Collinder goal eases relegation strain
WISHAW JUNIORS ................................ 3 ROYAL ALBERT ....................................... 2 Paul Thomson at The Beltane
Wishaw Juniors gaffer Mark Daly reckons Michael Collinder’s 94th minute winner over Royal Albert has kept their survival hopes alive.
Daly’s men came from 2-0 down at The Beltane to stun their visitors and snatch a vital three points.
It lifts them out of the relegation zone in West League One and they are now a point above Kello Rovers, four ahead of East Kilbride Thistle and eight clear of bottom dogs Albert.
Delighted Daly said: “I said to the boys, they’ve saved their season with that result. I didn’t think a point would have been enough because I think Kello will kick-on, especially when they got to the quarter-finals of the Scottish Cup. “It’s a great comeback from us. “We didn’t start the game properly. I thought Albert were the better team first half and when they got the goal in the second half, we had to go all guns blazing.
“We just need to keep winning and it just gets harder this weekend at Bellshill, so we need a good performance.”
With Storm Ciara in full force, high winds caused havoc for the hosts early on and they rarely got out of their own half, as Albert used the conditions to their advantage.
It took just four minutes for Adam Richardson to break the deadlock with a low strike and Scott Ballantyne netted from close range at the start of the second half to put Albert in control.
However, on the hour mark a strike from Mick McGarrigan from Collinder’s cutback sparked the comeback.
Collinder hauled Wishaw level in 80 minutes and, with the game heading for a draw, the striker drilled the ball into the far corner to net a last-gasp winner.
Daly added: “The wind was a massive factor. Their goalkeeper wasn’t getting a decent distance on his kicks, so we were playing on the front foot and we controlled the second half.
“We created a lot of chances and didn’t take them all, so that can come back to hurt you. But wee Collinder has popped up at the end for a 94th minute winner, so we’ll take that every day of the week.”
Kick-off at Bellshill on Saturday is 2pm.