Pupils share spoils in an entertaining draw
Campbeltown Pupils recovered from a nightmare start last Saturday to earn a point in a hectic encounter with West of Scotland Football League Division Four basement side Saltcoats Victoria.
The Kintyre side found themselves two goals down in the opening five minutes, firstly after a free kick was not cleared and a midfielder had a free shot on goal from close range, and then when Saltcoats’ number nine found space at the edge of the box to lob an inch-perfect shot over the grasp of Pupils keeper Alasdair Ferguson and into the net.
The McFadyens-sponsored Pupils then embarked on a remarkable comeback, scoring three goals in six minutes to take the lead.
The home side made it 1-2 through Donald McCallum, who managed to manoeuvre the ball out from under his feet some eight yards out, and guide a low shot beyond the Saltcoats keeper.
Their equaliser arrived when Ferguson’s kick out of his hands was controlled by a sublime touch on the run from Donald McCallum, who drove forward on the right channel and evaded a last-ditch Saltcoats tackle before floating over a high cross to the back post, for Calum Ellis to send a fine downward header across goal and into the visitors’ net for his 13th goal of the season.
Sensing fragility in the visitors’ ranks, the Feathers Inn-sponsored Pupils established the lead for the first time in the match.
A high cross swung in from the left-hand side was flicked on by the head of Scott Souden, and Ryan Deans arrived at the far post to make sure the ball found the net, directing the ball home for his ninth goal of the season in all competitions, which, amazingly, made it 3-2 after just 11 minutes.
Frustratingly, the Pupils were pegged back again when Saltcoats scored a header from a corner kick delivery around the 20-minute mark, after an aerial delivery went unchallenged.
The second half saw a much more stable affair than the first half’s goal fest.
Nevertheless, the Pupils still had to be on their guard, with Ferguson in goals and John McCallum in defence having to be alert to deny the visitors’ number 10 making it 3-4, after he rounded the Pupils keeper and got a goal-bound shot away, which had to be cleared to safety by the defender.
Elsewhere, there was further drama as a Saltcoats midfielder was given a rather unusual red card, receiving his marching orders after hurling a personal insult at a Pupils player.
Despite playing with only 10 men, it was the visitors who rallied to deny the numerically superior Pupils a winning goal in the closing stages, limiting the Kintyre Park side to speculative efforts from outside the box or from wider angles in the penalty area.
The club would like to thank Glen Scotia for providing a bottle of malt for the halftime draw, and to team manager Norman Thomson, plumbing and heating contractor, for sponsoring the home match.
In a busy week of fixtures for the club, the Pupils were due to take on East Kilbride Thistle away on Wednesday evening, with a 7.15pm kick off, before another away match tomorrow (Saturday, May 11) against BSC Glasgow, with a 2pm kick off.
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Pupils squad v Saltcoats Victoria: Alasdair Ferguson, Craig Lamont, Keith Mitchell (captain), John McCallum, Michael McKinlay, Stuart Crossan, Ellis Robertson, Calum Ellis, Donald McCallum, Scott Souden, Ryan Deans. Subs (all used): Ryan Shields, Maciej Romanowski, Liam Renton.