John Hinshelwood's Match Report
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Lesmahagow v.
Maryhill
3 - 1
11th May 2009
3 - 1
11th May 2009
Poor defending and a string of
missed chances combined to see
Maryhill succumb to an unexpected
defeat at Lesmahagow.
The tone of the game was set as
early as the fourth minute when the
usually clinical Willie Sawyers
blasted past the post from a few
yards out, when a goal seemed
certain. Six minutes later the home
side took the lead when Johnny Logan
shot home from six yards after his
first shot had been blocked. The
Hill defence failed to latch on to
the danger presented by the lively
Logan, and breathed a sigh of relief
as he miss kicked in front of goal
when left unmarked again. Maryhill
dominated in terms of possession,
but could not find a way past Stuart
Wilson in the Lesmahagow goal.
Against the run of play the home
side went two up five minutes before
the break, and again it was Logan
who was on target. He shrugged off
several challenges before firing a
powerful low shot into the net from
the edge of the penalty area. Bryan
Smith and James McLernon both came
close for Hill before John Connolly
should have made it three for
Lesmahagow, but his weak shot was
easily stopped by Kevin Montgomery.
Half Time - Lesmahagow 2 Maryhill 0
Maryhill again dominated in the
early part of the second half, but
poor final balls into the box let
them down time and time again. The
home side always looked dangerous on
the break, and Logan brought out a
good save from Montgomery. It was
Logan once more who was at the
centre of the game's most
controversial moment midway through
the half. He was brought down by
Colin McInnes inside the box, and
referee Martin McCarthy correctly
awarded a penalty. The home players
and bench appeared to be unhappy
that McInnes was only shown a yellow
card, but as it did not appear to be
a clear goal scoring opportunity, Mr
McCarthy , who had an excellent
game, probably got it right. Logan's
attempt at completing his hat trick
came unstuck, however, as he shot
past from the penalty kick. Any
thoughts that this break may have
been a turning point for Maryhill
were hastily dispelled when Logan
duly got his third goal four minutes
later. Woeful defending allowed him
to run clear and just beat Kevin
Montgomery to the ball, and poke it
over the line. Maryhill hit back
immediately, and barely a minute
later Willie Sawyers made it 3 - 1
with a shot from 18 yards after
James McLernon's effort had been
blocked. Maryhill continued to put
the home defence under pressure,
and Chris McKee seemed to be about
to further reduce the deficit, but
with the keeper beaten, his shot hit
the inside of the post and trundled
along the goal line before being
cleared. A diving header from sub
Max Asante brought out a good save
from Wilson, then a Bryan Smith shot
crashed off bar, confirming the
suspicion that it was not to be
Maryhill's night. In the end,
Lesmahagow were deserved winners,
mainly thanks to a top class display
from Logan.
LESMAHAGOW-:Wilson, McDougall,
Sullivan ( Brown 82),Jamieson, Bunce,
Creaney, Livingstone, Aymard,
Connolly ( S.McGeachie 60),
R.McGeachie, Logan ( Cunningham 90)
SUBS ( not used ) -: Bell, Moore
BOOKED -: McDougall (76)
MARYHILL -: Montgomery, K.O'Neil,
Sideserf ( Asante 68),McInnes,
Wilson, Stanley (McFadden 49),
Smith, McLernon, McKee, Sawyers.
SUBS ( not used ) -: Clifford,
Pacitti, Wright.
BOOKED -: Wilson (64), McInnes (65),
Smith (90)
Referee - Martin McCarthy
Man of the match - Mark McManus
Opponents' man of the match - John
Logan