Lugar Boswell Thistle 3 Ardeer 0

Ardeer lost 3-0 to Lugar today at Rosebank Park. The Ardeer players put in a decent performance after a shaky start, and the scoreline was perhaps a bit unfair on the team, especially based on the second half .

Lugar came out all guns blazing and made good use of the full width of the park, with several long balls down the wing causing the Ardeer full-backs problems in the early going. The opener came after only 3 minutes and it was a gift. Chris Thornhill's attempted clearance went straight to an opposition striker who was left with an easy finish. Ardeer's chances were limited in the first half with Darren Quinn shooting wide and Martin O'Keefe having a free-kick deflected for a corner. Lugar scored their second goal on the half hour when a fine crossed ball from the left wing was met with a quality header from a Lugar striker which gave Davie Richardson in the Ardeer goal no chance. Lugar should have scored a third in the 41st minute but hit the post when it was easier to score.

Injuries had caused Ardeer problems in the first half with Derek Gemmell and Frankie Nolan both being substituted, the former with a suspected bruised or cracked rib. Derek Lamb was injured in the pre-game warm-up as well which did Ardeer no favours.

The Ardeer team had a much better game in the second half and although the midfield were a bit outmuscled there were given little protection by the referee. A Paddy O'Keefe free-kick and a Toni Paton shot both failed to hit the target but Ardeer were starting to play the better football. Substitute Greg Kean sent in an accurate cross to the head of Darren Quinn but he just failed to get on the end of it. Ardeer were hit with a sucker punch in the 79th minute that effectively ended the game as a contest. The defence gave the opposition far too much time in the box and Lugar were able to score their third goal from close range.

Ardeer did continue to go forward in the last 10 minutes and it looked increasingly likely there were going to score. A Lugar player was sent off with three minutes to go after directing abusive langauge toward the referee. Sandy Wylie of Ardeer was sent off in injury time when he was harshly adjudged to have committed a second bookable offence. I dont think either manager was all that impressed with the performance of the referee who was a bit card-happy at points in the game.

The team always want to win but defeat was expected today as Lugar have only conceded four league goals this season. The second half performance was the best Ardeer have played since the first half away to Hurlford four weeks ago.. Manager's MOTM was goalkeeper Davie Richardson who wasnt at fault for any of the goals and made some fine saves throughout including one of the highest quality in the second half.