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With neither of the top two playing tonight, focus was on the contest for third, fourth and fifth places. Colin Day is nine points clear in third place but he suffered a set-back after losing 2-1 to Dave Gladman. Day took an early lead and had the better of the first half but Gladman managed to equalise before the interval. Gladman had much more of the ball after the break and took an early second half lead in this hotly contested encounter. Day passed up a late opportunity to equalise. With a large gap in the Gladman defence to move into, Day’s figure somehow stopped short of the ball. Willie Fleming’s hopes were also dented when he lost 1-0 to Colin Berry but he did have wins over Baver Bari and Dave Houston despite not playing at his best. Ten points behind but with four games in hand, Gladman looks best placed to catch Day. Three of these games, however, are against Fleming, Dave Butler and Ronnie McKenzie. Colin Berry, after his fine display against Willie Fleming, was disappointed to lose heavily to Bari. Bari, still signed with Hot Club, has improved much since playing in the Glasgow League.

Association Cup

One first round match took place with Dave Houston progressing to the quarter final at the expense of Martin Phee. Houston led 2-0 at half-time his second goal being a superb acute angled drive. Phee’s defensive figure seemed to have the shot covered but Houston was able to meet the ball cleanly and, much to Phee’s surprise and chagrin, shoot into the far corner of the net. Phee scored early in the second half to get back into the game and late on missed a glorious opportunity to level. Houston’s spare goalkeeper had missed the ball and Phee, with an open goal gaping, somehow contrived to shoot wide.

Dave Butler moved to within three points of Tom Burns after winning potentially difficult matches against Andrea Andreoni and Ronnie McKenzie. Colin Day consolidated third position also with a win over McKenzie. Dave Gladman moved above Willie Fleming after edging out Baver Bari in a very close encounter. Andreoni went on to gather six points with single goal victories over John Halpin and Martin Phee. Halpin has become increasingly competitive in the last few weeks and has been unlucky not to increase his points total. Phee, with a little bit more composure, could have achieved a better result against the Italian.

League

Two cup matches also took place. In the Glasgow Cup, the first match in Group 4 saw Ronnie McKenzie beat Baver Bari 3-1. Barry Corr is yet to play. In the Association Cup Butler and Gladman will have to play again. After a goal-less first half Butler scored first but could only hold his lead for two minutes, a poor block flick giving Gladman the space to score.

Glasgow Cup

Association Cup

Tonight saw the end of Colin Day’s impressive unbeaten league run. In his first match of the evening Day was losing 1-0 at half-time to Baver Bari. He came back in the second half to level at 1-1 and thus extend the unbeaten record to 22 games. Willie Fleming was to be Day’s undoing. Fleming won by 2 goals to nil though some controversy surrounded Fleming’s opening goal after a ball had been replaced by the referee. Fleming, however, did merit the victory. Fleming did lose to Dave Gladman, the two players battling it out for fourth place. This was Gladman’s first match using his new ‘snake’ bases and he went on to win well against Colin Berry. Both Tom Burns and Dave Butler recorded victories so there was no change involving the top two. Butler had to rely on two second half goals to overcome an improving John Halpin. Day’s single point from the evening means that he will probably have to settle for third place.

League

Association Cup

The first Association Cup match of the season saw Baver Bari defeat John Halpin to reach the quarter-finals.

Only five matches were played this evening with the leading three players gaining maximum points. The gap between first and second remains nine points but Colin Day moved three points closer to Tom Burns. Burns’ direct approach was once again good enough to defeat Dave Gladman who also, once again, was unable to convert possession into goals. Colin Day had to work hard to overcome Dave Houston, a late winner keeping him on course for the runner-up spot. Houston and Gladman fought out a midfield battle where attempts on goal were few and far between whilst Dave Butler had a comfortable win over Martin Phee.

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Dave Butler moved into second place and a step closer to retaining the Championship with seven points tonight. He is nine points behind Tom Burns with five games in hand. Colin Day is five points adrift of Butler with the same number of games played. Willie Fleming’s draw with Butler keeps the challengers’ title hopes just alive. Burns had a convincing win over Dave Houston but the latter’s victory over Baver Bari kept him in sixth place ahead of Ronnie McKenzie.

A relatively poor turnout saw only five league and one cup match played. In the Glasgow Cup Dave Butler beat Dave Gladman 2-0 to qualify for the quarter finals. Colin Day wins the group, however, by virtue of scoring one more goal than Butler.

Craig Lynch had made the trip from Edinburgh and gained 3 points from a possible 9. He lost 2-0 to Willie Fleming, both goals coming in the first half. Lynch led Colin Day at half-time but Day extended his unbeaten league run to 19 games with three second half goals. Lynch had better luck against the improving John Halpin, winning by the only goal of the game. Fleming continued his good run, his two wins moving him into fourth place. Colin Berry had the misfortune to play both Fleming and Butler. Although holding Butler at half-time, he suffered a second half collapse.

League

Glasgow Cup