Hopes of repeating last year’s Scottish Cup success have been quashed for GUFC after being defeated in preliminary round two by Kilwinning FC.
Travelling away to an unusually sunny Buffs Park in Ayrshire on Saturday, 2 September, GUFC’s first XI faced Kilwinning Rangers in the second preliminary round of the Scottish Cup. The home side, who won the coin toss and chose to kick-off, needed a victory, having won only 1 of 4 opening league matches.
An early Kilwinning effort caught Glasgow by surprise, when a looping through ball got the better of Glasgow’s defence, leaving space for Kilwinning’s quick winger to square the ball into the box for a headed goal taking the score to 1-0.
As the first half progressed, Glasgow were unable to get comfortable with the ball, with Kilwinning dominating much of the possession.
Successful turnovers high up the pitch by GUFC notably led to a dangerous run down the right by McKinlay who sent a cross into the cleared opposition box.
30 minutes in, another Kilwinning header was scored, this time through a corner. The score was now 2-0 and GUFC had their work cut out for them if they wanted to keep Scottish Cup hopes alive.
After conceding, Glasgow saw more chances to score. A lofted clearance by Hunter was picked up by McKinlay who took it wide of the box and squared it just short of Smith, whose effort went wide in Glasgow’s first promising chance of the game. Glasgow began to look more reassured. This was followed by a swerving 30-yard attempt by Sibson that was just wide of the left post.
The first half ended with a few more promising passages of play that culminated in a chance from a throw-in. Glasgow’s shot attempt was pushed out of bounds by the Kilwinning keeper.
The second half began with Glasgow continuing their first half momentum. The defence began confidently passing the ball around the back of the pitch. GUFC began to win more contested headers and tackles in their own half.
The attack continued to flow with McKay and Fordyce linking up early on to disrupt the Kilwinning defence through a variety of interlinking passages of play and intelligent movement.
However, an opposition corner led to a goal when the ball fell to Kilwinning’s Maccalman in the middle of the Glasgow box, who smashed it in to add another goal to the scoreline. Possibilities of repeating last year’s success were dwindling for GUFC, facing a 3-0 deficit.
Later, substitutes were made by both teams, with Glasgow’s Burns and White having immediate impact. Burns immediately attempted a generous through ball and was later on the end of a deep pass in Kilwinning territory courtesy of White.
Kilwinning looked dangerous at certain points, notably forcing GUFC’s goalie Sandberg out of his box, using his head to clear the danger. Another attempt was thwarted by captain Tom Reid, whose sliding effort blocked a potential goal.
Despite keeping the majority of possession, the Kilwinning players began to tire. But they gradually progressed up the field and produced a cutting pass into the box, with Lewis running through to score the final goal of the game.
Coming into the final moments of the game, Reid tackled a Kilwinning player in front of the box, for what the referee deemed a foul and his second booking of the game. The free kick was sent wide.
After 90 minutes Glasgow came out of the fixture battered and bruised, unable to stifle Kilwinning’s physical style of play. Outplayed by a professional side, the young GUFC players walked away with a 4-0 defeat, sights set on other competitions.
Throughout the game, Glasgow continually showed promise with a range of passing and moments of individual brilliance, which can certainly be built upon for the upcoming season.
