Irvine Vics defeated Ardeer 2-1 in a match where both teams ended with 10 men, although Ardeer did have a man's advantage for a long spell.

The game was quite open throughout with Irvine Vics perhaps being the slightly better team. They had the ball in the net with about 20 minutes gone but it was correctly ruled out for offside. Vics defender Andrew Cripps was sent off in the 27th minutes when he hacked down Martin O'Keefe with a dangerous and poorly-timed two-footed tackle. It was right in front of the Ardeer representatives and their loud protestations were clear for all to hear. Thankfully Marty was able to continue playing after a few minutes recuperation. Alas, Ardeer were to concede only a few minutes afterwards. Kris Gilhooley broke clear on the left for Irvine Vics and his effort beat Davie Richardson in the Ardeer goal. Ardeer managers Peter Kean and John McMillan werent happy at an apparent handball earlier in the build-up, but the goal stood and at half-time the score was 1-0 to Irvine Vics.

Referee Colin McAlpine had a good game, but Ardeer fans and committee werent happy when he ordered them away from the railway line side for the second half as he felt that too many people were standing near the touchline. The Ardeer team had a more attacking mentality in the second half and played well, but a lot of their attacks were broken down by Vics captain Gareth Timoney, who had a really good game in the middle of the park. Both team had their chances, with Darren Quinn, Craig Little and Scott Reid all seeing their shots either saved by Vics goalkeeper Robert McGoogan or going wide of the goal.

Vics second goal came with 5 minutes remaining of regulation time. A home striker attempted to round Davie Richardson after breaking clear through the middle and was brought down in the process. The goalkeeper received a straight red card for being the last man and with no substitute goalkeeper, Martin O'Keefe had the unenviable task of trying to save the penalty. Unfortunately, it was converted by Craig Connell past the makeshift goalie. The sending off rocked Ardeer but Vics failed to score another. They had an effort held by O'Keefe and in a similar incident to the penalty decision, one of their players was brought down in the box by the goalkeeper but this time the referee gave no foul. I'd say it was either a penalty or a dive, but play continued.

Ardeer managed to end their recent scoring duck deep into stoppage time when Graeme Patterson scored. It was a fine strike but there wasnt enough time to push for a second, with the final whistle being blown just after the restart.

It was disappointing to lose to Irvine Vics given that they had 10 men for so long, but Ardeer had their best game in a while and Mark McCann, who had last played for us in the opening league game of the season, had a good game in the heart of defence. On a different day, Ardeer could have came away with more from the match. The red card for Davie Richardson could mean that he is banned for the Scottish Cup tie away to Fauldhouse on Saturday. Hopefully thats not the case but if it is we'll have to quickly find a stand-in for that game.