Kilby prove their worth
Mighty striker Thomas Collins had warned his ex- Queen’s Park Under-17s team-mate the infamous Bellsdale sloped pitch would leave him gasping like one of Glasgow’s steepest streets.
It seemed a shrewd assessment by the 22-year-old – dubbed BoJo in the dressing room after Boris Johnson due to his blond curls and fact he’s studying politics – with Ayr failing to climb out of first gear for 45 minutes.
But while Boris couldn’t master a zip wire, Shankland scoring one and setting up another made sure the Championship table-toppers weren’t left dangling.
“He gave me a text just after the draw to say, ‘How’s best to prepare for this hill?’” said Strathclyde Uni student Collins.
“I said, ‘ If you’ve been along George Street and go up North Portland Street, that is usually the best way!’”
The first time a junior and senior side from Ayrshire have met in the Scottish hadn’t just caught the attention of the locals. Four lads Collins met at a music festival in Spain this summer even drove up yesterday morning from Stockton-onTees for a reunion.
“I’ve never been to a Scottish game,” said Middlesbrough fan Ashley Roberts, 22. “I stuck two quid on Beith, Thomas said he wouldn’t let us down.”
In the weeks counting down to yesterday’s derby Collins had shipped out £270 on tickets to meet requests. “Turns out Paul Fr ize had a whole minibus coming from Possi l ,” he said . “That sums up the Cup – brilliant.” The cameras were here although president John Boal had already had a film crew in his home.
His 120-year- old Glasgow house had been turned into a film set for a British Airways advert just 24 hours before third-round take-off.
A TV crew two- dozen strong had transformed his bedroom while an NYPD police car and a New York taxi cab sat out front after he’d been handed a grand to let them turn the place upside down.
“I should get a bit in the centre circle – British Airways,” he joked.
The 68-year-old wasn’t interested in a cameo for the airline but there was a starring appearance at Bellsdale.
“It is the strange requests you get,” he said. “I got an email Friday morning from somebody, ‘Please could you ask the tannoy announcer to say happy birthday to my wee grandson?’
“Guess who the tannoy announcer will be… ? You’ve got to say yes to things like that. I’m always on the tannoy. You name it, I do anything. You know what it’s like at junior – everybody mucks in and gets on with it. “That is a s t r eng th our club has.” Shankland set about testing it twice inside eight minutes, first forcing Stephen Grindlay to pull off a one-handed stop t hen t u r n a 2 5 - y a rd thunderbolt around the post. Gordon, a punter standing by the home dugout, began to recal l his f irst visit to Bellsdale 48 years ago as Largs’ trainer, leaving on the end of a 10- 0 hiding after a teenage Gordon McQueen played in goal. Another rout seemed remote as Michael Moffat prodded in only for the offside flag to go up. “You’ve just been Shezzaad,” went up the shout from one fan after 39-year-old centre- back- cum- roundabout John Sheridan, charged with shackl ing Shankland, bulldozed through him.
“To be honest I was just trying to stay away from him,” said Shankland come full- time. “I clocked his studs in the tunnel and I was like, ‘ They could have my Achilles’ name on them.’
“He’s an experienced guy here. I spoke to a few boys about him and good on him playing at that age.”
It was Ayr who came of age after the restart as Andy Geggan’s volley stripped a coat of paint off the woodwork.
Shankland couldn’t be contained much longer, swivelling and stroking a shot into the corner after 63 minutes.
Both sets of supporters took it a bit too far as smoke billowed from two f lares flung into Grindlay’s box from the Ayr section while a Beith punter threw a can of lager in the away fans’ direction that landed on the pitch.
With no penalty given when Keir Milliken hit the deck moments after the opener and Ayr pinging balls down the slope, a second seemed imminent.
That was if a ball was available with Sheridan’s boot into the bushes behind the stand one of multiple gung- ho clearances that had Ayr fans having to remind officials there wasn’t one to take a corner.
When it was retrieved, Shankland set up a second 12 minutes from time, cushioning Craig McGuffie’s ball into the path of sub Ross Docherty to slot home.
And Moffat added a third with a halfvolley before the Beith boys hobbled off looking for a pint and Collins for a pen.
With a 3000-word essay due tomorrow he’d vowed to spend Saturday night – win, lose or draw – in the library.
But sitting with a hal f- eaten pie smothered in brown sauce inside the clubhouse, he said: “I’m that tired my dad is telling me I shouldn’t drive.
“We managed to contain them well. But Shankland’s quality tells, doesn’t it?” Stuart Malcolm last night hailed supersub Jamie Longworth after he fired East Kilbride into the fourth round with an injury-time winner.
Kilby prevailed in this battle of the Lowland League when Longworth’s strike squirmed out of Gala keeper Patrick Martin’s grasp.
And after seeing the striker earn a trip to Edinburgh City or Inverness Caley in the next round, interim boss Malcolm said: “Jamie has played at a high level in the leagues and you know what he is about.
“He has great quality and is an unbelievable professional. It’s a team game and the boys were excellent but Jamie deserved that.”
Martin did well to deny Anton Brady in the first half and Paul Woods after the break but couldn’t keep out Longworth’s low drive. Gala boss Dean Shanks said: “Our keeper made some brilliant saves and I thought he had it but that’s football.”