Glencairn suffer late blow in final
Big crowd see Rutherglen U-21 miss out on cup
An 86th- minute goal was enough to see Rutherglen Glencairn Under-21s slump to a West of Scotland League Cup final defeat as they lost 2-1 to Tower Hearts.
Alessandro Savarese struck late on after Glens’ Anton Phinn cancelled out Dale Simeon’s first half opener in front of a large support at McKenna Park, Glasgow, on Sunday.
Tower were given the opportunity to take the lead in the 38th minute when the ref ruled that Shaun Roberts had tripped Simeon inside the area.
The Glens will have felt justice was done as Truesdale produced a brilliant block to deny Ryan Kerr and keep the scoreline blank.
However, the opening goal was only delayed by a couple of minutes when Tower Hearts took the lead in the 40th minute. A cross from the left picked out Simeon on his own in front of goal, and he produced a spectacular leftfooted hook volley to give Truesdale no chance.
The young Glens came out for the second half determined to get back on level terms quickly and they did exactly that in the 49th minute. A high ball was laid back by Wallace into the path of Anton Phinn, and he skipped past a couple of challenges before smashing his shot into the roof of the net from 20 yards for his 26th goal of the season.
Just as it looked like a penalty shoot-out was on the cards, Tower Hearts edged in front with only four minutes remaining. Simeon was the architect this time, as he fed the ball in to Alessandro Savarese and he produced a precise finish off the inside of the far post.
Glencairn threw everything forward in desperation for an equaliser in the final few minutes but Tower held on to claim the trophy.
The final result left the winners still in contention for winning five trophies but the young Glens have the consolation of knowing that a treble is still within their grasp, including the big prize of the Premier League championship.
Co-manager Alex McArthur was proud of his team’s performance.
He said: “We actually played very well. I’m disappointed for the boys and the supporters but we were beaten by an unlucky goal.
“I can’t be too critical of them. They gave their all and to go down 1-0 and come back from that so quickly was pleasing.
“I felt we dominated the first 15 minutes and our two centremidfielders bossed the first half.
“Tower Hearts got a penalty against the run of play but Truesdale, who is a great goalkeeper, made a stunning save.
“They got a goal just before half-time but we did well to score just after the break. A lapse of concentration cost us the goal at the end but congratulations to Tower Hearts, they are a very good side.
“The boys were absolutely gutted after it. It was a sombre and quiet dressing room after the game and we could see how much it was hurting them.
“They felt as though they had let the support down but I got a few text messages last night from people who told me they certainly didn’t.
“It’s now about how we react from it. There is still a lot to play for and we have an important cup tie this weekend against West Park to focus on.”