Cumbernauld Colts got their 2017 campaign off to a winning start in the shadow of the National Stadium at Lesser Hampden.
In the days late kick off and the weather turning, they coped better with the wet and blustery conditions, emerging with a well deserved three points.
In the opening exchanges Cumbernauld were entirely dominant, keeping the home side pinned back in their own half, only allowing them to venture forward when a Colts attack broke down. On one such occasion the only yellow card of the match was shown to Lynn Jackson following a last ditch tackle.
The opening goal came with eight minutes of the opening half remaining. A stunning strike from Frances Fern 25 yards out beat the home keeper. Fern owed her shooting opportunity to centre half Ruth Young winning the ball in the centre of the park and setting her up.
The second goal came five minutes after the break. Sarah Wardlaw finishing confidently. Another finish from a Colts forward giving the keeper little opportunity.
With the game comfortably under control and a two goal advantage there was no real requirement for the visitors to attack as they had been. However, attack they did and scored a third with fifteen minutes of the game remaining.
An exquisite touch from McIntyre, who’d replaced Bethany Kerr on 65 minutes, placed the ball into the path of captain Lesley Blair.
Blair looked up and slid her pass through the Spiders defence to Kim Guthrie who herself had only five minutes came into the game for Fern. Guthrie took a touch and cut back inside, unleashing a right foot shot into the keepers far post corner.
It looked like a clean sheet was also being taken away from the match by the visitors as they had snuffed out all previous attacks that had tested them. And then, with a minute left of the game, the home side scored a consolation goal. With a Queen’s Park attacker in an obvious offside position, the Colts defence stopped for a whistle that never came allowing her to set up a teammate to finish past McSherry.
After the match, manager McSherry showed her relief to get the season off to a winning start. It’s always a little nerve wracking going into a new season, and this was no different. Or game plans were thrown out the window a little really as we had to make a few late changes to the starting line up following illness and injury call offs. I even had to don the gloves again, as an emergency measure. I’m disappointed for the girls as they never received a clean sheet they deserved for their dominance of the game. However, the three points are more than enough, and ultimately all that is at stake at the end of a match.
Reported by Stephen Bole
Pic: Cumbernauld Colts Ladies FC
