McGroarty rues a Lennon late show
Striker’s last-gasp winner a sickener forWishaw boss
Thorniewood United .3 Wishaw Juniors ........2
Lindsay Robertson A stoppage- time sucker punch denied Wishaw a point in a Thorniewood thriller on Saturday as the wait for an away win this season continues.
It was a cruel end to the match for the visitors to Robertson Park after dominating most of the match as goals from James Coffey and Paul McGeogh had twice pegged back United.
However, Wishaw’s efforts to push for a winner were punished at the death when Chris Lennon completed his hattrick to ensure Chris McGroarty’s men remain winless on the road after four league outings in the Central District First.
McGroarty admitted it was frustrating to leave Robertson Park without at least a point after his side put in an impressive performance.
He said: “We’ve dominated the game and played extremely well, which makes it infuriating not to come away with something.
“I appreciate we’re in a results business but I was happy with our performance on Saturday. I said to the boys after the game we’ll win more games than we lose if we play like that.
“We pushed on to try and get a winner and were hit with a sucker punch but there were plenty of positives to take from the game. Thorniewood set up with a gameplan and it worked for them, so fair play.”
Thorniewood took the lead after 15 minutes after player/manager John Paul McBride crossed to Lennon who headed past Sandy Thomson in the Wishaw goal.
Wishaw should have got themselves level almost straight from kick off after Dan Kindlan’s surging run ended a superb delivery for Coffey who failed to get a proper strike on the ball.
The visitors looked the better side at this point and when a Graeme Goodall cross was laid back to KB Grant, his effort whizzed past the post with the keeper beaten. The home side thought they had doubled their lead after half an hour when a McBride pass found a way through the Wishaw defence and was collected by Johnny Logan, who slotted in only for the referee to blow the whistle for offside. As the match ticked towards half time, the home side had one last effort when a Chris Jackson cross found full-back Andy Sinclair who could not get enough on his header to worry Thomson.
Just before the hour, the visitors got a well-deserved equaliser when Wishaw Juniors have kept just five clean sheets in 13 games and have only conceded more than two goals on two occasions. Wishaw are creating plenty of chances and constantly look like a goal threat going forward. Teams might be playing differently against Wishaw due to their success but they must adapt. a Dan McNulty corner caused chaos for the United defence as Coffey ran in unmarked to send a header beyond Derek Barnes.
A Thorniewood breakaway five minutes later lead to their second as Lennon raced in on goal but after Thomson’s initial save, the ball bounced off the striker and into the net.
Wishaw were not going to go away without a fight and on 72 minutes found themselves level.
A foul on Ryan Smillie saw Grant curl a free kick into the home box. McGeogh reacted quickly to poke the ball behind Barnes in the home goal to make it 2-2.
Wishaw switched to three at the back as they searched for the winner but, as the game entered stoppage time, Lennon pounced on a Logan delivery to bundle home the late winner.
PWDL Cambuslang R.F.C. 6 5 0 1 St. Roch’s F.C. 6 5 0 1 Thorniewood Utd 6 4 0 2 Lesmahagow F.C. 6 4 0 2 Larkhall Thistle 6 4 0 2 Rossvale JFC 6 3 1 2 Neilston Juniors 6 3 0 3 WISHAW JUNIORS 6 2 1 3 Greenock Juniors 6 2 1 3 Benburb F.C. 5 2 0 3 Vale of Clyde 6 1 2 3 Johnstone Burgh 6 1 1 1 Pts 15 15 12 12 12 10 9 7 7 6 5 4
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