Club night 16/3/15

Four league matches were played this evening. Dave Butler has seven games in hand over Tom Burns and after tonight the gap is now 18 points. Burns has the points on the board and he added 3 after a 2-0 victory over Dave Houston, both goals coming in the first half. Houston saw his goals conceded column almost double as he went on to lose 5-0 to Butler. It’s hard having to play both the top two on the same evening. If Butler had a fine win over Houston, it was not the case against Willie Fleming. Fleming was a goal down at half-time but fought back to get a thoroughly deserved second half equaliser. Butler doesn’t have a huge margin for error as he seeks to make up ground on Burns. Then there is the enigma of Barry Corr. He needs to get back playing.

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Also in the league Colin Day had a good victory over John Halpin. Day lost to Halpin in their previous encounter but Day’s form of late has been much improved. He was well in control of this match and the 4-0 scoreline was not undeserved. Halpin should have been back in the match at 2-0 when he found the Day net but unfortunately for Halpin he failed to notice an offside player.

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Willie Fleming and Dave Gladman replayed their Association Cup match and it was Gladman who went through 2-0. Fleming dominated the first half but was making mistakes as he tried to set up scoring chances. Gladman improved a little in the second half but it was another Fleming error this time in his own shooting area which cost Fleming the first goal. Gladman was in two minds whether to shoot or play the ball through. He was pleased he chose the former as he found the corner of the goal. As Fleming drove forward looking for a leveller he inevitably left defensive gaps which Gladman was able to exploit and kill the game.

League

Houston 0 2 Burns
Day 4 0 Halpin
Butler 5 0 Houston
Fleming 1 1 Butler

 

Association Cup

Gladman 2 0 Fleming

 

Club night 2/3/15

It was a very poor turn-out tonight with only 4 players attending. As a result only one competitive match took place. Colin Day returned to face Dave Gladman in the league. Gladman scored practically from the kick-off to lead 1-0. But Gladman, although hitting the post twice in the first half, was not to take advantage of Day’s lack of practice. Gladman was twice ahead but was twice pegged back and it was Day who scored the winning goal. Day, having won a throw just inside the shooting area after some Gladman indecision set the ball up for the decisive strike.

Day 3 2 Gladman

 

 

Club night 23/2/15

Only four players attended this evening, the low turn-out in part due to the Circuit Event the previous day. It was disappointing nevertheless. As a result only four competitive matches were played, three in the league and one in the Association Cup. But the cup match between Willie Fleming and Dave Gladman will have to be played again, neither player being able to find the back of the net. It was a game of two halves with Gladman dominating the first and Fleming the second.

Tom Burns played two league matches and unfortunately for him his league title hopes took a dent. With Tom Burns two goals ahead and only three minutes left on the clock, it looked as if three points were in the bag against Willie Fleming. But two late goals for Fleming were a hammer blow to Burns’ title chances. In his second game against Dave Gladman, Burns had to wait until two minutes from the end before finally breaking the deadlock. Burns is still well ahead in the league, his two challengers Dave Butler and Barry Corr having many games in hand due to their poor attendance.

In the final league match Dave Gladman defeated John Halpin 3-0. Gladman moves into second place in the league, albeit temporarily.

League

Fleming 2 2 Burns
Gladman 0 1 Burns
Halpin 0 3 Gladman

 

Association Cup

Gladman 0 0 Fleming

 

 

 

 

 

Club night 16/2/15

Dave Houston is probably enjoying his best season since returning to play in the modern era. Eight goals conceded in thirteen matches, eight clean sheets and never losing more than two goals are indicators of a top quality defence. Scoring goals, however, has been a problem but tonight Houston managed a convincing 3-0 victory over John Halpin. Often accused of slow play, Houston’s first goal was a swift passing move down Halpin’s exposed right side followed by a deadly acute angled finish. Houston was now set up for a comfortable win.

 

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The last league meeting between Houston and Dave Gladman ended goal-less. Tonight, after their second clash, they have now managed 60 minutes without a goal. That is not to say that both players did not have chances. They did, but in a hard fought match, good goalkeeping and poor finishing kept the scoreline blank. Houston now moves up two places into fifth. It was Gladman’s sixth draw of the campaign, probably damaging beyond repair his hopes of finishing third.

 

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Tonight saw the first action in the Association Cup. Tom Burns has a good scoring record against Baver Bari and with a 3-1 half-time lead it looked as if Burns’ free-scoring would continue. But his finishing deserted him in the second period and it was Bari who pulled it back to 3-2. With no further scoring the match ended with a much tighter margin than might have been expected.

 

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League

 

Halpin 0 3 Houston
Houston 0 0 Gladman

 

Association Cup

 

Burns 3 2 Bari

 

 

Club night 9/2/15

Tom Burns increased his lead over Dave Butler to 12 points, the latter having five games in hand. Burns, however, wasn’t celebrating as that increase was only one point as he secured a last minute equaliser against Ronnie McKenzie. McKenzie has done well against the top players already, going down 2-1 to Burns earlier in the season and managing a 0-0 draw against Dave Butler. So it shouldn’t have been much of a surprise that he had taken a 2-0 lead at half-time. McKenzie has recently changed from Sureshot to DST bases and the better control this has given him has allowed him to dominate the ball much more. McKenzie’s second match was against Dave Gladman, another player who is able to hold possession for long periods. McKenzie took an early lead but Gladman levelled before half-time. Both players added a goal in the second half, this time Gladman going ahead and McKenzie equalising.

 

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Burns drops points

 

Willie Fleming moved above Ronnie McKenzie in the league after gathering 4 points this evening. Fleming had much more of the play in his match against John Halpin and more attempts at goal. Halpin, however, was more direct and opportunist. Twice Halpin was ahead at 1-0 and 2-1. At 2-1 Halpin was extremely careless with a defender’s flick which allowed Fleming to quickly shoot into an open goal. This was the turning point of the game and it was Fleming who secured a 3-2 victory.  If Fleming created many opportunities against Halpin, he created few against Dave Houston. It has to be said also that Houston created even fewer. Sometimes 0-0 draws are exciting with lots of shots and saves and creative play. Not this one. Nevertheless, Houston’s goals conceded column is still in single figures, something shared with only Dave Butler and Barry Corr. But the number of goals he has scored is the second lowest in the league.

 

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Controversy!!

 

 

The first season in the league is always a difficult one. For Fraser McKenzie it’s a season for gaining experience and starting to be competitive. It will be many years before McKenzie will have the experience of his first opponent this evening, Dave Houston. Houston was in no mood to be merciful, leading 3-0 at half-time and adding another in the second period. In his last encounter with Colin Berry, McKenzie managed a 2-2 draw. This time, however, Berry made no mistakes and ran out a comfortable 3-0 winner. It was, in fact, Berry’s first win of the season and with games in hand over the three players above him he must hope to climb a little higher.

 

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League

 

Fleming 3 2 Halpin
Houston 4 0 McKenzie F
Fleming 0 0 Houston
Burns 2 2 McKenzie R
Berry 3 0 McKenzie F
Gladman 2 2 McKenzie R

 

 

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Association Cup Draw

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The draw was made for the first round of the Association Cup 2014/15.

 

Burns v Bari
Day v Butler
Corr v McKenzie F
Gladman v Fleming

 

Byes: R McKenzie, Houston, Halpin and Berry.

 

 

 

 

Club night 2/2/15

After the near full attendance last week, only six players turned up to play this evening. In their first league meeting earlier in the season Tom Burns beat John Halpin 4-0. But Halpin is a much tougher proposition now and he made Burns work hard for his 2-0 victory only sealing the win with a final minute goal. That Halpin is the most improved club player this season was further confirmed in his match against Dave Butler. It was into the second half before the league champion made the breakthrough. Two 2-0 defeats for Halpin but with both matches being against the club’s top two players, it’s a good measure of Halpin’s progress.

 

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With Dave Butler only playing one league match Tom Burns moved further ahead in the title race. In a first half which was littered with mistakes from both players Burns could manage only one shot on goal. Neither player was at his best but Burns did improve in the second period and was able to twice find the net.

 

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Baver Bari had beaten Dave Gladman in their two previous encounters. In the first half Gladman scorned several opportunities but the best chance fell to Bari who shot wide with an open goal gaping. Gladman controlled most of the second half maintaining possession for long periods and finally managing to convert two shots.

 

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In Group B of the Glasgow Cup Dave Butler beat Dave Gladman 3-0. It was a fairly even first half but Butler led courtesy of a very fine goal. It looked as if Butler was about to lose possession but a superb long pick-up set him up perfectly to chip in from an acute angle. At the beginning of the second half Gladman held possession for about five or six minutes but despite forcing two corners his play wasn’t quick enough to create clear opportunities. Butler, on the other hand, had no such difficulties and was able to carve out two further quality goals. Gladman has now played all his group matches and must wait for other results to see if he will qualify for the semi-finals.

 

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League

 

Halpin 0 2 Burns
Butler 2 0 Halpin
Gladman 2 0 Bari
Burns 2 0 Day

 

Glasgow Cup

 

Butler 3 0 Gladman

 

 

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Club night 26/1/15

There was an excellent turn-out tonight with eleven players attending. Tom Burns’ goals against column was increased from 6 to 8 by Baver Bari but unfortunately for Bari he allowed the Burns’ goals for column to go up by 7! Bari started well, took an early lead and had two good opportunities to score again. With Burns missing a couple of chances perhaps a shock was on the cards. Or perhaps not. Burns was to find his shooting boots and add considerably to his goals tally.

 

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Only two players, Dave Butler and Barry Corr have a realistic chance of overtaking Burns in the title race. Corr has already beaten Burns. Corr had to work hard for his four points tonight. He narrowly defeated Dave Houston who spurned a glorious opportunity to draw level at 2-2. Houston played the ball into an empty net, Corr’s goalkeeper having lost possession. Inexplicably Houston failed to notice one of his players in an offside position. Against Gladman, Corr lost an equalising goal with only 30 seconds remaining. Corr took the lead midway through the first half with a fine strike. Gladman dominated possession throughout the match but it was only in the final minute that possession was converted into a goal. The Corr defence had been drawn to the right side leaving a gap on the left which Gladman was able to exploit with a quick movement.

 

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Dave Butler is now 8 points behind Tom Burns but with three games in hand. Barry Corr is three points back but with a further game in hand. This was after Butler’s two comfortable victories, in the end, against Ronnie McKenzie and Colin Berry.

 

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If Willie Fleming had aspirations of catching the leaders, they took a severe dent tonight. John Halpin was able to breach the Fleming defence after only a minute’s play and then, a minute later, Halpin, taking advantage of the no-flicks rule at a free-kick, scored again. Halpin added a further two before half-time. Fleming steadied the ship and there was no further scoring in the match. Fleming came back with a two-goal victory over Colin Day another player who will have to look to cup competitions for possible silverware.

 

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In the Glasgow Cup, Dave Houston came back into qualification contention after a 3-0 win over Baver Bari. A draw against Ronnie McKenzie may prove sufficient.

 

League

 

Fleming 0 4 Halpin
Houston 1 2 Corr
Day 0 2 Fleming
Corr 1 1 Gladman
Butler 3 1 McKenzie R
Burns 7 2 Bari
Berry 0 4 Butler

 

Glasgow Cup

 

Houston 3 0 Bari

 

Other pictures from the night.

 

 

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Club night 19/1/15

Outside, the tennis courts were unplayable due to the covering of ice. The subbuteo pitches were, of course, ice-free but only six players turned up to play on them. Cold temperatures may have contributed to low turn-out but plenty of heat was generated in the few matches which were played. Two matches in group A of the Glasgow Cup saw qualification for both Tom Burns and Colin Day at the expense of Willie Fleming. Fleming played well against Burns and did not deserve to lose the match. Burns led 1-0 at half-time having scored against the run of play. Fleming equalised early in the second half. The goal was scored amid some controversy, Burns claiming that Fleming’s figure had shot with its fourth flick. The referee sided with Fleming. Burns’ winning goal came right at the end just after Fleming himself had claimed four flicks against Burns. The referee was deaf to the Fleming plea.

 

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Unfortunately Fleming did not recover from the blow of losing to Burns and in his second Glasgow Cup match succumbed to Colin Day by 3 goals to 1. In Group B Dave Gladman was able to strengthen his qualification chances with a 2-0 victory over Dave Houston.

 

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Only one league match was played with Dave Houston edging out Ronnie McKenzie with the only goal of the game.

 

Glasgow Cup

 

Fleming 1 2 Burns
Day 3 1 Fleming
Gladman 2 0 Houston

 

League

 

Houston 1 0 McKenzie R

 

As Fleming and Houston headed out into the cold night air, the remaining four played out a round robin from which Gladman emerged as winner.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Club night 12/1/15

Only four matches were played this evening, two in the Glasgow Cup and two in the League. We saw the return of Dave Butler who played in the two league matches. Signs of rustiness were in evidence and he dropped two valuable points against Ronnie McKenzie. No goals were scored and, in truth, the McKenzie goalkeeper was ‘man of the match’. Dave Butler often finds it difficult against Baver Bari and tonight’s match was no exception. Bari always posed a threat to the Butler goal and was in the match up until near the end but Butler secured victory with a goal in each half.

 

League

Butler
0 0 McKenzie R
Bari 0 2 Butler

 

In Group A of the Glasgow Cup, Colin Day managed to edge out John Halpin by a single goal. Day now joins Tom Burns on seven points. Willie Fleming is still to play. In Group B, Baver Bari had victory over Dave Gladman by 3 goals to 1, his second win in a row over Gladman. Bari, Gladman and Ronnie McKenzie all have three points after two matches.

 

Glasgow Cup

 

Day 1 0 Halpin
Gladman 1 3 Bari

 

 

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