2013 was a fairly good year for Winton.
WINTON ROVERS 1 – BENBURB 1
Benburb win 4-1
on penalties
Ardrossan
were duly punished for their profligacy as they lost out on the Dennis Donnelly
Memorial Trophy to Benburb on Saturday (27 July 2013).
An equaliser from Joe Young took the game to
penalties where once again the Bens ran out winners.
Both sides had early attempts on goal yet both
keepers were on hand to preserve the stalemate.
After twenty minutes, however, the visitors
took the lead from the penalty spot after the referee ruled for a foul on Bens
captain Richard Lovering – and from twelve yards, Steven Waddell gave
Winton keeper Michael wadrope no chance as he buried the ball in the
corner of the net.
It wasn’t long
before Winton were back on level terms as Paul Walker’s corner
found its way to Young who rifled home his first goal for the club.
Young almost grabbed his second soon after but
failed to beat the Benburb keeper with his low drive.
The second half swung Ardrossan’s
way but, despite a handful of useful opportunities, they failed to take their
chances in front of goal.
For the second year in a row, the Dennis
Donnelly match was decided by
The
Winton team was Wardrope, Wilson, Murray, Walsh, Bonner, Shanks,
Walker, Hay, Young, Willet and McCrea with substitutes Pollock, Sim, Houston,
Kennedy, Fulton and Gallagher.
Ardrossan and Saltcoats Herald, 31 July 2013
WINTON ROVERS 3 - SALTCOATS
VICTORIA 2
Opening Win For Rovers
A trademark
display from Joe Young inspired Ardrossan to victory in their
Ardagh Cup clash with Saltcoats on Monday evening (5 August 2013).
The diminutive forward showed his class by
crafting the opener and sealing the win with a doubler.
Young was at the forefront of the
Winton attack throughout and came close to an opener after twenty
minutes when his flighted free-kick cannoned back of the upright.
It wasn't long, however, before the home side
took the lead as Young raced down the right before delivering for Bob Hay to
supply the finish at the back post. Shortly before the interval,
Winton doubled their advantage as Michael Wardrope’s long-range
clearance released the lively Young through the middle and the striker made no
mistake as he clipped the ball beyond Jim Catterson in goal.
Lee McCrea should have put given Winton a 3-0
lead before half time but failed to hit the target from three separate attempts
in quick succession.
The visitors
were a changed outfit in the second half, however, and returned to the field in a
more determined mood – and within six minutes of the restart, the Vics pulled
one back as Matthew Santos tucked home after Wardrope denied McLelland with a
fine save. Vics were then forced to substitute Catterson after the
goalkeeper broke his finger as he stretched to clear a cross ball.
Saltcoats remained on the attack and Joe Hands
was denied an equaliser thanks to a terrific stop from the impressive Wardrope.
Callum Davidson also came close for the
visitors but his lobbed effort drifted inches over the top of the Winton goal –
yet despite the Vics’ pressure, the home side regained their two-goal lead with
fifteen minutes remaining.
Wardrope again
got himself an assist as he launched a free kick well beyond the Saltcoats back
line with Young once again racing through to curl the ball beyond sub keeper
Ross Lundy.
Saltcoats regrouped, however, and with five
minutes to go they managed to pulled one back.
Santos’ shot was blocked by Wardrope with
McLelland following up to roll home the rebound – but despite their best
efforts, the Vics were unable to find another way through the Winton
defence, giving Derek Frye’s side all three points from the Ardagh opener.
The
teams were
Winton Rovers – Wardrope, Wilson,
Houston, Walsh, Bonner, Hay, McCrea substituted by Fulton in sixty-eight
minutes, Shanks, Young, Kennedy substituted by Fulton in sixty-eight minutes and
Willet.
The unused substitutes were Sim, Gallagher and
Pollock.
Saltcoats Victoria - Catterson substituted by Fulton
in fifty-two minutes, Monan, Easdon, Partick, Stewart. Davidson substituted by
Ferris in eight-two minutes, Patterson, Frye, Murphy substituted by Hands in
fifteen minutes, McCllelland and Santos. The unused substitutes were two
trialists and the attendance was 250.
Ardrossan and Saltcoats Herald, 7 August 2013
Winton Rovers
assistant, John Gallagher, insists the squad now assembled under manager Derek
Frye is arguably the best in his time at the club.
The Ardrossan coach has
been at
Winton
Park
for five and a half years and in that time has seen a series of
prodigious talents emerge from the side. Players
such as Scott Adam, Findlay Frye and Paul Stewart have gone on t:o play at the
top level of junior football, having made their names with Ardrossan.
Gallagher,
however, notes that the current crop of Winton youngsters is
well equipped for similar success. He
said "This is probably the strongest Ardrossan squad we’ve had
here over a number of years – certainly since I have been at the club.
There is quality all over the park and
what’s more is we have the kind of strength in depth needed to compete every
week. We were missing five players for the
Saltcoats game and were a little thin on the ground come kick-off but the guys
that went out there really did a job. I thought our first half performance
was excellent and we really should have had the game put beyond doubt before
half-time but that's pre-season for you.
We still have a few bugs to work out but we’re getting there."
The
pre-season performances from the likes of Joe Young, Jared Willett and Calum
Walsh have given Gallagher enthusiasm for the future.
He said "Joe has been doing really well
for us. Getting two and setting the
other against Saltcoats was just typical of the wee man.
He also scored a hat-trick in the
friendly the week before so he’s in excellent form so far.
He’s been working really well up front
with Jared and the both of them are really taking on board the things Derek and
myself have been saying to them. It’s
always great to see a young people improving and in fairness, that is the kind
of thing we have always done here at Ardrossan. We
have a bit of a pedigree in bringing these young lads through and I'm sure, in
time, Joe, Jared and others like Calum Walsh will have big futures."
Ardrossan
returns to action this evening, Wednesday, as the side travels to Barrfields to
face Largs before hosting Dalry this Saturday afternoon (10 August 2013).
Ardrossan and Saltcoats Herald, 7 August 2013
Winton knew they faced a tough examination as they went into this tie
against a fast-improving Thistle side. Visiting
boss Gavin Friels has built a new squad almost from scratch with six players
from Renfrew Vics under-21 added to a number of experienced recruits including
goalkeeper Brian Hewitt, Gavin himself, Robbie Cochrane and Bryan Slavin and
they gave a depleted Winton who could only field three
substitutes, including goalkeeper Michael Wardrope, due to injuries and players
on holiday - their hardest test yet.
Had
Thistle put away half the chances they created, the game could have been over by
half-time but credit to Winton. Although they struggled
to put their normal passing game together and were under a lot of pressure,
especially in the first half, they dug in and kept playing football and ended up
grabbing a point. Unfortunately, there is
not much of a report for the first half due to other duties but Dalry took the
lead on seventeen minutes through Greg McBride and created most of the chances
of the first half and in the last five minutes or so of the half. Kenny
Pollock made two great saves to keep Rovers in the tie.
Winton had not been
totally out of the game and had created several half-chances with Joe Young,
Jared Willet and Lee McCrea looking dangerous.
Although
Winton had a better second half, they were under pressure from
the restart and the first ten minutes of the half saw Kenny Pollock make two
crucial stops and Thistle waste another two good chances.
On fifty-six minutes, Gavin Sim made way
for Scott Houston as Winton fought their way back into the game.
A minute later, the dangerous Jared
Willet was brought down on the edge of the box after one of his runs at the
defence but nothing came from the free kick. Houston then had a similar
run down the left but his low cross into the box was easily cut out.
Rovers
equalised on sixty-five minutes when Lee McCrea picked up a free-kick from
Houston on the left and ran at the Thistle defence before unleashing an
unstoppable shot into the net from about fifteen yards to make it 1-1.
On sixty-nine minutes, John Gallagher
replaced George Bonner who seemed to have picked up a knock and this saw a bit
of re-organisation in defence. At this
point, Winton were the better team, playing some nice football and looking
dangerous. Bob Hay picked up a booking on
seventy-two minutes. A minute later,
Jared Willet chipped the ball into the area after another good run and a
defender almost chested the ball back past Brian Hewitt but he gathered easily.
Five
minutes later, Winton almost snatched the lead when John
Gallagher was brought down on the edge of the box after a neat one-two with Joe
Young had seen him lining up for a shot before his feet were taken from under
him. Joe Young hit his free-kick towards
the top right comer and it looked to be going in until Hewitt got a hand to it
and tipped it over the bar. Later, Hewitt
got the better of both Joe Young and Gallagher in one-on-ones with them although
he seemed to stop Young getting up after he had charged him down as he went to
try and make a clearance on the left side of the box and got the ball.
In the
end, Thistle had the best chance to win the game in time added-on when the ball
was only cleared out to Connor Kelly in the middle of the goal on the
eighteen-yard line and it took a great save from Kenny Pollock to keep out his
well hit shot.
The
teams were
Winton Rovers – Pollock, Wilson, Sim, Bonner,
Walsh, McCrea, Kennedy, Shanks, Willet, Young and Hay with substitutes
goalkeeper Wardrope, Houston and Gallagher.
Dalry Thistle - Hewitt; Friel,
Halliday, Cochrane, Slavin, Kelly, Russell, Walker, Loughlin and McBride with
substitutes Boyle, J Friels, Cumming, Guinnoa and G Friels.
Ardrossan and Saltcoats Herald, 14 August 2013
Easy Win Seals Top Spot by Neil Carnegie
Beith sealed
top spot with this victory but, despite defeat, Winton are
still in with a chance of making the quarter-finals if they defeat Kilwinning
Rangers tonight, Wednesday.
As expected, Beith put the Rovers’ defence
under pressure from the kick-off for the first fifteen minutes, it was virtually
one-way traffic but the defence cleared their lines.
Eventually
Winton
started playing some nice football and had a few half-chances.
On twenty-eight minutes, McKay had a good shot
on the turn go just over the bar before former Partick Thistle man Andy Gibson
put over a good cross which was cut out by Callum Walsh.
Michael Wardrope came off his line to block a
shot from Frize after he made a good run.
Winton had a very
good chance on thirty-eight minutes when Mark Murray did well to win the ball
out on the left before playing out to Paul Walker and his dangerous cross wasn’t
dealt with by Adam Strain and the ball broke to Callum Walsh but his well-hit
shot was saved by the keeper.
It was, however, Beith
who took the lead a minute later under controversial circumstances when the
referee ignored claims for a foul on Jared Willet after he appeared to have been
floored in the Beith half.
A ball was played into the Winton
half and Frize ran on to it and blasted past Wardrope.
Winton nearly equalised just after the break
when Paul Walker ran on to a long clearance and lobbed the advancing Adam Strain
from the edge of the box but the ball landed on the roof of the net.
Willet then went on a good run down the left
wing.
Paul Walker looked to have his shirt pulled almost
off his back by Joe Bradley but no action was taken against the Beith player
and, as play raged on, Charlie Hobbs fired past Wardrope from the edge of the box
to make it 2-0.
On sixty-two minutes,
Bob Hay picked up the ball just outside the Winton box and ran
through the middle before playing it to Willet who rode a tackle and put over a
good cross which was cleared.
Beith killed the game off with a third
following a misplaced pass by Winton which was picked up by
Andy Reid who ran in on goal before shooting past Wardrope on seventy-nine
minutes.
Beith finished the scoring when Greenwood squared the
ball into the middle where MacLean shot home despite the brave efforts of
Wardrope.
Ardrossan and Saltcoats Herald, 14 August 2013
WINTON
ROVERS 4 – DARVEL JUNIORS 1
Relegated
Ardrossan Winton Rovers made the best start possible to their
District League campaign on Saturday (17 August 2013) as they hammered Darvel
4-1 at
Winton
Park.
Derek Frye’s side played well with Scott
Houston and Joe Young on target along with Michael Fulton from the penalty spot.
The
other goal was an own goal.
Spoils Shared In Four Goal Thriller
Two of the
sides with genuine promotion aspirations went head-to-head at Dam Park and
produced a cracking ninety minutes of football that was a real credit to the
world of Junior Football.
In a thrilling match, there were numerous
chances created at both ends and both sides could have scored many more.
The visitors were first to show in front of
goal when a long ball down the left caught out Simpson and Lee McCrea ran in
unchallenged only to see his shot crash back off Fraser Stewart’s right-hand
post.
Vics’ first chance came in the fifth minute when Neil
McGinn set up Dom Boyle and Winton keeper Michael Wardrope parried the ball
round the post.
The hosts
settled and began to take a grip on the game and Wardrope again parried a
long-range Boyle effort.
Winton’s strike force of Joe
Young and Jarred Willet carried a serious threat upfront and in the eighteenth
minute, Young raced clear and was only denied by a last-ditch Martin Lawrie
challenge and the follow up shot from Willet was saved by Stewart.
The breakthrough for Whitletts came in the
twenty-second minute.
Tony Balfour picked the ball up out wide on
the left and turned inside the full-back and ran to the edge.
Vics were dominating now and Craig Rodgers
should have increased their advantage when he got on the end of Balfour’s corner
but couldn’t keep his effort down from just six yards.
A second goal
was on the cards and it came in the twenty-eighth minute from a well worked
free-kick.
Lawrie played in Boyle down the right and from
his low cross Michael O’Connor tapped the ball home from six yards.
Minutes later Boyle put O’Connor through on
Wardrope but the big keeper got a hand to his chipped effort and moments later
the Winton number one got down sharply to his near post to keep
out an angled Boyle drive from the edge of the box.
Winton kept trying to get forward at every
opportunity and almost pulled one back when from Willet’s flick, Vics skipper
Graham Longair cleared the danger off Richard Hay just as the Winton midfielder
seemed set to score. The Ayr side almost grabbed a third two minutes
before the break when from an O’Connor header, an attempted clearance from
Callum Walsh looked to have beaten his own keeper but Wardrope stuck out a foot
to clear the ball off the line.
Ardrossan
started the second half strongly but again Vics almost added to their advantage
in the forty-ninth minute when, from a corner-kick, a powerful Raymond Buchanan
header brought a great diving save out of Wardrope.
Ardrossan almost reduced the
leeway in the fifty-seventh minute when Young’s header was almost turned into
his own net by Boyle but Stewart blocked on the line and a superb blocking
tackle by Buchanan set up a Vics counter attack that ended with Neil McGinn
turning inside a defender but Wardrope again thwarting Vics.
Despite Vics’ two-goal lead the game was very
open with chances being created at both ends.
The next goal
was going to be important and Vics should have scored when O’Connor was in the
clear but could only head McGinn’s cross straight atWardrope.
It wasn’t long before the goal came and it
came for Winton in the sixty-third minute when Joe Young raced
clear and his angled drive beat Stewart at his near post.
Almost immediately, Winton
went in search of the equaliser and only a block from Longair gave Stewart the
chance to clear a Jared Willet shot but the striker wasn’t to be denied and in
the sixty-seventh minute got the equaliser when his low strike from twenty-two
yards beat Stewart.
Both sides saw red in the seventieth minute
when Hay reacted angrily to an O’Connor challenge and referee David Ingram saw
fit to send both players for an early bath.
The red cards ruined the flow of the game but
not the excitement as Vics skipper Graham Longair fired over from a corner that
Winton struggled to clear.
At the other
end, Winton had claims for a penalty waved aside by the referee
after a Lee Holland challenge on Willet as the striker bore in on goal.
With time running out, Balfour almost snatched
victory for Whitletts in the eighty-sixth minute as he raced clear and his low
drive from outside the box beat Wardrope but agonisingly slipped inches past the
post.
Winton had their chance too after
Bonner’s drive inside the box was blocked by Buchanan after Stewart had parried
a Paul Walker shot. This
was a superb advert for the junior game and if this is the standard of football
on show, it is going to be a most enjoyable season watching these two sides.
The teams were
Whitletts Victoria – Stewart, Simpson, Lawrie,
Holland, Buchanan, Longair, Boyle (Allan 76); Rodgers (Cameron 70); O’Connor,
McGinn and Balfour with Patterson, Kerr and Callaghan not used as substitutes.
Winton Rovers – Wardrope, Walsh, Houston (Murray 70); Wilson,
Bonner, Hay, Walker, Shanks (Glancy 76); Young (Fulton 81); Willet and McCrea
with Pollock and Sim not used as substitutes.
WINTON ROVERS 8 -
CRAIGMARK BURNTONIANS 0
Eightsome Reel As Winton Go Top
Matt Speirs at
Winton
Park
Clinical
Winton won this league match in a canter to soar into top spot
– but the young Craigmark team impressed the fans with the way they went about
playing the game in the proper manner.
The early exchanges were pretty even but
Winton opened the scoring after ten minutes when a corner on
the left was headed in at the back post by George Bonner. Craigmark had a
chance to level the score five minutes later but John McCormack’s effort drifted
wide of the far post.
In twenty-eight minutes, Bob Hay was pulled
down in the box and Ben Carson converted the resultant spot-kick.
Eleven minutes
from the interval, McCrea ran on to a through ball and netted at the second
attempt.
Craigmark got off to the worst possible start after
the break when an own goal from Michael Kelly following a Winton
corner put the home side four-up.
Ten minutes later, the lack of height in the
Craigmark defence allowed Callum Walsh to head home a fifth goal.
Although being outplayed, Craigmark continued
to try and play football but fell further behind when a McCrea cross was netted
by Jared Willet in the sixty-second minute.
Fifteen minutes
from time, a fine save by Marcus Worral denied Allan Shanks.
Four minutes from the end, Willet netted at
the back post.
Lee McCrae added an eighth a minute later,
netting from six yards following a Willet pass.
A minute from the end, Winton
were awarded another penalty but Marcus Worral produced a wonderful save to turn
to deny them a ninth.
The teams were
Winton Rovers – Pollock, Walsh, Houston, Bonner, Wilson,
Glancey, Walker, Hay, Carson,Willet and McCrea with substitutes Smith,
Wardrope,Murray, Shanks and Fulton.
Craigmark Burntonians – Worrall, Kelly, Conway, Reid,
Hainey, Wallace, Graham, Henderson, McCormack, Steel and Grover with substitutes
Burrell and McGowan.
Ardrossan and Saltcoats Herald, 4 September 2013
WINTON
ROVERS 3 – DALRY THISTLE 2
by Neil Carnegie
As expected,
this was a hard-fought, close game between two of the promotion favourites with
victory keeping Winton in top spot on goal difference.
Winton were still without Joe
Young but Billy Gilmour returned to the side replacing Jamie Glancy who dropped
to the bench.
The first twenty minutes or so were a bit flat
with neither side really creating any clearcut chances. On eighteen minutes,
Brian Hewitt made a good save from a Lee McCrea shot atter he had made a good
run into the box. A
couple of minutes later, he saved a long range
free-kick from Ben Carson before Thistle took the lead on twenty-one minutes
when Wallace headed home a cross from the right to put the visitors ahead.
Billy Gilmour
then picked up a booking before Paul Walker had a great chance to equalise when,
with Hewitt off his line, he tried to chip the ball over him but the keeper
managed to grab the ball above his head.
He made up for the missed opportunity when he
chased down a ball to the edge of the box and although Hewitt came out to clear,
Walker won the ball then turned and lobbed the ball over the keeper and into the
net to make it 1-1 on the half-hour.
Bob Hay picked up a yellow card a couple of
minutes later
Rovers
should have taken the lead on thirty-four minutes when Jared Willet played a
good ball out to Walker who got to the line before putting a good cross over to
the back post to an unmarked Lee McCrea but he headed over the bar from a good
position.
Winton paid the price for
this miss when an attack broke down and the ball was put into the Winton
half.
The defence failed to deal with the ball and it was
then played to Ciaran Friels whose well hit shot fiom just inside the box gave
Michael Wardrope no chance.
Walker picked up a booking just before the
break and the half ended with Dalry 2-1 ahead.
Winton
more or less took control in the second half although Thistle was still
dangerous and it took some good defending at times to keep them out.
It was Winton however who
equalised five minutes into the half atter the ball was played out to Willet out
on the right wing and, although a defender appeared to have put in a good
tackle, Willet rode it and got to the line before cutting back to Ben Carson who
fired home from fifteen yards for his first goal from open play for the club to
make it 2-2.
It should have
been 3-2 to Winton on fifty-five minutes when Jared Willet was
brought down in the box as he ran in on goal.
It was a stonewall penalty but the referee
waved play on and McCrea was booked for complaining to the referee.
A minute later, Willet got into the box and
hit a shot which Hewitt could only parry but unfortunately Callum Walsh was
unable to get to the loose ball and it was cleared.
On fifty-nine
minutes, Walker went on one of his runs at the Dalry defence before cutting the
ball back to Jared Willet about twenty yards out and he was unlucky to see his
volley hit the bar with Hewitt beaten.
On sixty-four minutes, Michael Fulton came on
for Willet who had picked up a knock just before Winton took
the lead for the first time in the match.
Some great football saw the ball played out to
Walker out on the right and he played a one-two with Ben Carson before shooting
into the roof of the net to make it 3-2 on sixty-seven minutes.
Fulton was then
booked for a touchline tussle with a Dalry defender.
On seventy-one minutes, Ben Carson had an
overhead kick saved by Hewitt after a Michael Fulton cross broke to him.
On seventy-seven minutes, Billy Gilmour, who
had spent much of the match upfront with Carson playing just behind him, was
replaced by Alan Shanks and a few minutes later Jamie Glancy came on for McCrea.
Rovers
had three good chances to finish the game in the dying minutes.
Firstly, a Dalry defender was feet away from
an own goal from a dangerous cross in from the left before Winton missed two
similar chances as Thistle pushed for the equaliser although they never really
threatened the Winton goal.
Hay ran on to a through ball from Shanks
behind the defence and ran to the edge of the box but Hewitt was off his line
well to save at his feet.
Hay picked up a knock in the collision and
limped off the pitch at the end.
In time added on, Shanks again played a great
ball in behind the defence which Fulton ran on to and once again Hewitt came out
to the edge of the box and made a good save at his feet.
The
Winton team was Wardrope, Walsh, Murray, Bonner, Wilson, Hay, Walker, Gilmour,
Willet, Carson and McCrea with substitutes Glancy, Pollock, Shanks and Fulton.
by Stewart McConnell
Proud boss
Derek Frye hailed former Dundee United ace Paul Walker after his double helped
Ardrossan Winton Rovers overcome Dalry Thistle 3-2 to stay
joint top of the Stagecoach Ayrshire District League.
He said the mix of youth and experience is the
secret behind their successes so far, just as it was during the manager’s first
spell in charge.
Frye, who steered Winton to
District League title glory during his first spell in charge, told Sportscene
“It’s great to have a player of Paul’s calibre in the team.
He has played at the top level with Dundee
United and Stranraer and the second goal he scored, which was our third, was
superb.
It’s also great to have the likes of goalkeeper
Michael Wardrope and Billy Easton, who is back playing in the team, as they both
have so much experience but there are some excellent young players.
Jared Willet and Joe Young have done really
well for us and Ben Carson is coming into a game and he is just twenty-three.
You need a good mix of youth and experience and there’s a great spirit in the
dressing room.
Of course, it’s nice to be top at the moment
and we hope to stay there.”
The boss,
however, is taking nothing for granted as his team head to East Ayrshire to take
a Kello Rovers side who have still to open their account following three
successive defeats.
He said “You never know what you can get at
Kello.
It can be a mixed bag. They haven’t picked up any
points yet but there’s always a first time.
Our aim is as always to go there and pick up
three points. I
am enjoying being back here and it’s great
that the players are buying into what myself and John Gallagher (assistant
manager) are trying to do.”
KELLO ROVERS 3 – WINTON ROVERS
2
Visiting players Sean Kennedy and Michael Fulton were
taken to hospital by ambulance with ankle and shoulder injuries respectively as
Winton suffered their first defeat of the season.
Winton were missing six
regulars with Andy Bell playing as a trialist to help us out in defence.
Only three subsitutes were available and two
of those were carrying knocks. Despite this, they created enough first half
chances to have won the game comfortably before the break and Kello won by
scoring three of the few clear cut chances they made.
Paul Walker and Jared Willet caused most of
the problems down the wings and it took ‘robust’ tackling from Kello to deal
with them.
On ten minutes, Joe Young seemed to have been
fouled in the box as he went for a cross but the referee waved play on.
Three minutes later, some good play down the
left saw Young and Willet play a one-two in the box before the latter’s shot
went across the face of goal.
On sixteen
minutes, Kello had their first real chance when a short pass saw their number ten
run in on goal but George Bonner got in a good tackle as he was about to shoot.
On nineteen minutes, Bonner headed wide from a
Paul Walker free-kick and Winton paid for the missed chance
when Kello went down the other end and won a corner.
From this, they hit the bar with a shot and
the ball broke to their number six who fired home.
On twenty-three minutes, Winton
should have had the equaliser when Walker hit a good cross to the back post but
Joe Young's header hit the bar and was cleared although Kello claimed it went
for a throw-in.
From Willet’s corner, a defender almost put
the ball in his own net but it came to the back post where Walker forced the
ball over the line to make it 1-1.
Just before the
half hour, Winton were awarded a penalty after a Walker shot
had been handled inside the box but the keeper guessed right and dived to keep
out Young’s kick and although the ball broke to Walker he shot wide.
A minute later, there was a goalmouth scramble
in the Kello box but, despite several attempts, Winton couldn't
get the ball in the net.
On thirty-two minutes, Kello appealed in vain
for a penalty after Andy Bell got the better of their number ten as he ran in on
goal.
On thirty-six minutes, Alan Shanks came in at the
back post for a comer but shot wide.
Kello came out in the second half buoyed by
their first half display and took the lead on fifty-three minutes when their
number nine, who was on the near post for a corner, forced the ball home to make
it 2-1.
On fifty-five minutes, Winton were once again unlucky
after some good football between Ben Carson and Jared Willet ended with a Joe
Young overhead kick from Willet‘s strong cross hitting the post on the opposite
side of the goal before being cleared.
On fifty-nine
minutes, Winton were forced into a change when Mark Murray
picked up a hamstring injury and Fulton came on.
This meant some changes in defence with Jared
Willet going to left-back and Fulton being slotted in upfront.
Kello increased their lead on sixty-five
minutes when a defensive slip saw the ball break to their number nine who cut
into the box before squaring the ball to the number ten who scored from ten
yards.
On seventy-seven minutes, assistant manager John
Gallagher replaced Alan Shanks before Kennedy sustained a serious ankle injury
on eighty-five minutes and required lengthy treatment before being carried off
the pitch and was replaced by Bob Hay.
Four minutes later, George Bonner headed wide.
Two minutes
into stoppage time a good crossfield ball from the right came to Gallagher who
chipped over the advancing keeper but it landed the wrong side of the post and
into the side netting.
Winton got a goal back four
minutes into time added on when a good ball out of defence reached Walker who
ran on into the box before laying the ball off to Young who slotted home from
ten yards to make it 3-2.
Kennedy was taken to hospital at the end of
the game along with Fulton when it was discovered he had dislocated his
shoulder.
Despite the long treatment to Kennedy, not to
mention the blatant time wasting of Kello that went unpunished, the referee blew
for full-time almost as soon as the game restarted.
The
Winton team was Wardrope, Bell, Murray, Walsh, Bonner, Shanks.
Walker, Carson, Young. Willet with substitutes Gallagher, Fulton and Hay.
PLAYERS RALLY ROUND TO BACK CROCKED ACE
A special
fundraising benefit match is being held on Sunday (22 September 2013) to help
injured Ardrossan Winton Rovers striker Graham Hamilton have the operation he
needs to allow him to keep playing.
Current and past players from the club will
get together at
Winton
Park
for a challenge match which is aimed at helping raise some of the £2500 needed
to repair ankle ligament damage which has kept the player out of the game since
last season.
Ardeer Thistle
boss and former Winton number two Derek Cook is helping organise the match with
Winton player and assistant John Gallagher.
He said “Graham needs to have an operation
done privately to allow him to keep playing as if he was treated on the National
Health Service they would have to fuse his ankle together and that would mean he
couldn’t play again.
His ankle can be cleaned up at the Spire
Hospital at Murrayfield by the Scottish Rugby Doctor John McKinlay who
specialises in this area and has treated me before.
Players who are now with other clubs are
getting together to help as we don’t like to see anyone go out of the game,
Graham has been a great servant at Winton for six or seven years.
In all, about £2500 has to be raised and even
if we raised three-quarters of that it would be a great achievement.
The operation could be done very soon and
Graham could be back training within six weeks and playing within eight weeks.
There are no District League games on Saturday
so if people want to take in a game why not come along and support this one.
John Gallagher has done so much work in
signing up former players for the game and they are all decent footballers.”
Among players
confirmed are ex- Winton skipper Graham Muir, now with Largs Thistle; Barry
Jones, Vinnie Muir, Ally McKerrell and striker Keir Milliken who scored a
hat-trick for Auchinleck Talbot in Saturday’s 5-1 William Hill Scottish Cup
demolition of Girvan.
Former Buffs ace John McMillan and Craig Breen
of Ardeer Thistle are among the other players.
Admission is by donation.
The match, which kicks off at noon, will be
followed by a fundraising event at Ardrossan Accies Rugby Club at 2pm, which
will include a raffle and auction along with musical entertainment from Winton
player and sometime singer Sean Kennedy.
STRIKER ON ROAD TO
RECOVERY AFTER FUNDRAISER
Long-serving
Ardrossan Winton Rovers striker Graham Hamilton goes into
hospital this week for the operation he needs to save his career thanks to the
efforts of teammates past and present.
Current and past players from the
Ardrossan club on Sunday (22 September 2013) took part in a challenge
match at
Winton
Park.
Along with an after-match party held later in
Ardrossan Rugby Club, more than £1500 was raided for the operation which costs
£2500 and this week Hamilton saluted their efforts.
He said “This means so much to me.
I will be forever grateful to the lads who
turned up and the girls who helped out behind the scenes.
This is a real boost and I hope to get back
playing soon.
The sum raised is way beyond what I was
expecting and just shows what can be achieved when footballers come together.”
Both teams
served up a great game in the sunshine with the ex-players, managed by Derek
Cook, Jim Allan and Craig Hamilton, winning 3-1, thanks to a fine hat-trick from
Stephen ‘Biscuit’ McAvoy who showed he hasn’t lost his eye for goal.
There were some fine performances but the
highlight was when stalwart supporter Stephen ‘Steish’ Easton came on as if he
was a goal kicker in American Football for the dubious penalty awarded to the
current Winton team and cool as you like slotted the spot-kick beyond Ross
Stewart to rapturous applause.
Hamilton goes to the Spire Hospital at
Murrayfield on Thursday to have the operation done by Scottish Rugby Doctor John
McKinlay, who specialises in this area.
Focused Ardrossan Winton Rovers boss
Derek Frye is aiming to banish the memory of his team’s first defeat by putting
derby rivals Saltcoats Victoria to the sword at Campbell Park on Saturday (5
October 2013) - and the Seasiders will also have a point to prove after falling
at the first hurdle in the Scottish Junior Cup, going down 2-1 at home to
Blantyre Victoria.
Winton lost 3-2 to Kello
Rovers on 14 September in their last match although they have been in training
for the past two Saturdays and are raring to go again.
Boss Frye said
“Derbies are always tough games.
I saw Saltcoats play on Saturday and they are
not a bad side.
They will be disappointed to be out of the cup
and will be looking to bounce back but our aim is to take the three points.”
He has now shrugged off the disappointment of
the loss at Kirkconnel and wants to move on.”
It was one of these days when we didn’t play
as well as we can but you get days like that and training has been going well
since although we haven’t had a competitive match.”
Frye has no injury problems to report.
Winton
have signed shirt sponsorship deals with two local firms.
The home shirts are sponsored by GasSure of
Stevenston and Kilwinning Tyre Services and Car Valet Centre are sponsoring the
away shirts for season 2013-14.
SALTCOATS VICTORIA 1 – WINTON ROVERS 1
Gordon Hunter at
Campbell Park
This was definitely the match that caught the eye in
the Ayrshire District League at Campbell Park with the visitors trying to
confirm their fans’ bullish optimism that they were bound to go straight back to
Super League status under the return of prodigal son Derek Frye.
Saltcoats were attempting to at least get the
results that their performances deserved.
Ricky Ryland's team was on a poor run of
results and this game between the old rivals would certainly get both teams up
for it.
Winton would need to be as Saltcoats
are now getting a reputation as their bogey team - indeed Winton
have not won at Campbell Park since May 2008.
A decent turn out by both
sets of supporters witnessed a game at breakneck pace with Saltcoats getting off
to the better start.
Matthew Santos and Tam McClelland both had
half chances in the first six minutes but not really enough to trouble Wardrope
in the Winton goal. With eleven minutes gone McClelland did
have a better chance when he turned and left George Bonner for dead and his shot
from close range scraped the outside of the post.
A few minutes, later former Winton
man Mathew Santos seemed to waltz past the visitors’ defence only to be foiled
by Michael Wardrope’s save.
Winton started to come into the game with
McAvoy having a shot going awol and Joe Young, who was not getting any change
out of Jordan Stewart, managing a rare shot on goal against his old club.
With thirty-five minutes on the clock, Callum
Davidson was upended on the outside of the area.
A great free kick from Sean Quinn was flighted
over the wall only for former Meadow man Wardrope to show his class and somehow
turn the ball away for a corner.
Winton responded with a Ben Carson shot on goal but
it was easily held by Ross Lundy who is in great form at the moment.
Then, in the dying seconds of the first half,
Davidson split the Winton defence with a pass to Santos who ran
in on goal to beat Wardrope to the ball.
Santos got his foot to it but was clattered to
the ground by the keeper in an ungainly fashion but the ball rolled into the net
with advantage played and Saltcoats took the lead.
Winton set the pace in the
second half as they tried to get something from the game.
Young and Willet both tried to pierce the Vics
defence but Callum Hercus and Stewart looked as though they were holding steady
and they did up and till the sixty-fifth minute.
A cross from Carson beat Nikki Smith and was
met by the unmarked Young in the box who had the simple task of turning the ball
into the net past the stranded Lundy.
It was game on now as
Winton upped the ante and for ten minutes or so they dominated
but Saltcoats held firm with Lundy having a good save from Hay and Greg Patterson
clearing a rocket shot from Walker.
Saltcoats though still counter-attacked where
possible, Quinn and Santos always looking as
if they could break the deadlock.
In a hard but not brutally dirty game tempers
did flare in the closing stages when Davidson and Hay were booked for an exchange
of handbags.
In the end, a draw may have been a fair result
but both teams will be far from happy.
In what may be the tightest this league has
been for years every point will make a difference and it won’t be the one point
that seals teams fates but the two that they lost.
The teams
were
Saltcoats Victoria – Lundy, Smith, Forde, Stewart, Hercus, Patterson,
Ferris, Davidson, Quinn, McClelland and Santos with substitutes Easdon, Knight,
Kean, Cunningham and Gibson.
Winton Rovers – Wardrope, Walsh, McCrae,
Gilmour, Bonner, Hay, Walker, Carson, McAvoy. Young and Willet with substitutes
Shanks, Pollock, Wilson and Gallacher.
Wily
Winton staged a stunning comeback in the last five minutes to
grab a point in a match that for long spells looked to be out of reach.
Girvan were awarded an early free-kick on the
right side of the penalty area.
Mark Doolan drove across the face of the goal
but there were no takers.
The next chance fell to Winton
a couple of minutes later but Joe Young shot across goal and wide of the far
post.
The next half hour developed into a dour midfield
battle with neither side able to create any shooting opportunities.
In
the thirty-fifth minute, however, Darren McMahon set up Craig Harvey but his
shot was turned over the bar by keeper Michael Wardrope.
Just as it looked as if the first half would
end goalless, Mark Dyer gave Girvan the lead when he sent a thirty-five yard
shot into the top corner of the net, giving Michael Wardrope no chance.
With the wind at their backs, it was expected
that Winton would take the game to Girvan but it was the
visitors who doubled their lead five minutes after the break when Marc Dyer set
up Jordan Ryan who netted with a low shot.
Two minutes later Young had a shot turned away
for a corner by David Markey as Winton tried to get back into
the match.
Winton almost pulled a goal back on the hour but Jared Willet
had a fine shot well saved by David Markey.
The ball fell again to Willet but his shot hit
the post and was cleared.
Four minutes from the end, a long clearance
from Wardrope was missed by the Girvan defence and Willet headed the ball over
the advancing Markey into the net.
Rovers sensed they could
still get something from the match and with a minute left they got the
equaliser, Alan Shanks headed the ball back across goal and former Girvan player
Lee McCrea drove the ball low into the net.
The teams were
Winton Rovers – Wardrope, C Wilson, Murray, S Wilson, Bonner,
Hay, Walker, Carson, Young, McAvoy, Willet with substitutes McCrea, Shanks,
Houston, Kennedy and Gallacher.
Girvan – Markey, Doolan, Orr,
Cunningham, Young, Maitland, Harvey, McMahon, Mitchell, Dyer and Ryan with
substitutes Webb, Hislop, Gallagher and McMillan.
District League champions Kilwinning Rangers are
caught up in a major war of words with Ardrossan Winton Rovers
over Buffs skipper Ian Cashmore.
The Abbey Park club claims they have rejected
three bids from Winton for the targetman who was their top
scorer last season and he is staying put - but the Ardrossan club
has hit back by claiming they have agreed a fee for the player and that a deal
has been done.
Buffs chairman Danny Watt told Sportscene
“There were three bids made for Ian Cashmore and the third bid was substantial
but we have spoken to Ian and he wants to stay.
He still has two years of his contract to run
and why would he want to drop down a division? He is still very much part of the
manager’s plans.”
Winton chairman Dougie Rae
insisted this week he was convinced a deal had been agreed to land Cashmore.
He told Sportscene “I can confirm that we made
two offers for Ian Cashmore both of which were refused by Kilwinning Rangers but
the manager George Grierson called me and offered me the player last Wednesday.
I upped our previous bid and a deal was
concluded but I haven’t heard anything back since.”
KILBIRNIE LADESIDE 5 WINTON ROVERS 3
Ladeside Edge Eight Goal Thriller
Brave
Winton pushed their higher league opponents all the way before
the Garnock Valley side finally prevailed in an eight-goal thriller at Valefield
Park.
Understrength Winton went into this
game against a Ladeside team doing well in the Premier Division down to the bare
bones with top scorer Joe Young, probably still recovering completely from the
knock he picked up last week, on the bench.
There were some positional changes at the back
with Stuart Wilson going to right back and Calum Walsh moving into midfield.
A trialist was drafted in at number four and
there were only three substitutes including assistant manager John Gallagher.
Despite all the rain over the previous couple of days, the pitch was in
great condition if a little soft in places and this made for a great game of
football which went from one end to another with Rovers putting
in one of their best performances of the season to match their Premier opponents
until right at the end.
Ladeside almost took the lead from the start
when Liam McGuiness got down the right and hit a low hard cross into the
goalmouth where a combination of Michael Wardrope and a defender cleared the
danger. On six minutes, however, Winton had a good chance
to take the lead when Callum Walsh head flicked a Wardrope goal kick on to the
edge of the box which Stephen McAvoy chased down but Danny McLeay came out to
the edge of his box and cleared before McAvoy could shoot.
A
couple of minutes later, Winton did go in front following some
nice football that saw play switched play from one side of the pitch to the
other before Callum Walsh ran on to a pass and ran into the box before shooting
low into the corner of the net to put Winton 1-0 ahead.
On ten minutes, it was almost 2-0 following a
good run and cross out on the right by Jared Willet into the goalmouth and
McLeay did just enough to clear the ball as Ben Carson came in to knock the ball
home.
On seventeen
minutes, some good play out on the left saw Mark Murray get to the line and his
cross was deflected to Bob Hay but his shot was blocked and cleared.
As often happens, a couple of minutes after
this Ladeside equalised following the award of a dubious free-kick just outside
the Winton box on the right wing.
The defence failed to react when Mullin
squared the ball to Chris Craig who side footed the ball first time into the net
to draw the sides level.
On
twenty-two minutes, Rovers had another good chance to go back
into the lead when Callum Walsh flicked a ball to Stephen McAvoy who played in
Jared Willet who ran into the box before shooting but it was wide.
Winton regained the lead on
twenty-six minutes when McAvoy ran on to a long kick-out from Wardrope and
controlled the ball on the edge of the box before running in on goal and
shooting low past Danny McLeay to make it 2-1.
A few minutes later, Winton
received a warning when a slip by the number four allowed McGuiness to cross
into the goalmouth where former Stranraer striker Michael Moore headed wide and
on the half hour, Ladeside pulled level through former Winton man Darren McLean
who got to a pass to the edge of the box and despite attempts by defenders was
able to fire the ball home past Wardrope from fifteen yards.
For the rest of the first
half, it was mostly Ladeside attacking and Winton defending
with McGuiness wasting two good chances within minutes of each other before
Michael Moore missed a good chance on thirty-seven minutes just before Willet
had a snapshot from twenty-five yards following a Stuart Wilson throw-in go
narrowly past the post.
With half-time approaching, Wardrope made a
great save from Blair’s thirty-yard effort and he also seemed to have picked up
a knock before the same player hit the outside of the post with a header from a
corner on forty-four minutes.
At
the start of the second half, Rovers replaced the injured
Willet with Michael Fulton who appeared to have recovered from the shoulder
injury sustained at Kello.
With a couple of minutes of the second half
gone, Moore once again went close with a header before Ladeside took the lead
for the first time in the match when McGuiness rose and headed a cross
powerfully home from a few yards on fifty minutes.
A few minutes later, Stuart Wilson was forced
to head the ball over his own bar as Ladeside piled on the pressure looking to
kill the game off but it was Winton who forced their way back into it when a
Wilson throw-in out on the right came to Fulton, who had just been booked, and
he hit the ball first time shot low into the net from twenty yards to make it
3-3 on fifty-nine minutes.
Less than five minutes later, it should have
been 4-3 to Rovers when George Bonner came in at the back post to put the ball
in the net after McLeay had dropped a corner but for some unknown reason the
goal was disallowed although there was clearly no foul on the keeper.
On sixty-eight minutes,
Rovers were dealt a big blow when Fulton went down in a heap
and it appears his shoulder was the cause of his being replaced by Young just
before Callum Walsh was just unable to get to a good Stuart Wilson cross a
couple of minutes later.
Ladeside took the lead again on eighty-one
minutes when Winton allowed Craig to pick up a throw in and cut
inside before shooting home from about fifteen yards to make it 4-3 and a few
minutes later Winton cleared the ball off the line after a goalmouth scramble.
With five minutes to go, Ladeside made certain
of the game with a fifth goal when John Paul Boyle hit a cross from the right
first time past Wardrope for 5-3.
Although Winton had the ball in the back of the net
twice, they were ruled out for offside and Rovers wasted a good
chance in the dying minutes to make it 5-4 following a good save by Michael
Wardrope from McGuiness.
On eighty-nine minutes, Winton
beat the offside trap and the ball came to an unmarked Joe Young in the penalty
area but instead of shooting or running in on goal he passed the ball to McAvoy
and before he could do anything with it a defender got back and, despite
Winton appeals for a foul just outside the box, the referee gave a
bye-kick.
The teams were
Kilbirnie Ladeside – McLeay,
Mullin, Malone, MacDonald, Coleman, Blair, Strain, McGuiness, Moore, Craig and
McLean with substitutes Hamilton, Boyle and Davidson.
Winton Rovers
– Wardrope, Wilson, Murray, Biggart, Bonner, Walsh, Hay, Carson, McAvoy, Willet
and McCrea with substitutes Gallagher, Fulton and Young.
YOKER
ATHLETIC 4 – WINTON ROVERS 2
Winton bow out to unbeaten Yoker
Rovers went into this game buoyed by the previous Saturday’s
performance against Premier Division Kilbirnie Ladeside in the West of Scotland
Cup and were hopeful of getting at least a replay . Although Billy Gilmour and
Alan Shanks were available, injuries ruled out keeper Michael Wardrope and new
signing from Winlinton Wolves, Kevin Biggart and top scorer Joe Young was only
fit enough for a place on the bench.
Despite all the heavy rain in Glasgow, Yoker
had worked hard to get the game on and the pitch was in good condition, although
the grass was long as they had been unable to cut it due to the weather.
The first half was almost totally one-sided with Winton
unable to get going against a good Athletic side who are unbeaten in the Super
League and were probably fortunate to end the first half still in with a chance
of salvaging something from the game.
Yoker put Rovers under
pressure from the kick-off without creating any real chances until the
fourteenth minute when John Harvey swung in a corner-kick from their right which
eluded Kenny Pollock and both sets of players in the box and hit the back post
and went into the net to put the hosts 1-0 up.
On twenty minutes, the same player hit the
near post with another corner before the danger was cleared. Athletic
did however double their lead five minutes later when they won a soft penalty.
Harvey was allowed to cut in to the box and
shoot and although Kenny Pollock managed to punch the effort out it came to a
Yoker forward just inside the box and the referee judged a challenge on him a
foul and awarded a spot-kick which was converted by Franny McGonigle, giving
Kenny Pollock no chance.
It was mostly Yoker attacking and Rovers
defending at this point and the hosts missed two good chances in two minutes
with half an hour gone before Kenny Pollock made a great save from a twenty-yard
snapshot from the Yoker right back.
Winton didn’t have their first serious attempt on the Yoker goal
until almost half-time when the keeper parried a well-hit twenty-five-yard shot
from Ben Carson which the defence eventually cleared on forty-three minutes and
a minute later Joe Young replaced Mark Murray and Lee McCrea dropped back into
defence.
Almost on the interval, Yoker had the ball in the net
but it was ruled out for offside.
Rovers came out in the second half more positive
and competed well for the remaining forty-five minutes as the weather
deteriorated and, five minutes in, they got themselves right back into the match
when they were awarded a penalty after Bob Hay was brought down inside the box.
Young stepped up and, although the keeper got
a hand to his kick straight down the middle, he was unable to keep it out.
On fifty-two minutes, Rovers
replaced Stephen McAvoy with Alan Shanks which gave them some much-needed height
up front and five minutes later Winton had a good chance when a good move ended
with Young getting to the goal-line before firing over a low cross which saw
three good shots blocked before the ball broke to Stuart Wilson whose
twenty-five yard effort was well saved by the keeper.
Winton paid for this two minutes later when Yoker
broke up the park and Andy Rankin got in behind the defence and shot across
Pollock into the far side of the goal from about fifteen yards to make it 3-1.
On sixty-two minutes, good play down the left
saw Jared Willett get to the goal-line before cutting the ball back to Lee
McCrea but his shot flew across the face of the goal.
Once again, Rovers were
caught out by a quick Yoker counter-attack almost immediately when Jim Crowhurst
outstripped the defence quite a long way from goal before he ran into the box
before shooting past Kenny Pollock for 4-1 on sixty-three minutes.
Two minutes later, Pollock made a good save with his feet from a
Pankin shot as Yoker tried to kill the game off.
Two minutes after that, Jared Willet had a
good run down the left and his shot was deflected and from this Winton
had a couple of good attempts blocked.
On seventy-seven minutes, a quick free-kick by
Stuart Wilson to Callum Walsh saw him cross to the back post and Alan Shanks’
shot was put out for a corner.
Two minutes later, Winton got
the second goal their second half performance deserved and should be a contender
for goal of the season when Jared Willet crossed from the left to the edge of
the box where Joe Young rose and headed the ball over the advancing keeper from
eighteen yards to make it 4-2.
Try as they might, Rovers
were unable to get any more goals and Kenny Pollock made two good saves near the
end.
The
Winton Rovers team was Pollock, Wilson, Murray, Gilmour,
Bonner, Walsh, Hay, Carson, McAvoy, Willet and McCrea with substitutes Kennedy,
Wardrope, Young, Shanks and Gallagher.
Ardrossan and Saltcoats Herald, 30 October 2013
WINTON ROVERS
1- ARDEER THISTLE 4
Ardeer take win in Three Towns clash
Both teams
went into this first match between the sides for two seasons on the back of
disappointing results in recent weeks and were looking to get their seasons back
on track.
Despite the torrential rain which continued
throughout the game, the investment Rovers have made in the
playing surface over the last few years paid off with the game played on a
surface which stood up well to the deluge.
Winton had Joe Young back in
the starting eleven and Sean Kennedy was able to make a return on the bench
after recovering from the injury he sustained at Kello.
As
in the game at Yoker, Winton struggled to get into this game
against a Thistle team who were up for the challenge right from kick-off and,
after a scrappy start to the game, they took the lead on just four minutes when
the Rovers defence failed to clear their lines from a Lee Munro
corner and the ball came back to the same player and he crossed into the goal
where recent signing Neil Shearer was on hand to fire home from about ten yards
to put the visitors into the lead.
Michael Wardrope did well to tip an effort
from Scott Reid over the bar on fifteen minutes as Thistle looked to increase
their lead and piled on the pressure.
On twenty minutes, Winton
were left with a mountain to climb after they lost the ball and Ardeer broke up
the pitch and as Ross Stewart ran in on goal.
Wardrope came out and brought him down and the
referee had no hesitation in awarding a penalty and showing the big keeper a
straight red card.
Eventually Rovers put Callum
Walsh in goal and went to three at the back.
His first job was to pick the ball out of the
net from Scott Reid’s penalty-kick.
Three
minutes later, Ross Stewart ran on to a Derek Gemmell pass into the box and
fired a low shot into the net from about fifteen yards past the stand-in keeper.
Surprisingly, Thistle failed to capitalise on
their man advantage and Winton’s lack of a recognised goalie
and although they continued to control the rest of the half Rovers
managed to contain them and Walsh became more confident in goal.
Winton had one real chance in
the first half when former Winton man Craig Breen played the ball to Joe Young
but his shot from the edge of the box went over the bar.
At the other end, Lee Munro hit the post with
a shot as Rovers struggled to get into the game.
In
the second half, Winton were more in the game with more
possession but apart from a few forays down the wings and some crosses, the
Winton forwards struggled against the experienced defence who
mopped everything that came their way.
As Thistle continued to make heavy weather of
extending their lead, Winton pulled a goal back when a Ben
Carson free-kick for a hand ball by Neil Shearer just outside the box on the
left came back to him and he fired in a low cross across the goalmouth and Bob
Hay at the back post forced the ball home.
The referee gave the goal despite protests
from Ardeer that the ball had not crossed the line to make it 3-1 on eighty-five
minutes.
Thistle
restored their three-goal lead when former Winton striker
Stephen Reid picked up a loose pass on the half-way line and outstripped the
defence before running into the box, rounding Walsh and walking the ball into
the net on eighty-nine minutes to make the final score 4-1 to Ardeer.
This was another disappointing result for
Winton who now have to start winning games to get their season
back on track starting at Muirkirk on Saturday.
The teams were
Winton Rovers - Wardrope, Walsh, Murray, Wilson, Bonner, Gilmour, Hay, Carson,
Young, Willet and McCrea with substitutes Kennedy, Gallagher, Shanks, McAvoy and
Walker.
Ardeer Thistle - McCann; Breen, McGrory, Shearer, Holden, Munro,
Gemmell, J Reid, Stewart, Stephen Reid, Scott Reid with substitutes McIntosh,
Kean, Tan, Gregory and Smith.
Winton blast back with win
New loan
signing Greig Mitchell was on target as Winton bounced back
from their defeat against Ardeer with a resounding victory at Burnside Park.
Mitchell, signed on loan from Irvine Meadow
during the week, was in the starting line-up with winger Paul Walker, making a
return to the side also.
The Burnside pitch although heavy going was in
good condition and allowed both sides to play some good passing football.
Winton, who were looking to reverse a run of poor results
over the last few weeks against the league’s second bottom side attacked from
kick-off and seven minutes in the impressive Muirkirk keeper made the first of
several good saves when he tipped a Greig Mitchell shot over the bar after he
had been played in by Jared Willet.
A couple of minutes later Willet himself did
well to bring the ball under control before shooting but the ball flew across
the face of the goal and out for a goal kick.
It wasn’t all Rovers, however
and Muirkirk had a couple of attempts without seriously threatening Michael
Wardrope’s goal.
On fourteen minutes, Winton
took the lead when Joe Young did well to bring down a kick out from Michael
Wardrope before playing the ball out to Paul Walker on the right wing and he
swung in a good cross that caused chaos in the home defence and the ball
eventually came to new signing Mitchell at the near post.
He blasted it into the net from six yards to
make a scoring debut.
Rovers
doubled their lead a couple of minutes later when Callum Walsh swung a good
cross from the right to Jared Willet on the far side of the box and he hit the
ball first time past the keeper to make it 2-0 from eighteen yards.
It should have been 3-0 on twenty minutes when
the referee turned down appeals for a penalty after Paul Walker had been barged
over in the box as he made his way to the line.
On 26 minutes, a poor headed clearance from a
Walker cross fell to Bob Hay but his first time shot went just past the post.
On the half hour, the Muirkirk keeper did well
to come out of his goal and clear a ball into the box from Willet just before
Walker got on the end of it.
Rovers did however get their third on
thirty-one minutes when the ball came to Walsh totally unmarked in the box
following a Young corner-kick and while the defence stood appealing for offside
Walsh calmly slotted the ball past the keeper from fifteen yards to make it 3-0
to the Winton.
Muirkirk, however, were not completely out of
it and Michael Wardrope had to make a good save with his feet from the home
number seven after Rovers lost possession out on the Muirkirk
left and he ran in on goal before hitting a strong shot at the goals.
Muirkirk were now coming more into the match
without creating any real chances and Rovers had the last real
chance of the half when Mitchell shot wide from about 20 yards after Lee McCrea
had done well to intercept a clearance before playing the ball to the edge of
the box.
Young was
unable to come back out and was replaced by Stephen McAvoy at the start of the
second half.
On forty-eight minutes it was almost 4-0 when
the Muirkirk number fourteen was inches away from turning a cross from Jared
Willet into his own goal at the near post.
Ten minutes into the second half, both
Mitchell and Stephen McAvoy saw crosses fly across the face of the Muirkirk goal
before Michael Wardrope made another good save from the home lumber eight after
Rovers lost possession on the Muirkirk left and the player cut
into the box and hit a good shot which Michael did well to put out for a corner
at the near post.
Muirkirk were making a game of it and were
playing some nice football at times as the surface started to cut up and players
started to slip about.
On
sixty-five minutes, Winton made a double substitution bringing
on Stuart Wilson for Callum Walsh and Sean Kennedy for Ben Carson and a couple
of minutes later Greig Mitchell had a great chance to double his tally when
Stephen McAvoy brought the ball down on the edge of the box turned and passed
the ball to Mitchell but his mishit shot went tamely into the keeper’s hands.
It was 4-0 on seventy-seven minutes when the
impressive Mitchell controlled a ball in from the Winton right on the edge of
the box and played the ball into the goalmouth where Willet was on hand to fire
the ball home from about ten yards for his second of the day.
A couple of minutes later, it took a superb
save from the Muirkirk keeper to deny Greig Mitchell after Jared Willet had
played a good ball to him just inside the box and his curled shot looked to be
heading for the top corner of the far side of the goal until the keeper somehow
got over and tipped it past the post for a corner.
From this corner, George Bonner had a good
header go over the bar.
On
eighty minutes it could have been 5-0 after some good play down the left by Lee
McCrea saw him pull the ball back to Jared Willet whose first time shot hit the
far post before being cleared.
Muirkirk continued to plug away trying to get
at least a goal from the game and were playing some good passing football and on
eighty-three minutes their number nine brought out another good save from
Michael Wardrope after he had got clear of the defence.
Two minutes later, Stephen McAvoy was unlucky
when a great header from a Mark Murray corner brought out another good save from
the keeper.
With a few minutes remaining, Mitchell went on
a strong run down the right and got to the bye line near the goal before cutting
the ball back to Jared Willet but the keeper did well to grab the ball before it
reached the Winton man and the game finished 4-0 to the
visitors.
This was a comfortable win for Winton
that will give them a boost before their important match against League leaders
on Saturday.
Mitchell looks to be an excellent signing who
is strong, holds the ball up well has an eye for goal and will only get better.
The
Winton team was Wardrope, Walsh, Murray, Young, Bonner, Hay, Walker,
Carson, Mitchell, Willet and McCrea with substitutes Kennedy, McAvoy, Gallagher
and Wilson.
LUGAR BOSWELL THISTLE 2-
WINTON ROVERS 2
Winton almost snatch three points
by Neil
Carnegie
Winton went into this vital game
against the side who were in pole position down to the bare bones.
Both Joe Young and Jared Willet were
unavailable and there were only three substitutes including assistant manager
John Gallagher and trialist James Maxwell who had played for the Winton
under 19s last season and had been released by Ardeer during the week.
With both Young and Willet out Paul Walker
partnered new striker Greig Mitchell up front The playing surface at Rosebank
was poor and did little to help the players to play good passing football.
Winton
played into what was a strong wind at the start of the game but which died down
as the half wore on.
Rovers had a half- hearted
appeal for a penalty on two minutes when a cross hit a defender on the head then
hit his hand but nothing was given.
It took a good save from Michael Wardrope on
seven minutes to keep it 0-0 when following his own corner the ball was only
cleared as far as Todd.
Whether it was meant to be a cross or shot is
unclear but the veteran goalie had to look sharp to tip it over for another
corner.
Ten minutes
later Winton had their first real chance when Billy Gilmour
shot as he was falling following some good play down the right but the ball went
wide.
Thistle then went straight down the other end and
should probably have taken the lead on eighteen minutes when Lee McCrea firstly
cleared a shot off the line then he and Michael Wardrope did well to block then
clear a follow-up shot.
On twenty-six minutes, Greig Mitchell was
booked for simulation out on the wing despite clearly having his feet taken from
under him on the touchline and a minute later Rovers had
another let-off when Stevenston fired high over the bar after the defence had
failed to deal with a corner and the ball landed at his feet.
Two minutes later Thistle
did take the lead after Lee McCrea had given away a free-kick right on the edge
of the box.
Todd whipped a cross into the box and
Cuthbertson got to it first and shot into the roof of the net from about twelve
yards.
It was almost two on thirty-two minutes when a cross
was deflected into the path of Todd but his shot went over the bar.
At this point, Winton were
not out of it and were competing well fighting for every ball but were
struggling to create chances and three minutes before the break they were very
unlucky not to equalise when following some good play down the right wing Paul
Walker swung a deep cross to the back post to Lee McCrea whose volley hit the
bar and dropped into the goalmouth but the keeper blocked then smothered a
follow up shot from Mitchell.
Once again, Thistle hit Rovers
on the break and a minute later it took some fancy footwork from Wardrope to
dispossess the Thistle number ten on the edge of his box then clear the ball and
so the first half ended 1-0 to Lugar.
It was a more determined
Winton that came out in the second half and it took them only
two minutes to draw level when Paul Walker played a ball into the box from the
right to Greig Mitchell at the far post and he lobbed the ball over the keeper
from about ten yards for his second goal for the club on forty-seven minutes.
Rovers were putting a lot of
pressure on Lugar and it unsettled them.
On fifty-five minutes, Callum Walsh went on
one of his runs at the defence before he was brought down on the edge of the
box.
Lee McCrea’s free-kick went just over the bar.
Two minutes later, Winton
went behind again when they failed to deal with a corner properly and Chris Todd
scored with a flying header to make it 2-1 to Lugar.
It was all square again sixty-one minutes when
a clearance out of the Lugar defence was blocked and Greig Mitchell played a
good ball into the box and Billy Gilmour ran onto it before shooting low past
the keeper from fifteen yards to make it 2-2.
Both sides continued to press for the winner
and it was end-to-end stuff without any real chances for either side.
Rovers
brought on James Maxwell for Ben Carson on seventy minutes just before Lugar had
two good chances to retake the lead when George Bonner cleared the ball off the
line on eighty-two minutes then it took a great save from Wardrope on eighty-six
minutes to keep things level.
It was Winton who had the
last chance with a minute of normal time left and they should have left with all
three points when Maxwell flicked the ball onto Greig Mitchell out on the right
wing and some good play between him and Paul Walker saw Walker hit a deep cross
to the back post where Bob Hay was standing unmarked, onside and with an open
goal but somehow he shot over the bar from about ten yards.
This was another good performance and while
most fans would have settled for a point at the start of the second half, it
could have been all three.
Mitchell looks to be a good signing but the
lack of depth in the squad to cover for injuries and so on is concerning.
The
Winton team was Wardrope, Walsh, Murray, Wilson, Bonner, Gilmour, Hay,
Carson, Mitchell, Walker and McCrea with substitutes Maxwell, Biggart and
Gallagher.
ARDROSSAN WINTON ROVERS 3 - ANNBANK UNITED 0
Winton Bank Three Points
by Neil Carnegie
Winton went into this important game
looking to continue good recent results and keep in touch with the leaders.
Although they had Jared Willet back, Joe Young
was still carrying a knock and was on the bench and Stuart Wilson was
unavailable.
With a lot of games off, a decent crowd turned
up at a sunny but cold
Winton
Park.
After a fairly even
opening ten minutes, notable more for some robust tackles from the visitors than
chances, United had the ball in the back of the net when Baird beat the offside
trap and ran in on goal before squaring to Johnstone at the back post who put
the ball past Michael Wardrope but the referee ruled it out for offside.
Rovers had a penalty claim on
fifteen minutes when Paul Walker appeared to be brought down just inside the
United area following some good football out on the left from a throw-in.
The referee, however, gave a free-kick just
outside the box.
Lee McCrea’s flighted set-piece was headed
goalward by George Bonner and a defender headed the ball straight up into the
air and although Willet managed to get his head to it there was no power in the
header and it was saved.
Winton were playing well
without creating any clearcut chances and Annbank looked dangerous on the break
as they did throughout the game.
On the half hour, Greig Mitchell shot over the
bar after some good build-up play down the right.
There were two good chances for Rovers
on thirty-two and thirty-three minutes.
Firstly, George Bonner got in a good downward
header from a Paul Walker corner but it was cleared off the line and the
follow-up shot was cleared for a corner.
From Walker’s corner, the goalkeeper dropped
the ball but managed to recover before any Winton player could
take advantage.
A couple of minutes later Mitchell shot
straight at the keeper after good work by Lee McCrea.
Winton’s
pressure finally earned them the goal they deserved when a four-pass move down
the left saw Greig Mitchell square across the goalmouth to Ben Carson who
side-footed home from six yards to make it 1-0 on thirty-four minutes.
Annbank were not out of it and five minutes
from half-time Michael Wardrope appeared to put a good shot from Baird on to the
bar and out for a corner but the referee gave a bye-kick.
Winton had a good
claim for a penalty in the first minute of the second half after Ben Carson ran
down the left before playing the ball into the box.
Willet looked to have been bundled over just
as he was about to shoot but the referee ignored the appeals.
On fifty-four minutes, a McCrea ball into the
area was played back to Calum Walsh by Willet but Walsh’s shot from twenty-five
yards went over the bar.
The need for a second goal for Rovers
was highlighted on fifty-five minutes when a Tommy Sloan cross took a deflection
and Wardrope turned it over for a corner as Annbank pressed to get back into the
match.
On fifty-nine minutes, Rovers
brought on Joe Young for Mitchell who had been on the receiving end of some
hefty challenges during the game.
A couple of minutes later, Calum Walsh was
booked for a poor tackle on the halfway line.
Rovers were now in
command although United still looked dangerous when they broke.
Annbank were reduced to ten men on sixty-eight
minutes after Willet ran on to another good ball out of the Winton defence to
the edge of the box and as he ran in on goal he was brought down right on the
eighteen yard line by Kirkland.
The referee deemed it a last man offence and
sent Kirkland off.
McCrea’s resultant free-kick took a slight
deflection off the wall and the keeper made an easy save.
On seventy-one minutes, Wardrope made a good
save from a Tommy Sloan header following a United free-kick.
Two minutes later,
Winton substitute Sean Kennedy had an almost immediate impact when
Rovers pressure on the Annbank goal earned them a few corners
and on seventy-five minutes, one of these corners was cleared out to Kennedy and
he swung in a cross to the back post where Young rose to head home.
Three minutes later, a Willet played the ball
to Walker inside the box but his shot went wide.
Rovers made sure of all three points on eighty
minutes when Young squared the ball across the eighteen yard line.
It was missed by a defender and came to McCrea
who fired home from fifteen yards.
Winton were almost attacking
at will and on eight-four minutes, had a great chance when Walker hit a good
ball to the far side of the box.
Somehow both Lee McCrea and Willet were unable
to get a shot away and Marc Fisher, the Annbank keeper, appeared to recover the
ball on the edge of the six-yard box.
There was then an
altercation involving players from both sides and McCrea was shown a straight
red for supposedly kicking the keeper although the home player said the opposing
goalie had stamped on him as well.
On eighty-nine minutes, Young blocked an
attempted clearance on the edge of the box, turned and ran in on goal with only
Fisher to beat but, rather than rounding him, tried to shoot and the ball went
wide.
A couple of minutes into time added on, Walker hit a
good low cross across the face of the goal to where Young was sliding in at the
back post but somehow the ball went wide.
The
Winton team was Wardrope, Hay, Murray, Gilmour, Bonner, Carson, Walker,
Walsh, Mitchell, Willet and McCrea with substitutes Young, Kennedy, Gallagher,
McAvoy and Biggart.
Promotion is also firmly in the sights of
Ardrossan Winton Rovers boss Derek Frye after their excellent run
continued with a 3-0 home triumph against Annbank United.
The victory left them just five points off top
spot.
Frye said “We are playing the game the right way by
getting the ball down and passing and that is pleasing.
I
was also really pleased we had a shutout on Saturday.
The squad is coming together well.
Remember we have brought in seven or eight new
faces this season and we have a squad of seventeen as opposed to thirteen during
the Ardagh Cup.
We will see where we are come the end of the
season but the aim is to finish in the top two as that would win us promotion
and that’s the target.”
CRAIGMARK BURTONIANS 1 – WINTON ROVERS 6
Easy Win For
Six Guns Winton
Three goals in each half saw Winton sweep aside the
basement team to stay firmly in promotion contention.
Winton went into the match
without Stuart Wilson and Paul Walker and made a couple of changes that saw
Callum Walsh and Bob Hay drop to the bench with Kevin Biggart in the defence and
Sean Kennedy in midfield.
Despite their position, ’Mark had recently
appointed Brian Kerr as their new manager and he has brought in some new faces
with more to come.
The hosts were caught out almost from the
kick-off when a decent header out of defence from Billy Gilmour was knocked back
over the defence to the Craigmark number nine who was to pose their main threat
during the game.
He did well to knock the ball past Michael
Wardrope to put the home side 1-0 in front after less than a minute.
Despite this setback, Winton
then went on to control the game with Craigmark restricted mainly to breaks by
the numbers seven and nine and set-pieces.
On seven minutes, they
equalised after Jared Willet picked up a good ball played to him on the right
wing before cutting into the box going past a couple of defenders before firing
home from fifteen yards past Worrall.
Rovers took the lead four
minutes later when a Lee McCrea corner on the left was headed on to Greig
Mitchell who headed the ball into the roof of the net for his third goal in four
games since joining the club on loan.
He should probably have had a second in
fifteen minutes when Lee McCrea went on a good run down the left wing before
playing the ball into Greig Mitchell about ten yards from goal and although he
managed to turn, he couldn’t get the ball out from under his feet on the poor
playing surface and the danger was cleared.
A couple of minutes later, Mitchell turned
provider when he laid the ball back after some good football from Winton
down the left to Sean Kennedy whose twenty-yard shot went narrowly over the bar.
On twenty-three minutes,
Mitchell had a good, but not easy, chance to increase the lead when Joe Young
ran on to a good ball down the right wing before putting over a cross.
The ball was missed by the defender in front
of Mitchell who was caught out when the ball came to him unexpectedly and it
came off his shins and went back to Worrall in the ’Mark goal.
Rovers increased their lead on twenty-seven
minutes after great play saw Kevin Biggart play the ball out of defence to Billy
Gilmour who found Willet out on the right and he cut in along the eighteen-yard
line before shooting low into the bottom corner of the near post to make it 3-1
to Winton.
Craigmark
showed very little up front but on thirty-six minutes, Michael Wardrope had to
make a good save at the foot of the post from the number nine after he got on
the end of a cross from number seven half which ended 3-1 to the visitors.
Winton went further ahead on
fifty-three minutes when Billy Gilmour headed a McCrea corner-kick from the
left-back across the goal towards the far post and the ball was apparently in
before the centre half hit the roof of the net trying to clear it to make it
4-1.
Three minutes later, some good play down the left saw
a cross headed back into the path of Ben Carson whose first time shot from the
eighteen-yard line flew into the net.
On fifty-eight minutes,
Rovers should have had a penalty when Greig Mitchell ran on to
a good pass into the box from McCrea and was brought down before he could get in
a shot.
The lady referee waved away the Winton
appeals and Mitchell was booked for his protests on the hour.
Bob Hay replaced George Bonner and this saw
Billy Gilmour move into the centre of the defence and on sixty-seven minutes Hay
laid on the sixth and final goal when he put over a great cross from the right
into the middle of the goal and Ben Carson bulleted the ball home with a great
header from ten yards.
A minute later, Rovers
brought on Callum Walsh and Stephen McAvoy for Jared Willet and Greig Mitchell.
Try as they might, Winton
were unable to get any more goals although they were still creating chances and
Stephen McAvoy had a great chance to get Winton’s seventh with
a few minutes to go when he ran on to a ball into the box and with only Worrall
to beat but the young keeper did well to block his shot with his legs.
The
Winton team was Wardrope, Gilmour, Murray, Biggart, Bonner, Carson,
Willet, Kennedy, Mitchell, Young and McCrea with substitutes Hay, Gallagher,
McAvoy and Walsh.
Ardrossan Winton Rovers boss Derek Frye was encouraged with his
team’s showing as they hammered Craigmark Burntonians 6-1 away. They now face a
bigger test at home to Whitletts Victoria.
He said “We did well.
You can only play what’s in front of you and
our aim is to finish in the top two.
It
will be a difficult game against Whitletts who have been doing well and it’s a
tight league but we are looking to win.”
WINTON
ROVERS 3 – WHITLETTS VICTORIA 3
Spoils Shared In Six-Goal Classic
What an advert this game was for junior football!
It had everything - end to end play and plenty
of chances that, while providing a superb ninety minutes entertainment for
spectators, left both managers pulling their hair out!
The match got off to a sensational start when
in the first minute, Michael O’Connor played a neat pass through to Tony Balfour
and as home keeper Michael Wardrope came racing off his line, the little striker
hammered the ball high past the big keeper into the corner of the net.
It was just the start Whitletts wanted but
Ardrossan have very strong promotion ambitions themselves and
quickly worked their way back into the game, taking control of the midfield as
Vics struggled to contain Jared Willet down the right, with the forward pair of
Greig Mitchell and Joe Young threatening at every opportunity.
Winton’s
first opening came in the tenth minute when only a last ditch challenge by
Connor Simpson prevented Lee McCrea from netting from ten yards.
Vics couldn’t contain Ardrossan
in the middle of the park as the home side harried the Vics players when in
possession and it came as no surprise when the home side equalised in the
seventeenth minute.
Willet latched on to the ball at the edge of
the penalty area to fire a low drive that beat the diving figure of Jordan
Callaghan.
Tony Balfour then squandered a great chance
for Vics when he raced clear but with only the keeper to beat he fired high and
wide of the target.
Willet was causing the visitors defence all
kinds of problems and a mazy run along the bye-line took him past three Vics
defenders only for Callaghan to dive bravely at his feet to save.
There was nothing the
visiting keeper could do in the twenty-eighth minute when Greig Mitchell picked
the ball up out wide on the left and curled the ball high past Callaghan from
twenty yards.
Immediately, Vics boss Steph McMillan made a
change to shore up the midfield and brought on Marc Cameron and Vics began to
come more of an attacking threat.
On the half hour, Derek McCulloch saw his
effort headed off the Winton line by Mark Murray.
Winton continued to press and
when a long ball from defence beat McCulloch, Young beat Callaghan to the ball
but his cross into the box found no takers and the danger was cleared by Raymond
Buchanan.
Then, five minutes before the break, Vics got
their equaliser after O’Connor was pulled down in the box and the little striker
dusted himself down to give Wardrope no chance from twelve yards.
Right on the half-time whistle, Martin Lawrie
controlled a Simpson cross but the defender’s effort slipped just wide.
The second period proved to
be just as frantic.
Again, Vics’ were the first to show and
Simpson was unfortunate to see his shot from the edge of the box go over the bar
while, at the other end, Callaghan had to be alert to save from Mitchell.
Young then skipped past a couple of challenges
inside the box to set up Sean Kennedy but he sent his effort over the bar when
it seemed easier to score.
The Ayr side then had a great chance to regain
the lead when O’Connor ran onto a poor pass-back but a great double save from
Wardrope denied first O’Connor and then the follow up effort from Balfour.
A Mitchell shot was then parried by Callaghan
but there was no way this game was not going to see more goals and that proved
to be the case in the fifty-eighth minute when a long ball forward was chested
down at the edge of the box by Mitchell for Young to volley high past Callaghan
from twenty-two yards.
Vics’
unbeaten run was now under severe threat but the Ayr side showed plenty of
character and determination to keep that run going and within six minutes they
were back on level terms.
Lawrie whipped a wicked free-kick into the box
and from close range it was substitute Marc Cameron who reacted first to prod
the ball past Wardrope from close range.
Both sides made changes as they went in search
of all three points and Willet saw his drive from distance blocked by the legs
of Callaghan but neither side were able to create that clear cut opportunity
that could have won the points, although deep into injury time McCulloch headed
a Balfour corner just wide.
This was a thrilling afternoon’s entertainment
as both sides served up a festive cracker and on this showing neither side will
be far away when the promotion stakes are settled at the end of the season.
The teams were:
Winton Rovers – Wardrope,
Gilmour, Murray, Biggart, Bonner, Carson, Willet, Kennedy, Mitchell, Young and
McCrae with substitutes Walker, McAvoy, Walsh, Wilson and Hay.
Whitletts
Victoria – Callaghan, Kerr, Holland, McCulloch, Buchanan, Boyle, Simpson. Allan,
O’Connor, Balfour and Lawrie with substitutes Cameron, Patterson, Davidson, Barr
and Longair.
Ardrossan Winton Rovers manager Derek Frye said missed chances cost his side
dear following their 3-3 draw at home to Whitletts Victoria.
Winton are in fourth spot, just four points
behind leaders Ardeer and make the short trip south to face another form team in
Irvine Vics.
Frye told Sportscene “At 2-1 or 3-2 up you are
expecting to win the game and we missed some chances.
We are scoring goals but also conceding them.
I haven’t watched Irvine Vics and am only
concerned with my team.
We are capable of beating anyone on our day.
Our target is to be in the top two and we will
see how we are come Christmas.”
WINTON LOOKING FOR PLAYERS
Ardrossan Winton Rovers manager Derek Frye is looking to shore up his squad by
adding two new players with two others set to move on.
Striker Stevie ‘Biscuit’ McAvoy and defender
Scott Houston are set to leave owing to work commitments while targetman Graeme
Hamilton is sidelined with a shoulder injury.
Frye said “I am looking to add in a wide
player and a striker as our squad is down to about fifteen or sixteen.
I
have made some enquiries and one bid was rejected.
Hopefully
we will be able to add in a couple of new faces.”