No VAR as Pupils’ equaliser is ruled out for offside
A match involving second and third-placed league teams produced a close-fought encounter as anticipated.
But the McFadyensponsored Campbeltown Pupils were left to rue their luck and lick their wounds when what looked like an equalising goal was ruled out for offside as the home side celebrated an epic comeback at the eleventh hour.
Final quarter aside, the Pupils never really got to grips with last Saturday’s game and, although at times playing some decent possession football, as the game descended into an almighty midfield tussle for supremacy, goalmouth incidents were few and far between.
Parkhall were certainly up for the fight and gave as good as they got throughout the 90 minutes, but they had to depend on a successful ‘smash and grab’ to rest the points from a home side that looked the more likely team to go ahead.
Breaking forward in the 61st minute, the Clydebank side at last breached a resolute home defence, their diminutive striker showing great composure under pressure to lob Alasdair Ferguson in the home goal to open the scoring. This was not in the home side’s script and a raft of substitutions gave the Pupils the fresh legs to create the forward momentum required to bring the visitors under severe pressure for the first time in the match.
Not that it was all one-way traffic, as the Pupils goalkeeper produced a fine save when diving to his left to save from an incoming forward.
With ten minutes remaining, the game at last resembled a siege as the home side committed themselves to attack down both flanks.
The addition of Gregor Croll as a speedy forward and the release of John McCallum to attack from deep seemed to tip the balance in the home side’s favour, but time and again the last line of defence saved the day as time ebbed away.
The final minutes produced a number of corner kicks and from one such set play the ball rebounded into the path of Ryan McConnachie who volleyed the ball through a crowded box and into the net via a deflection off the visitor’s centre-half.
As the Pupils celebrated a successful comeback, the referee chalked the goal off for obstruction of the goalkeeper’s view. Given the numbers of players from both teams populating the box, a surprising, mystifying decision.
The game finished a complete anti-climax for a young home side, but they will dust themselves down and go again in the next match against Dunoon at home tomorrow, Saturday February 1. See posters and social media for more information.