Glasgow Perthshire v Newmains United
By CRAIG MAHOOD
PAUL DAVIES admits he couldn’t see red at the decisions which saw two Newmains players sent packing.
Darren Lygate and Bryden Nolan were given their marching orders by the 50th minute of their clash with Glasgow Perthshire.
United were already 2-0 down at that stage and with the lack of numbers they couldn’t stem the tide as the hosts smashed four more in the final 40 minutes.
Co-boss Davies reckons they only had themselves to blame for the sendings off but insists they overshadowed what had been a positive start to the clash.
He said: “We’ve no complaints with either of the reds cards. Our centre-back had to make a foul when one of their players broke through on goal.
“He’d already been booked so he was off before half-time. We then had our stand-in centre back diving in and giving away a penalty.
“The challenge was probably a red card but he’d already been booked so he was off shortly into the second half.”
United started the game brightly and enjoyed good possession early on.
But Craig Smith gave The Shire an 18th minute lead after a break up the park.
Another counter from the hosts saw Lygate – already on a booking – bring down his opponent and ref Andrew Bryson flashed a second yellow.
Connor Clarke netted No2 from the spot before the break then Nolan joined Lygate for an early bath soon after the restart.
Clarke netted from 12 yards again to make it 3-0 before United showed great character to keep the score down for a spell before eventually running out of steam.
Ryan Gemmell netted No4 before a David Kirkwood double rounded off the scoring.
Davies added: “We played practically the entire second half with nine men and to be fair the boys did well and worked hard.
“We’d started the game really well, especially the first 15 or 20 minutes. We really were outstanding.
“We attacked really well and they broke on us and got up the park and scored. We then gave away a penalty when our midfielder dived and saved the ball.
“He was lucky to stay on the park at that point but we were two goals down and a man down.
“In the second half the boys battled and battled and prevented it from being a cricket score until they got a few more goals late on in the game.
“We were missing three of our best players for a variety of reasons and to the suspensions for the boys who had red cards will make it a tough few weeks.
“We need to learn how to manage the game a bit better when we’re in it as costly mistakes are our downfall but we’re still a young squad.”
