Junior Football Round-up Vics move on up to fourth place in championship
Blantyre Vics dumped Neilston 3-2, leap-frogging them into fourth place in Mcbookie.com Championship.
That leaves Vics 13 points off leaders Darvel, but with five games in hand over each of the teams above them.
Stephen Docherty opened the scoring for Neilston in six minutes, but Lewis Macdonald dinked a shot over the keeper to level in 22 minutes, and five minutes later Nadeem Zeb put Vics in front.
Simon Eeles gave Vics some breathing space with a third four minutes after the interval, but although Stephen Stirling pulled a goal back in 65 minutes, the win was more comfortable than that.
Lanark and Lesmahagow kept it tight in third and fourth place in League 1, with both winning to stay level on 32 points.
United beat Kello Rovers 2-0 at Moor Park, while ’Gow thumped Glasgow Perthshire 6-3 at home.
Larkhall Thistle remain in eighth place, despite their 3-2 win at Greenock, which leaves them on 26 points, one behind their opponents, but with two games in hand.
Ardrossan Winton Rovers, who were just ahead of Thistle in seventh, shot up to fifth with a 2-0 win at Carluke Rovers.
Lanark opened the scoring in 78 minutes when PJ O’donnell found Ian Watt on the right and he beat a defender before racing into the box and driving the ball into the corner.
Watt then turned provider, sending Kieran Brannan into the box and when he was brought down, Lewis Hill converted from the spot.
Lesmahagow raced into a 2-0 lead inside 10 minutes, with Jason Thomson grabbing the second, and he bagged their third as well shortly afterwards.
After Perthshire pulled a goal back, ’Gow restored their lead when Scott Schonville rattled in a 25-yard free kick, and Thomson completed his hat-trick for a 5-1 lead.
Perthshire were awarded and scored two penalties in as many minutes, and tried to make further inroads into the 5-3 deficit.
Just one goal in the second half made the points safe for Lesmahagow.
Larkhall broke the deadlock in five minutes when Taylor Scott crossed for Ben Elliot to bullet a header into the net.
The game settled into a midfield battle after that, but Thistle added to their lead in 25 minutes when Jack Adam drew a foul just outside the box and Scott Cowan placed the free kick inside the post.
A mix-up then saw Adam score an owngoal to pull one back for Greenock.
The hosts had a chance to level inside first-half stoppage time but crashed a penalty off the bar.
Thistle scored what proved to be the winner when Jack Currie was first to react to a Dom Chiedu throw-in, glancing a header past the keeper.
Greenock finished the game on the attack and pulled a goal back with 15 minutes left, and they had a chance to level in the last minute, but sent a header flashing over.
Thorniewood United clawed back three points on fifth-placed Forth Wanderers in League 2, with a 4-1 win at home to Saltcoats Vics. A Declan Brown double was added to by strikes from Ali Morgan and Damon Welsh.
That leaves Thorniewood two behind Wanderers, but with two games in hand.
The game was poised at 1-1 at the interval, with both sides down to 10 men – Paul O’brien for ’Wood – and Johnny Duncan making an outstanding save from a Saltcoats penalty to keep it level.
Boss Jamie Nesbitt said: “The second half was much more like us, sharper to the ball, moved the ball quicker, and created more chances.”
Forth, meanwhile, lost 5-2 at Maybole, with their goals coming from Jonathan Branks and Billy Stevenson.
Wishaw crashed out of the Ardagh Group West of Scotland Cup first round, with a 5-4 penalty shoot-out defeat to Johnstone Burgh, after 14 penalties were taken.
Burgh had raced into a 2-0 lead inside 52 minutes through a Conor Mcarthur double, but Vinnie Mcguire netted in 85 minutes, and Liam O’kane levelled two minutes later.
Fixtures (Saturday, December 28): Mcbookie.com Championship: Blantyre Vics v Craigmark Burntonians; Shotts v Neilston.
League 1: Carluke Rovers v Royal Albert; East Kilbride Thistle v Lesmahagow; Glasgow Perthshire v Lanark United; Larkhall Thistle v Shettleston; Maryhill v Bellshill Athletic; Wishaw v Kello Rovers.
League 2: Ardeer Thistle v Newmains United; Forth Wanderers v Vale of Leven.
All games kick-off at 1.45pm.