Football returned to the Showpark on Saturday after a 13 week lay-off and East Kilbride Thistle provided their supporters with a good performance and result to mark the occasion. Glenafton Athletic was the opponents as Thistle added another 3 points onto their league total.
Match highlights courtesy of David Brown.
The visitors, who were viewed by many as promotion favourites at the beginning of the season had their first sight of goal five minutes into the game when striker Gareth Armstrong ran through the centre of the Jags defence before poking his shot straight at goalkeeper Johnny Murdoch. A further three minutes later the away side threatened East Kilbride’s goal when striker Gordon Moffat headed the ball against the crossbar before it bounced out to Jag’s defender Billy Struthers. The defender set the home side on a counter attack which resulted in Murray Watson shooting high and wide, four yards from goal when he was expected to fire Thistle in front. In the seventeenth minute, Thistle came close to going ahead for a second time when striker Craig Miles poked the ball through the goalkeeper’s legs only to see the ball cleared off the line by the Glens defence. After an eventful first twenty minutes the game continued to shift from end to end however neither side were able to threaten the opposition’s goal before half time.
The beginning of the second half was similar to the beginning of the first however this time it was the home side that was dominating possession and in the fifty eighth minute they got their reward after some intricate passing down Thistle’s left hand side allowed Paul Woods to cross the ball for Stephen Chaplain to head into the top corner at the back post. Three minutes later, East Kilbride’s advantage was doubled as Paul Woods skipped past several Glenafton defenders before sliding the ball under the goalkeeper to make it 2-0. After going 2-0 behind, the away side played a bigger role in the game and in the seventy fourth minute Glens midfielder Dougie Ramsey volleyed the ball inches over the crossbar. A minute later GLenafton thought they were back in the game when former East Kilbride player Simon Eeles had a goal ruled out for offside. This was a contentious decision as the away side believed their player was onside however it appeared to be a close call. Thistle keeper Johnny Murdoch continued his rich vein of form that he has been in during recent matches when he pulled of a good save from Glens striker Gareth Armstrong to prevent a certain goal. However, in the eighty eighth minute Glenafton pulled a goal back through Gareth Armstrong who had been threatening all afternoon. His shot from outside the area was inches out of Murdoch’s reach as he dived across his line and the ball nestled into the bottom corner to make a nervy final two minutes for the home side to hold on.
In the end it was a well deserved victory for Thistle who were the better team on the day and their two goals in the space of three second half minutes were enough to take all three points on the day.
Team – Murdoch, Struthers, Russell, Kelly, McGhee, Orr, Chaplain, Williamson, Miles(Watt 72), M Watson, Woods,
Subs not used – Ballantyne, Brodie, Miller, Paterson
