hollerman Posted May 12, 2016 Share Posted May 12, 2016 Central League – Division 1 Wednesday 11th May 2016 Ten man Maryhill maintain promotion bid VALE OF CLYDE 0 MARYHILL 1 A spectacular goal from Frankie Owens eighteen minutes from the end kept alive the prospect of promotion for a Maryhill side which played for three quarters of the game with ten men. The real hero of the evening, however, was goalkeeper Grant Hay, who turned in a superb performance to keep out a Vale team desperate for points in their quest to avoid dropping into the second division. Opening exchanges were tentative and evenly balanced, with Maryhill having slightly more of the play without creating any clear cut chances. The first threat came from the home side when Scott McManus hit a shot on the drop which skimmed the crossbar. Midway through the first period Paul McLernon was sent off, apparently for abusive language to the enclosure side linesman. Undeterred, Maryhill pressed on and a neat move involving Frankie Owens and Paul Callander ended with the former shooting wide of the goal. Jamie Docherty then made an uncharacteristically poor effort from a free kick on the edge of the penalty area, before Vale started to take control of the game. Grant Hay made three outstanding saves in quick succession, one from a McManus thirty yard drive, and twice from powerful shots by Joe Doyle. McManus should have scored, but after creating a good opportunity, miskicked a few yards from goal. He was proving to be the main danger for the home side, and brought out another great save from Hay after drifting past four Hill defenders. In the final ten minutes, Maryhill rallied, and two efforts from Docherty came close to giving them the lead. Half Time – Vale of Clyde 0 Maryhill 0 Two minutes into the second half, Maryhill squandered a great opportunity to go ahead. A long ball from defence found Jamie Docherty with a clear run on goal, but he hesitated and Vale keeper Gary McLenaghan blocked his shot. The ball rebounded to Justin Begg, but his attempt was also saved by the keeper, only to fall to Paul Callander, who shot into the side net. The extra man advantage was gradually beginning to tell, and Maryhill were kept under pressure for long spells. A controversial penalty was awarded to Vale by referee Ross Hardie, when Paul Coyle and Scott McManus clashed just inside the penalty area. It looked as if the Hill defender was trying to evade the challenge, and even some home supporters considered the decision very harsh. Coyle was also shown a yellow card. As often happens in these circumstances, however, justice appeared to prevail when Grant Hay saved Doyle’s penalty kick. Maryhill’s resilience was evident as they hit back, and Kieran Furay’s strong run ended with a shot which was just inches too high, then Justin Begg had a shot on the turn well saved by McLenaghan.The decisive breakthrough came after seventy two minutes, when a speculative long range lob from FRANKIE OWENS took McLenaghan by surprise and the ball dipped under the crossbar and into the net. The remainder of the game saw the Hill defence under intense pressure as Vale searched for an equaliser. McManus was again at the forefront of the action, and Hay saved well from his headed attempt. Maryhill continued to defend well and relied on the counter attack, and in one such move William Wells outpaced three defenders, and as he advanced on goal was scythed from behind by Doyle. Displeasure at the fact that ref Hardie only produced a yellow card turned to disbelief as it was shown to Wells, begging the obvious question of why he would want to ‘dive’ when running clear into a goal scoring opportunity. That was not the end of the action and Grant Hay made one final superb save in injury time to divert a close range header from sub Kyle Stewart. Maryhill have one game left, at Johnstone on Saturday. Victory would ensure promotion to the super league, with any other outcome leaving their fate depending on the result of Wishaw’s game at Thorniewood on Monday. VALE OF CLYDE -: McLenaghan, Martin, MacKay, Timoney, Doyle, Hamill (Stewart 75), McFadyen (Cusack 75), Stevenson, McManus, Cochrane, Kane. SUBS (not used) – McKinstry, Hamilton, Morrison. YELLOW CARDS – McLenaghan (20), Stevenson (50), Cochrane (73), Stewart (90+2) RED CARDS – None MARYHILL-: Hay, Beckley, Coyle, McLernon, Banks, Callander, Owens (McKay 85), Furay, Docherty (Walton 81), Begg, Wells. SUBS (not used) – Lundie,Kearns, J.Tolland. YELLOW CARDS – Begg (39), Coyle (53), Furay (60), Wells (89). RED CARD – McLernon (23) REFEREE – Ross Hardie MAN OF THE MATCH – Vale of Clyde – Scott McManus, Maryhill – Grant Hay Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
connolly81 Posted May 12, 2016 Share Posted May 12, 2016 Very impressed with grant hay everytime I've seen him. Cracking prospect Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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