Battling Glens edge thriller
Jay McKay’s 94th minute penalty kick was the decider in what was quite an incredible match as both teams went full throttle for the three points.
Glencairn stuck with the same starting line-up after last week’s win over Kilsyth, while Larkhall had exGlens man Jonny Duncan in goal.
Referee Craig King has been no stranger to baffling decisions in several matches over the past year or so, and he had everybody in the ground scratching their head as he whistled for a penalty kick to the hosts early on.
The ball appeared to be cleared cleanly in the penalty area but the whistler blew for a foul with Mark Canning converting the kick.
Glencairn responded a minute later when Ryan McArdle found space on the left and his cross to the back post was met by the volley of Del McNab.
The non-stop nature of the match continued with chances at both ends, and it was Larkhall who edged in front again in the 29th minute.
Canning found space on the edge of the box and placed his shot into the postage stamp corner of the net.
Glencairn pressed hard for an equaliser before the interval and got it as McKay’s precise pass released Liam Gormley through on goal and he stabbed the ball in to equalise.
Canning completed his hat-trick after 62 minutes as Thistle went ahead once more before McArdle set up McNab to level the game.
The match took another twist in the 73rd minute as McNab was caught in possession on the halfway line and Matthew Clarke darted up the left to pull his shot across goal where Jonathan McStay was on hand to slide the ball in.
Sub Allesandro Savarese then fed the ball into the penalty area to Gormley, who took an excellent first touch away from his marker before spinning and firing a shot past Duncan.
The Glens were handed a chance when Andrew Brown handled only inches outside the penalty area. The free-kick was brilliantly saved but one final twist in the tail saw McKay go down inside the box and he slotted home the resultant penalty kick in injury time.