Lang brawl was child’s play for Paul
McColl & Davidson blast decision after abandoned match
HANDBAGS at dawn. At least that’s what both managers thought of the scuffle which saw Saturday’s Super First Division match between Largs Thistle and Cambuslang Rangers abandoned at half-time.
The Barrfields encounter was called off at the break with Thistle leading 1-0 thanks to Scott Adam’s strike after repeated attempts by the referee to subdue heated scenes as the two sets of players headed for the changing rooms failed.
A red card for Lang midfielder Craig Molloy in the 19th minute provided an initial flashpoint in the fiercely contested fixture, with tempers flaring thereafter.
Tackles continued to fly in on the artificial grass surface in North Ayrshire before emotions eventually boiled over at the interval.
Opposition players clashed on the narrow ramp as they retreated inside, with the ref quickly deciding to abandon the fixture based on safety concerns after his efforts to restore order fell on deaf ears.
The abrupt call-off left Cambuslang’s Paul McColl and Largs’ Stuart Davidson stunned, however, with both managers insisting no punches were thrown in the confrontation.
In fact, McColl (inset) claims he has witnessed more aggression at a play area than on Saturday.
He said: “It was nothing, my child has a better fight up at soft play.
“I thought it was a poor decision by the referee. Nobody struck blows. It was just a coming together and it was dispersed within 30 seconds. I’ve no idea what the ref has abandoned it for and we are just as miffed as Largs.
“None of our players have been hit, none of their players have been hit, no coaches have been hit, so I just don’t know why he has called it off. “The ref has made a couple of blunders during the game, he sent [Craig] Molloy off for a tackle he didn’t even see then a Largs player should probably have seen red too. He added: “You can’t just go in two minutes after halftime and abandon a game unless it’s a total riot. Abandoning the match looks bad for us and Largs. “We’ve fans come all the way from Cambuslang on a horrible day, while our players still have to get paid for both that match and the replay, so we are double paying them.”
WHILE the match ended with opposing players seemingly at loggerheads, the two club’s managers were singing off the same hymn sheet when it came to their view of events.
Thistle boss Davidson said: “It was just the usual handbags, a bit of pushing and shoving. It’s been blown out of proportion.
“The ref couldn’t tell me who had done what as he didn’t know but said the game had been abandoned for people’s safety.
“Listen, I have been in junior football for quite a while now and have seen incidents like this one hundreds of times. Of course, there is no place for violence and fighting in junior football but as far as I’m concerned that didn’t happen on Saturday.
“It was an overreaction. Yes, the match was heated but it’s up to the ref to control it and show a bit of common sense.”
With Saturday’s fixture set to be replayed once the ref’s report is reviewed, the two teams look set to face off four times in the space of just two months. Cambuslang host Largs on 3 February in the return league game, while the sides have also been paired in the New Coins Automatic West of Scotland Cup second round.