Vics tumble deeper into relegation mix
Six wins to be safe is big ask admits boss Gibson
Blantyre Vics plunged deeper into the Super First Division relegation zone on Saturday, after two defensive blunders saw Irvine Vics fight back to win 2-1.
That left Blantyre in secondbottom position, sharing the 12-point mark with their conquerors, who are two goals better off, although Blantyre have three games in hand.
Blantyre went ahead in 22 minutes when central defender Kieran Coleman headed in a Ryan Lockie cross.
Gary Griffin and Martin Mclaughlin went close before the break, but Irvine seized on a defensive lapse as David Adams equalised on 58 minutes, then sub Eddie Ablorh cashed in on another Blantyre slip to hit the winner on 71 minutes.
Manager John Gibson said: “It’s a difficult one to take.
“After our first-half performance I thought we were on top, and probably should have been two or thee goals up. We missed a good chance, then hit the bar as well.
“We started the second half quite well, then just stopped what we had been doing – clearing our lines and not risking chances, but that went out the window and we let Irvine in to score twice, and the heads and shoulders just went down.
“We had a wee chance when we had the ball in the net, but it was ruled out for hand-ball, then had a ‘goal’ disallowed for offside.”
Gibson knows the predicament facing his side and added: “It’s a relegation issue now. It looks as if we’re going to have to win six or seven of our eight games, which is a hard task, considering we’ve only won three games all season.”
Vics are now at home to secondtop Shettleston on Saturday, then face a derby relegation-clouded encounter at home to Shotts on Monday night.
Shotts lost 1-0 at home to Yoker Athletic as they hover on the fringe of relegation, six points ahead of third-bottom Irvine Victoria, with two games in hand.
The shadow of relegation for Forth Wanderers in the Central First Division eased slightly after their 3-0 win at home to Neilston, who now share the same points total but have a slightly better goaldifference, although Neilston have a game in hand.
Martin Harty headed Forth in front from a Willie Mclaren cross in 77 minutes, Kris Harvie added a second three minutes later, and Mclaren hit a last-minute cracker.
Manager Jamie Mckenzie said: “It was difficult against a strong wind in the first half but we made amends later on.
“That was our first clean sheet for a while, which is encouraging.”