Gray lightsup Govan again with stunneras GlenshitBensforfive
THE last time David Gray score d a goal in Govan he sile nce d 46 ,273 s up p o r te r s a t I b r o x Stad ium.
Thatwas in January,2013, whe n his last-minute scorche r e arne d Montrose an unlike ly pointas Range rs we re romping to the Le ague Two title .
Fast forward thre e ye ars and the tale nte d Gle ns mid - fie ld e r was at it again, this time atBe nburb’s Ne w Tinto Park in the third round ofthe Ne w Coin Hold ings W e stof Scotland Cup.
The re might have be e n 46 ,000 supporte rs missing on Saturd ay afte r noon, but Gray’s 25th minute fre e -kick was still a corke r – although the East Kilbrid e man re ckons it wasn’t a patch on his Ibrox strike .
He told Time s Sport: “I was d e lighte d to score atBe nburb on Saturd ay,e spe cially as it gave us a two-goal cushion at a crucial stage in the game .
“Eve n though I fe ltwe we re we ll in control ofthe match at thatpoint,it’s always importantto ge tthatse cond goal.”
He ad d e d : “I mustad mitI caughtthe ball justrightand I was d e lighte d to se e itfly into the top corne r, but I’m not sure itwas as good as my goal atIbrox a couple ofye ars ago.
“Thatone was a bitspe cial and I re ckon it’ll take some - thing pre tty spe cial to be atit.
“Govan has be e n good to me so far,as itse e ms to bring outthe be stin me !”
Gle ns we nton to score anothe r thre e time s in the se cond -half to se cure a 5-1 win and a quarte r-final slot,and Gray would love to se al a pe rsonal W e stCup d ouble .
The 27-ye ar-old also ad mitte d he ’s loving life at Loch Park, afte r spe nd ing time with the like s ofClyd e ,Montrose and BSC Glasgow.
He e xplaine d : “The W e stis a massive compe tition and I’ve alre ad y won it with Kilbirnie ,so itwould be a gre at achie ve me nt to d o it again with the Gle ns.
“I have absolute ly no re - gre ts aboutsigning for Gle nafton. I’m ata gre atclub with a fantastic coaching staff and se toflad s. Ithas worke d out re ally we ll for me .”
De spite putting six pasttop flightShe ttle ston in the pre vious round ,Be ns we re always going to be up against it in this third round tie with the Ne w Cumnock sid e .
ButPaul Love ring’s Ce ntral DistrictSe cond Division sid e we re up for the fi ght,and ce n- tre -forward Ryan Livingston – be ing watche d by Que e n’s Park – cause d Gle ns some e arly proble ms.
But forme r Maryhill and Arthurlie star Joe And re w was d oing the same at the othe r e nd and had a shot save d i n the sixth minute by ScottSomme rville .
Craig McGuffie ce rtainly wasn’tthe stockie stbuiltplaye r on show but he shrugge d offfour home d e fe nd e rs in the 19th minute to shoot past Somme rville from 12 yard s.
Gray the n d ouble d Gle ns’ ad vantage six minute s late r whe n he fi re d home a 25-yard fre e -kick.
Afte r the bre ak,Be ns we re re d uce d to 10 me n whe n Scott Jarvie was re d -card e d for a re ckle ss challe nge on Gle ns substitute Darre n McGill.
Itle ftthe home sid e with a mountain to climb and And re w he ad e d home a third on 51 minute s from a pin-point Ally Park cross.
Thatse e me d to be that,but Be nburb are mad e of ste rn stuff the se d ays and pulle d one back whe n And y Colle nge prod d e d home from a corne r.
The ne xtgoal was ce rtainly crucial, and i t was the Ayrshire me n who e ffe ctive ly wrappe d up the tie j ustafte r the hour mark whe n Mick Mc- Cann re fuse d to give up on a lostcause and gothis justre - ward whe n he thumpe d a cracking d rive pastSomme rville from 16 yard s.
And McCann e nd e d the game by scoring his se cond , afte r Somme rville could only parry a John Paul Boyle d rive into the path ofthe strike r.
W hile Gle ns we re comfortable winne rs,Be ns chie fLove ring was spot-on whe n he said afte r the match that his sid e we re unlucky to lose by such a large margin.
He ad d e d : “I was d isappointe d to lose the game but to be hone st I d on’t think the re we re four goals in it.
“My boys d id n’t d e se rve that be cause the y compe te d we ll againsta ve ry good Gle - nafton sid e .
“Gle ns had thatbitofquality and e xpe rie nce that it take s to win the se type of game s,and our d e cision making le tus d own a bit.
“Butthe lad s worke d hard and e ve n whe n we we ntd own to 10 me n,we gave a good accountofourse lve s.
“W e have a young squad buthave ad d e d a bitofe xpe rie nce re ce ntly and thatse e ms to have he lpe d a lot.
“I’m proud ofthe way my playe rs we nt about the ir busine ss.”