penalty, though Hollywood was exempt in this connection.
IRVINE VICTORIA 1 – WINTON ROVERS 1
Third Game Needed For Ayrshire Cup
Victoria And Winton Rovers All Square In Final Replay
After two attempts there is still no decision as to the destination of the
Ayrshire Cup.
Irvine Victoria and Winton Rovers
met for the replayed final at Stevenston last Friday night (22 May 1953) and
again the result was a draw so that a third game, this time with extra time,
will be necessary.
Although the weather was threatening, it
remained dry for most of the game and there was again a big crowd present, not
perhaps so big as in the first game but still most satisfactory for a weeknight.
Victoria brought McNeil in at centre-forward in
place of the injured Norwood but the move was not a success and the wonder was
they didn ‘t make a switch earlier than they did.
Rovers had Higgins at
inside-left and Scollan at left-half, with McEwan at outside-right and Reid at
centre - nor were the Ardrossan forward moves any more profitable than the
Irvine ones.
The respective defences were once again well on
top although Victoria had once more a territorial advantage which they failed to
turn to profit in the matter of goals.
The
teams were
Irvine Victoria – Ballantyne; Fowler and
Clearie; Shedden, Hollywood and Duffin; Hay, Barr, McNeil, Wark and Matthews;
Winton Rovers - Frew; Black and Gemmell; Thomson, Milligan and
Scollan ; McEwan, Bryceland, Reid, Higgins and Kearney.
The referee was C McMurdo, Rutherglen.
Rovers
looked as if they meant early business and they forced a corner right away
although it was cleared.
Not long after this, however, there was a spell
of Victoria pressure but there was nothing really dangerous about their threat
until the ball came on one occasion to McNeil whose shot lacked the necessary
pith and Frew was not troubled in saving.
A cross from Matthews was too low and Frew got
there before McNeil could connect.
It was practically all Victoria at this stage
and a cross from McNeil, after he had worked out to the right, saw Matthews head
the ball across the goal with Frew away from home but there was no one up to
take advantage and Milligan got it away.
Then came a near thing at the other end.
Away along the wing sped McEwan to cut in and
deliver a shot from an acute angle which Ballantyne turned round for a corner
kick from which the ball was headed past by Higgins.
McNeil next sent Hay off with a cute slip and
the winger got in a raking shot which Frew saved but failed to hold but again
there was no one up to get the rebound.
In twenty-five
minutes, Vics took the lead.
Hay, from the corner flag, sent the ball high
over to the far side of the goal and Matthews rose to it to head into the far
corner of the net - a grand goal.
From the kick-off, Higgins tore through but
just when he was getting into a dangerous position, he hit the ball blindly
against an opponent and a possible opening was lost.
There followed another period of Victoria
pressure in which several of the forwards just failed to get proper control for
a shot although Hay ‘s final effort was just slightly wide of the mark.
The Irvine defence got panicky in Winton's next
raid and when Hollywood was beaten on the run by Reid the Irvine keeper just
beat the centre to it and kicking away from his feet.
It didn't travel far, however, and there ensued
some exciting passages in the Victoria goal area where the ball was blocked
several times before it was finally got clear.
In half an hour,
Rovers drew level, clever work between Kearney and Reid ending
with the latter beating Ballantyne from close range as the keeper came out to
try and intercept.
Just before the interval, Barr got a chance
when Black lost possession but he failed to get his kick on with any pith behind
it.
Apart from a Hay shot which Frew dropped and
recovered, there was not a great deal to enthuse over for a time after the
resumption, much of the play being in outfield and the pace having slackened
considerably.
McNeil gave the Ardrossan side one fright when
he got his head to a ball from a free kick by Clearie and it went past by inches
with Frew slow in making for it.
Thomson tried to set his mates an example in
goal-getting with a grand shot which Ballantyne capably disposed of.
There was no force behind McNeil ‘s next try
but when Matthews returned the ball to him later, he neatly headed it on to Barr
who, with all the time in the world, shot weakly past.
Both teams switched
their front ranks hereabouts. For Irvine, McNeil changed with Wark and Barr
changed with Matthews, while in the Ardrossan side Kearney came
to inside with Higgins going to the wing.
Towards the close, Victoria again began to
exert pressure and a high one from Matthews produced a corner kick from which
Duffin got possession and his fast-rising shot was just inches high.
Then with time drawing near, came a move that
looked ominous for the Irvine team.
Higgins got off on the wing, beat his man and
cut in.
A score seemed an odds-on probability but Ballantyne
came out and blocked the shot.
As in the first game,
Victoria had the edge on their opponents but could not turn it to proper
advantage in the matter of goals.
The nippy Norwood was undoubtedly missed and
McNeil was never happy in the centre position.
His feeding of the wings when in possession was
good but there his usefulness stopped.
He needed more room to work in than was allowed
by the keen-tackling Milligan and this was evident when he went to inside for a
short spell near the finish.
The Irvine defence was as tight as ever with
the halves always prominent, Duffin's constructive work marking him out for
special attention.
Again, the weakness was forward and unless
something can be done about this defect it is likely to cost them dear in their
search after silver - and it was the same with Rovers although they looked to
have a weakness at right-back which Victoria didn't exploit as they might.
Milligan was once more their most stalwart
defender although the evergreen Jackie Thomson ran him a close second.
Their forwards, although held on a tight rein,
were seldom impressive and it was a further proof that they are sorely missing
the scheming of Donnelly.
IRVINE VICTORIA 3 - WINTON ROVERS 1
Ayrshire
Cup For Irvine Victoria
Winton Rovers Beaten In Second Replay
For the first time in their history Irvine Victoria
have won the Ayrshire Cup.
They
did so with a 3-1 win over Winton Rovers when they met in the
third game in the final at Stevenston last Friday night (29 May 1953). The two
previous games had each ended in a 1-1 draw but Victoria made no mistake in the
second replay in which they had a well-merited 3-1 win over the
Ardrossan club who were striving to win the trophy for the third year
in succession. The
crowd was smaller than on the previous two occasions yet an attendance of
something like four thousand was quite satisfactory for a weeknight.
Vics
rearranged their front rank with Matthews leading, McNeil at inside right
and
Barr at outside left.
The turning point in the game arrived when
Clearie scored a great goal from a free kick to put his team ahead for the
second time after a Kearney penalty had neutralised an earlier Matthews goal.
The
Irvine club had had an outfield advantage without, however, being too convincing
at goal but after that, Clearie goal they gained a new zest and Barr sealed the
issue with another glorious goal.
The teams were
Irvine Victoria - Ballantyne; Fowler and Clearie; Shedden, Hollywood and Duffin;
Hay, McNeil, Matthews, Wark and Barr;
Winton Rovers - Frew; Black and Gemmell; Thomson, Milligan and Scollan;
Bryceland, McEwan, Reid, Kearney and Higgins.
The
referee was C McMurdo, Rutherglen.
Rovers
were first to make progress and some clever play by their right-wing pair saw
McEwan cut in for a shot which Ballantyne palmed down over the line, fortunately
outside his goal, for a corner kick from which he again palmed the ball out.
It
came to Higgins but he made a mess of a good opening by shooting wildly over the
bar. At
the other end, a Black miss gave Barr a chance to get the ball across but
instead he footered until he lost it and back came Rovers to the attack only to
be brought to a halt with an offside decision.
Another
run on the Ardrossan right found Bryceland send over a high
cross which Ballantyne fisted out but the return lacked pith and he was able to
clear without trouble.
Victoria's
first really dangerous effort came when Hay cut in past Gemmell and let go a
left-foot drive which was just wide of the mark.
The
right winger later got over a high cross which Frew saved, but failed to hold,
although he recovered smartly.
Then with eighteen
minutes gone, Victoria took the lead.
Barr
got possession, worked forward and let rip a fast rising shot which smacked
against the face of the crossbar.
Matthews
got the rebound and shot from close range and, while Frew got his hands to it,
he failed to prevent it going over the line.
In
a retaliatory raid, Rovers forced a corner from which
Ballantyne missed the cross and Clearie headed past for relief.
The
attack ended when Bryceland sent the ball over the top.
At
this stage, the Irvine forwards, while they had plenty of the play, were
overdoing the tip-tapping stuff, especially on the left and as a result their
ploy lost much of its effectiveness.
In thirty-three
minutes, McEwan, close in on goal, was tackled from behind and the referee
awarded a penalty kick from which Kearney made no mistake.
It
seemed a rather harsh penalty for such an offence but no doubt the referee
considered himself technically correct.
A
free kick for Victoria just outside the Ardrossan penalty area
spelled danger but Clearie sent the ball high over.
A
Hay shot found Frew on the spot to save but a few minutes later the winger got a
glorious chance or rather he created one for himself.
An
accurate pass to the right saw him cut past the back on the inside only to send
narrowly over the bar when it looked as if he could have picked his spot.
The game reopened on a
somewhat dull and unenterprising note until gradually Rovers
began to force matters slightly and Higgins shot the ball high over when well
placed. At
the other end a nice cross from McNeil to the far side of the goal was nodded
back into goal again by Barr but, with Frew having rushed out to try and
intercept, there was no one up to take advantage.
A
sudden Winton move caught the Irvine defence wide open but,
with his mates waiting on the pass, Kearney elected to shoot from long range and
so spoiled what looked like a dangerous move.
From
that point, Victoria began to infuse more thrust into their play and three
corners in succession gave an indication of their eagerness.
A
flick from Barr to Matthews saw the latter return it to the winger but Barr was
slow in going for it and a chance was lost.
The
centre-forward came near himself next time when he got his head to a Hay corner
and the ball went over by a narrow margin.
In a quick run to the
other end, Reid was going through when it looked as if Hollywood impeded him in
a way not strictly according to the book.
The
referee, however, ignored the Ardrossan claims.
Ballantyne
was carrying the ball out after saving when it seemed as if Bryceland ‘s elbow
got him on the face and the keeper had to receive attention.
With
about twenty-five minutes gone, Vics were granted a free-kick on the
Ardrossan eighteen yard line.
Clearie
was entrusted with the kick and, although the Rovers' players
lined up, he found an opening to shoot the ball hard, low and true into the net,
Frew having not an earthly.
Rovers
altered their forward formation hereabouts with McEwan going into centre but it
had no appreciable effect and it was Victoria who again showed them the way.
Barr
got possession, looked as if he had lost it, recovered, beat his man and sent a
great left-foot drive flying past Frew into the far corner of the net.
It
was all over now, Rovers having little fight left in them and
the only incident of note in the remaining stages was a great drive by McNeil
which Frew cleverly touched over the bar.
There
was no doubting the merits of Victoria ‘s win on this occasion.
Apart
from a short spell after the resumption, the Ardrossan side was rarely in the
picture in the second half and the cup went to the better side at the finish.
Although
they indulged in too much close passing stuff in the first half, this front rank
had more mobility than hitherto and this became more evident the longer the game
went. As
in previous games, the Irvine defence was fairly sure and Ballantyne was well
protected, while the halves kept plying the forwards with the ball at every
opportunity. That
tendency by the forwards to try a quick pass in close formation instead of
holding the ball when it would have been more profitable delayed the decision.
Once
they opened out, however, they offered greater threat and on the second half
play they were clear-cut winners.