East Kilbride Thistle’s annual pre-season tournament was staged at the Showpark last weekend as the hosts looked to defend their title that they won last year by beating Alloa Athletic on penalties in the final.
This year’s participants competing for the Tommy McGrane trophy were Thistle, Beith Juniors, Eddlewood Amateurs and Yoker Athletic. A Queen of the South youth side were initially due to take part in the tournament however, many of the players in the youth team were called up to the first team due to a number of injuries picked up by senior players.
East Kilbride Thistle 2 – 1 Eddlewood Amateurs
The opening game of the tournament was contested by the Jag’s and Eddlewood Amateurs. Eddlewood come into the tournament having won both the league title and the Scottish Amateur Cup last season and provided a competitive spectacle for supporters. It took just four minutes for the opening goal of the tournament and it was the hosts that took the lead through the unlikely source of defender Graham McGhee. The defender headed the ball into the back of the net after meeting David Feeney’s inviting cross 12 yards from goal. Both teams struggled to create any clear cut opportunities with the majority of the game taking place in the middle of the park.
East Kilbride managed to hold onto their lead for just two minutes of the second half as Eddlewood levelled the score in the 47th minute. Striker Kevin Brown turned the ball in from close range as Thistle failed to defend the corner kick properly. Nevertheless, the hosts were attempting to play good passing football and were playing well in patches as they continued their preparation for the new season. The winning goal came in the 83rd minute as East Kilbride were piling the pressure on the Eddlewood defence. The ball was played wide to former Hearts player Jose Quitongo who found midfielder Colin Williamson 20 yards from goal. Williamson struck the ball first time and his shot dipped at the last moment before hitting the underside of the crossbar and crossing the line. The goal was worthy of winning any game and meant that the Jags progressed into Sunday’s final.
Beith Juniors 2 – 1 Yoker Athletic
The second game of the day seen Superleague Premier Division Champions Beith Juniors played Yoker Athletic, a side that competes three divisions below their opposition. Both sides had early opportunities but neither team were able to break the deadlock until the 23rd minute when Beith took the lead through winger Joe Bradley who brought the ball in from the right hand side before finding the bottom corner with a left footed shot. There was more entertainment to come from off the field this time as it was announced to the spectators that Yoker had scored instead of Beith, much to the embarrassment of the announcer. Back on the pitch and Beith doubled lead on the half hour mark with a close range header. It should have been 3-0 at half time but an acrobatic save from Yoker goalkeeper Ross Clark meant the score remained 2-0. Yoker managed to pull a goal back in the 69th minute as they scored a header from a corner. Yoker scoring at this stage of the game meant there would be an intriguing end to the game and it looked as though they had scored the equaliser in the 82nd minute as they found the back of the net but it was ruled out for offside. With the goal being ruled out it appeared that Yoker’s chances of winning the game were diminishing quickly and Beith should have wrapped up the game in the closing minutes as striker Gary Bissland headed the ball against the post from 4 yards. The victory for Beith Juniors meant that they would face East Kilbride Thistle in the final on Sunday whilst Yoker Athletic would take on Eddlewood Amateurs in the 3rd place play-off match.
Yoker Athletic 0 – 2 Eddlewood Amateurs
The Third Place Place Play off match between Yoker and Eddlewood failed to attract many spectators but the two sides produced a good game to end their tournament. A defensive error in the 17th minute left Eddlewood striker Billy McGregor one on one with the goalkeeper but he failed to take advantage and the goalkeeper was able to turn the ball behind for a corner. Yoker had came close to taking the lead with two good chances in quick succession, however they were thwarted by two good saves from Eddlewood goalkeeper Robert Young. The deadlock should have been broken in the 28th minute as Eddlewood striker stole the ball from the Yoker goalkeeper 20 yards from goal but with the goal empty, the striker managed to hit his shot wide of the target. However, the amateur side took a deserved lead into half time through Billy McGregor.
If it wasn’t for Yoker keeper Robert Young Eddlewood would have been winning by a much larger margin but he continued to pull off save after save and keep his side in the game. However, their chances of victory were significantly reduced when striker Gary Bissland was shown a straight red card for a poor challenge although the decision seemed harsh. The game finished and the tournament finished on a high for the top amateur outfit as they doubled their lead with the last kick of the game as Billy McGregor scored his second of the game.
East Kilbride Thistle 1 – 2 Beith Juniors
The home side faced a tough challenge in the final of the tournament as they faced a top quality Beith side whilst still having a significantly weakened side due to players still being on holiday. It was an even contest in the opening stages until Beith were awarded a penalty in the 17th minute for shirt pulling much to the disbelief of the Thistle players. The penalty was scored by striker Paul Keegan as he sent Jag’s keeper Ryan Mailey the wrong way. That was the last action in an even first half which the Superleague Premier Division side justified their slight advantage with good passing, movement and general play throughout the half.
Beith began to pile on the pressure as the second half progressed and Thistle keeper Ryan Mailey was forced into several good saves to keep the Ayrshire side at bay. However, the hosts were back on level terms with 12 minutes remaining through defender Graham McGhee who scored his second goal of the tournament. Five minutes later East Kilbride were awarded a penalty and it was striker Murray Watson who stepped up only to see his weak penalty saved. This proved to be a costly miss as in the dying seconds of the game Beith grabbed a winner from a corner after a scramble in the penalty area, the ball fell to Steven O’Keane who curled the ball into the top corner to seal victory and put an end to Thistle’s hopes of successfully defending their title.
The tournament proved to be a success on the pitch as all four teams continued their preparations for the new season, however off the pitch the number of spectators who turned up for the games was disappointing. Nevertheless it was a good workout for Thistle as they now look forward to taking on Busby Amateurs at the Showpark on Wednesday night befire playing Neilston away from home on Saturday.
East Kilbride Thistle FC
