Match Report
Two late goals from Neil McLaughlin turned what was going to be a disappointing scoreline into a decent one. Don’t get me wrong, the performance was absolutely fantastic, but the shooting was woeful. I counted 28 shots at goal from the Bankies today, and three goals, one of which was a penalty, would have been a poor return.
Neily’s late strikes gave him his second hat-trick of the season and put a result on the board which was a bit more in keeping with the disparity between the sides. Renfrew didn’t have much to offer, though they did manage to sneak a consolation through Jordan Moore midway through the second half to deny the Bankies a first clean sheet in the league this season.
In general play, the Bankies are starting to look more like the side that finished last season in fine form, but we are already chasing a goal-difference deficit against our title rivals, and this was a prime opportunity to make some headway in that regard. It was another goalless day for Keir Samson, who is going through his first real barren spell since joining the club. He missed a hatful of chances today and has scored just once this season. Perhaps a start at Livingston United would be helpful next week as he seeks to find his shooting boots.
It took until the 35th minute for the Bankies to take the lead, and it came via the penalty spot from Nicky Low. It was second time lucky for the midfielder, as he had an earlier spot kick saved by McLeay ten minutes before, after a barge on Leslie in the box.
The keeper saved to his right with the first effort, but Low opted to go straight down the middle with his second attempt and it easily beat McLeay, who dived to his left. For the record, it would seem the second penalty was awarded for a point-blank handball.
The second goal in first-half stoppage time came from Kian Leslie after Oisin McHugh showed great footwork to pull the ball back from the bye-line. Leslie needed two attempts to force the ball over the line after his initial shot was blocked.
It took until the midway point of the second half for the third goal to be scored following a succession of missed chances. There is no point in detailing them as we all have lives to live, and it would take forever to list them. The goal was the first of Neil McLaughlin’s hat-trick when he volleyed home after Matt Niven headed a corner back across the box.
Renfrew, who had just been making up the numbers for most of the game, pulled a goal back through Jordan Moore in the 76th minute. Moore had served notice with a penetrating run moments earlier, and he was allowed to do so again, finishing strongly low into the corner of the net.
Another barrage of chances were passed up and, as a likely 3-1 final score would have been a real let-down, Neil McLaughlin popped up with two goals in the last few minutes. The fourth was from a defensive error which McLaughlin pounced on before stroking the ball into the net. The final goal came from another mistake when a defender mis-kicked a clearance high into the air. McLaughlin held off his marker before controlling the ball on the turn and finding the bottom corner of the net.
McLaughlin has now scored four hat-tricks for the Bankies and has an incredible 0.81 goals-per-game record in his time with the club.
Even though we are still only seventh in the table, we are now handily placed to join the top clubs if we win our game in hand. We must now enjoy our last midweek without a game until the end of September, and hopefully this short break will help some of the injured players to recover. Grant and McGowan both had to retire early from the game today, and hopefully neither is anything serious.
It is Livingston United away next week in the South Challenge Cup. This game can be used to get some useful minutes into the legs of our fringe players, and give those with niggles the chance of some much-needed rest.
Match report written by Stuart McBay
