Tarbert beaten by Busby in fiery match
SAFL Premier Division 2 Tarbert 1 Busby 4
TARBERT welcomed Busby to Cil Andreis for league duty last Saturday.
The home side had a few key players missing again as they looked to secure three points and climb the table.
The game began in the best weather conditions so far this year, but with only 30 seconds on the clock, Tarbert lost their player manager David Ronald to injury.
As he skipped past a couple of Busby players, a crude challenge at knee height led to the first free kick and first substitution of the day.
This was to set the tone as the match went on with Busby constantly argumentative and throwing fists and elbows whenever the chance arose.
Tarbert, to their credit, were not falling foul of this, but fell behind after 10 minutes when a deep cross into the box evaded everyone for a tap-in goal.
The home side dug deep and battled well for the rest of the first half and were unlucky not to draw level when a cross into the box just evaded Prentice at the back post.
The second half was similar to the first, with Tarbert trying to play football but Busby determined to make it a kicking match instead.
Several cynical fouls and scraps off the ball led to a flurry of yellow cards for the away side and Tarbert can feel aggrieved the colour was not red on a couple of occasions.
The home side almost drew level as a tidy through ball from MacKinnon fell to Blair but his shot from the edge of the box went wide.
Tarbert lost their keeper to injury, forcing Prentice in between the sticks for the remainder of the match.
As the home side attacked, looking for the winner, Busby sprung the counter-attack twice to go 3-0 ahead, while in between also going down to 10 men as finally the referee brandished a red card.
A roused Tarbert created a couple of chances and pulled a goal back through MacKinnon with 15 minutes left.
The joy was shortlived as another counter-attack allowed Busby to go 4-1 ahead and end the match as a contest.
This week Tarbert are at home to Cardross in a must-win home game.