1975
was not Winton Rovers' best year.
ARDROSSAN WINTON ROVERS 1 -
KILWINNING RANGERS 0
An early goal by young winger Owen Doran
was enough to give Winton the points on a bitterly cold
Saturday afternoon (8 February 1975).
Winton dominated play in the
first half and could quite easily have gone in at the interval three goals up.
Buffs on the other hand were finding it hard
to settle and Mooney in the Winton goal was competent in
dealing with the few dangerous situations that did arise.
It was Kilwinning, however, who set
up the first attack with Newman's shot cannoning off Mooney's body for a corner.
Winton replied with a goal. A cross from the left found Doran
unmarked in front of goal and the winger steadied himself and shot past Foy.
Encouraged by this early goal Winton
began to push forward with enthusiasm and were soon finding big gaps in the
Kilwinning defence.
Hay was intelligently breaking from defence
and charging up the right wing, McIlroy was causing concern in front of goal and
Jim Clarke was effective with his accurate passing.
It looked as if Winton
were going to increase their lead in the seventeenth minute when they were
awarded a penalty after McIlroy was brought down in the box.
McIlroy took the kick but sliced it wide of
the post.
Soon after, Brookes met a high cross from Hay
and headed against the goalie.
Sandwiched between all this Winton
pressure was a Paul Quinn goal which was disallowed for offside.
Ten minutes after the restart
Kilwinning brought on Edgar for John Cunninghame and began to come more into the
game.
Mooney saved a Pratt shot which squirmed its way
through a ruck of players and minutes later the same player headed over from a
corner kick.
The game began to frustrate the fans as both
teams became involved in a dour midfield tussle which did little to raise the
spirits of the already frozen spectators.
Winton managed to
raise their game in the dying minutes. and Foy had to make a great save from a
McIlroy shot.
Edgar of Kilwinning was booked for dissent
when he kicked the ball away after a decision had gone against him.
Winton won comfortably in the
end with good service from Hay, Clarke, Doran, Sanderson, McCann and McIlroy.
Best for Buffs were Foy, Mitchell, Nicol and
Graham.
The teams were:
Winton – Mooney,
Hay, McColl, McCann, Jaap, Clarke, Doran, Sanderson, McIlroy, Ellis and Brookes
with substitutes Hankinson and Murphy.
Kilwinning – Foy, Mitchell, Caine, D
Cunninghame, Nicol, Pratt, Fearns, J Cunninghame, Newman, Quinn and Graham.
The substitutes were Edgar and Thornton.
Ardrossan and Saltcoats Herald,
14 February 1975
ARDROSSAN WINTON
ROVERS 2 – IRVINE MEADOW 2
Meadow
hit back after two goal shock
Rovers almost had their moment of
glory on Saturday (22 March 1975).
Two goals up against Meadow, they seemed to be
in a strong position but Meadow’s fighting spirit asserted itself and in the
last quarter of the match, they fought back and equalised.
In the first half, Meadow held the advantage.
Gillespie broke through but shot wide and
after Rovers had forced four corners, they were soon back at
the home goal.
Gillespie was Meadow’s danger man but he
spoiled his trustful play by poor finishing and when he did find the target,
Mooney was there to clear.
Rovers made a great
start to the second half and were a goal up with their first move.
Three passes from the centre brought the ball
to Lochiel’s feet and his quick pass found Sinclair in a perfect position to
score.
This gave a much needed spark of life to a game which
had begun to drag before half time - and it came as a shock to the Meadow side
who deserved to be in front after their first half performance.
Irvine replied immediately and Haswell worked
his way down the wing to cross for Murray to head inches past the upright, then
Johnstone tried another header from just outside the penalty box which gave
Mooney a few worried moments before it dropped over for a goal kick.
Irvine substituted McQuillan for
Gillespie – a move which saved them a point at the end but the venom was running
in the home side and they went two up through a Clarke goal which crossed the
line two feet high going in like a rocker from fourteen yards.
Murray and Johnstone of Meadow and Jaap of
Rovers were booked and this rough spell broke up what little
flow the game had developed and let Irvine find their feet again.
Midway through the second half, they
pulled a goal back.
In a scramble in the Winton
goalmouth, Stevenson slipped a clever pass-back to Renfrew who scored from eight
yards.
Johnstone continued the onslaught on the home goal
with a long drive which brought out the best in keeper Mooney who turned the
ball over the bar then a high corner keck came floating over the Winton
rearguard and substitute McQuillan proved his worth with a great header which
evened the score.
Clarke and Sanderson were working well on the right wing for Rovers but their
forwards were never there when it mattered.
The teams were:
Winton - Mooney; Hay, Jaap, Lochiel,
McColl; Clarke, Duffy, Bryceland; Sanderson, McIlroy and Sinclair.
Meadow - Dick; Haswell, Renfrew; Bashford, McCrorie,
Adams; Stevenson, Johnstone, Gillespie, Paterson and Murray.
Ardrossan and Saltcoats Herald,
28 March 1975
IRVINE VICTORIA 2 –
ARDROSSAN WINTON ROVERS 1
Woodwork to Rovers' Aid
Irvine Vics were in command
of this match (on 29 March 1975) from the start and the scoreline is no
reflection of the play.
No fewer than six shots bounced off the
woodwork of the Winton goal.
The game opened at a fast pace and two goals
were scored in the first five minutes.
Vics forced their way down the right into the
Winton half and Smillie sent over a beautiful cross which was
headed out.
Convery connected and sent the ball back in and
Neil prodded it over the line.
Three minutes later, Winton
were back on level terms when Clarke was on hand to score close in after a
corner on the right.
Vics continued to be the more impressive team
and their two trialists settled down quickly, particularly Newman in midfield
who helped put their team back into the lead.
Newman
took a long throw on the right and the ball went into the penalty area where it
broke to Waldron who cracked it home from twelve yards.
Convery had the ball in the net again for Vics
with a flying header but the goal was disallowed because of a foul by Neil on
the Winton centre-half.
Vics continued to be the more impressive team
in the second half but they could not connect with goal, their shots all going
just off target.
Player of the match was Smillie.
Waldron also played well for the Irvine team
with Cutherbertson as solid as a rock at the back.
Best for a poor
Winton side were Clarke and McIlroy.
The teams
were:
Irvine Vics -
McVey; Smillie and Dunachie; Struthers, Cuthbertson and Newman; Neil. Newman,
Dorman, Waldron and Convery with substitutes Strain and Bonar.
Winton Rovers - Mooney; Hay,
Sanderson, Jaap and McColl; Clarke and Ellis; Duffy, Dalgliesh, McIlroy and
Thomson with substitutes Thomson and Cassidy.
Ardrossan and Saltcoats Herald,
4 April 1975
IRVINE MEADOW 6 – ARDROSSAN WINTON ROVERS 2
Skipper
inspires Meadow
Five second-half goals by Meadow completely shattered
Winton who had led 2-1 at the interval.
The game (on 12 April 1975) was a personal
triumph for striker Allan Johnstone who grabbed a hat-trick to take his tally
for the season to twenty-six goals.
Both goalmouths had narrow escapes in the
opening minutes with first Ellis sending a header wide of the mark for
Winton them McQuillan bringing out the best in Mooney with a good
drive.
In twenty-two minutes, Houston suffered a leg injury
and was replaced by Dunne but this did not upset the Meadow rhythm and six
minutes later, they took the lead.
Jaap failed to clear his lines and Johnstone
pounced on the ball to shoot home from fourteen yards.
Meadow failed to take the initiative after
this goal and two minutes later, Winton got a deserved
equaliser.
Jaap, whose error
allowed Meadow to open the scoring, was on hand to head home a corner.
Winton piled on the pressure and
after several chances were missed, they grabbed an interval lead.
Again, the goal came from a corner, this time
Duffy crashing the ball home from eight yards.
It took Meadow only one minute to get back on
level terms.
A throw-out by keeper Dick found Stevenson who
passed inside to Patterson.
The inside man raced downfield and completed a
wall pass move with Dunne before thundering the ball into the net.
Meadow went into the lead in the fifty-third
minute.
From a Stevenson throw-in on the left flank,
Johnstone beat three defenders before sending Dunne clear to score.
The Irvine side added a fourth goal in the
sixty-sixth minute when Adams, one of Meadow’s best players, capped a fine match
by heading home a Stevenson flag kick.
Ten minutes later, Johnstone added number
five.
The Meadow skipper completed
his hat-trick seven minutes from time when he cleverly rounded Jaap before
picking his spot in the net.
The teams were:
Irvine Meadow – Dick; Houston, Paton; McCrorie,
Bashford, Adams; Cochrane, Johnstone, McQuillan, Patterson and Stevenson.
Winton Rovers – Mooney; Hay, McColl;
Clarke, Jaap, Frew; Sanderson, Ellis, McIlroy, Duffy and Weir.
Ardrossan and Saltcoats Herald, 18 April 1975