Three and easy for Darvel as Rob Roy brushed aside
Our quality shone through, says Kennedy
DARVEL’S 3- 0 victory over Rob Roy on Saturday was the outcome most pundits predicted beforehand but probably not the anticlimatic manner of it.
There is no suggesting the Ayrshiremen were not the better team throughout this WOSFL Premier Division contest because some of their intricate passing passages of play were a joy to behold, while the sound no- nonsense defending of Kenny Marshall, ex- Peterhead centre- back Cammy Eadie and inspirational skipper Daryll Meggitt gave rise to thoughts of goals being difficult to come by against their resolute mindset.
Now it could be the case that too much had been expected of Mick Kennedy’s revamped side. A fair sprinkling of exSeniors arrived during the Covid- 19 extended off- season, but there can be no denying a perceived lack of sparkle in the forward areas where first touch and eye for an opening are crucial for any team.
Talented duo Darren Miller and Jambo McKernon are more often than not charged with making all the key plays but Rob Roy’s tight marking ensured the pair were not quite at it and Darvel’s cutting edge was fairly blunted as a result – until
the introduction of substitutes Alan McKenzie and Ryan Thomson provided the means to a more direct approach.
There is undoubtedly an extensive list of reasons for all to be cheerful in the home team’s camp, none more so than a threepoints haul, however the look on losing gaffer Stewart Maxwell’s face when he was asked if his Rabs side had lost out to the champions- in- waiting said it all.
Maxi fumed: “Look , we’ve been beaten by a very good team but I cannot and will not pretend they were a world apart from my own players.
“To our credit, we competed well and never gave up the ghost in spite of a couple of Ross Birrell refereeing decisions which denied not one but two stonewall penalty kicks and were not too kind to us.
“And they were clearly
turning points in the game, coming either side of Darvel’s opening goal at a time when we were showing good energy and posing them problems.
“Firstly, Scott Gold has got his head to a cross before their goalkeeper Chris Truesdale, who has followed through with an attempted punch after the ball was away and literally poleaxed big Scott.
“By the letter of the law, it was as clear a case of someone not in control and Mr Birrell followed that up at 1- 0 by also turning down our loud claims after Daryll Meggitt blatantly used his hand to block a Robbie Leighton shot.
“Darvel’s second goal did knock the stuffing out of us somewhat and we were second best until the final whistle but I honestly believe it could all have been so different if the
referee had saw fit to apply the rules correctly.”
The Ayrshire outfit’s most recent acquisition, Ross Caldwell, ex- Blantyre Vics, justified the clamour to get his signature when netted the all- important first goal of the game in 16 minutes when a long throw saw Rob Roy fail to clear their lines and he pounced on the loose ball to fire home an unstoppable shot.
A clever Miller flick almost doubled this lead and busy Darvel front man Jordan Kirkpatrick brought out the best in Rabs keeper Matty Kerr with a well hit effort in 42 minutes which saw the keeper pull off an acrobatic one- handed save at full stretch.
Kennedy called for his side to put the game to bed at the interval and the gaffer saw Darvel start the second half in the ascendancy, and their efforts came to fruition just six minutes in as Rob Roy fullback Ian Gold’s mis- header dropped kindly for Kirkpatrick and he despatched a low shot beyond the diving Kerr for 2- 0 .
With the clock ticking down, both sides turned to the bench and it was Darvel’s combination of Thomson and McKenzie that came up trumps after the former made space down the left to fire over a cross, and found his team- mate rising unchallenged to glance home a header from point- blank range to seal a 3- 0 triumph.
A smiling Kennedy said afterwards: “I couldn’t ask for more than to score three goals as well as conceding none on our first game back, and it speaks volumes that our goalkeeper Chris has not made a save of any note.
“Rob Roy are much improved from last season and were a bit sharper to the second ball than our guys over the first 15 minutes, but Ross’ goal settled us and our becoming more compact from that point which allowed our extra bit of quality to tell.”
An equally emphatic scoreline was posted by Premier Division rivals Troon away to Bonnyton Thistle through scores from Ross Barbour, Dean Fulton and Josh Black while yet another three- goal return on the road was racked up by Cumbernauld United in running out 3- 1 winners over Benburb.
The Premier Division’s only other opening- day victors were Clydebank, whose ace marksman Nikky Little bagged the only goal of the game on the hour- mark against Largs Thistle to seal a precious three points.
Elsewhere, Hurlford United left it late to salvage a 2- 2 share of the spoils at home to Blantyre Vics, while Beith needed an 89th- minute equaliser from Kevin Watt to earn a 1- 1 draw at home to a Rossvale side that led through a James Finlay strike.