Central League: Second Division

  Dunipace 1 - 0 Glasgow Perthshire   

In what was a pretty decent game of football the main talking point, as it has been too often, was unfortunately the official.

Both sides were left scratching their heads and shared a chuckle with each other at the way the decisions were going with both becoming more frustrated with the referee as the game progressed at the seemingly random (and certainly inconsistant) awards.

In a decent football game that had no real bad tackles we managed to clock up no less than 8 bookings and a straight red card (for kicking the ball off an opposing player who had been fouled BEFORE the referee had given the decision)

None the less, both sides and benches managed to play the game out in good spirit despite the efforts of the official to ensure otherwise and this was another glaring argument for football during the summer months.

Dunipace started the brighter with Graeme MacMillan twice missing excelent deliveries, from Cairney and McPhail, by inches before Oates showed him the way to goal, heading in another fine cross by McPhail.

Dunipace created more chances, with Perthsire struglling to deal with the quality of deliveries from the wide areas. The visitors though were not only defending and in a game that ebbed and flowed from end to end had a couple of decent chances themselves in the first half, Meighan in goal twice pulling off excellent saves.

As half time approached the home side created another few chances, coming closest when Chris Cairney struck from 25 yards only to see the keeper get a great hand onto the ball to turn it over the bar for a ........ GOAL KICK!

Into the second half and both sides again were pushing for the goal that would change the game but a mixture of poor finishing and good goalkeeping stopping that from happening. Sean McCafferty came closest for the Pace when he fired over from 4 yards after Rodgers had squared. The little midfielder did well to get any contact on the ball as it bobbled past 3 players to get to him and, clearly not expecting it to reach, he threw out a leg at the last minute but couldn't turn it home.

Dunipace were then forced to defend for the final 20 minutes after Cairney, who had put in another impressive display in the heart of midfield for Dunipace, was ordered off in bizzare fashion by the official. Oates, having got himself in a bit of a tangle, fouled the forward as he turned beyond him on the wing. Cairney, who had worked back to cover his full back, latched onto the lose ball to clear but his clearance struck the forward in the face as he fell, following which the official awarded a foul. After 2 or 3 minutes of writing in his notebook he produced the red card for Cairney to everyone's amazement.

Presumably the free kick taker was also bemused and didn't want to hit the wall with his free kick just in case he suffered the same fate, so blazed the ball over the bar.

With Perthshire chasing the goal and Dunipace content to defend what they had the only other chance of note in the game fell to McIllduff. Perthshire threw everyone forward, leaving the striker on his own on the half way line and Meighan duelly obliged by firing him the ball. McIllduff got it down and headed for goal, only to be upended by the chasing defender, who did well to make up the ground, just outside the box. A clear and intentional foul and given the visitors were chasing the game with minutes to go a prety good one for his team.

Or so everyone but the official thought, who from the other end of the pitch, further away than every player bar the home keeper, he waved play on.

As the street lights came on the game ended and a much needed three points went into the coffers of the home side. A happy ending, but a frustrating one given the dismissal of Cairney that the home side will hope doesn't impact their promotion bid given the form the little midfielder has been in of late.