Kirkintilloch Rob Roy go down to Auchinleck Talbot

A spirited Rob Roy performance wasn’t quite enough to keep Auchinleck Talbot at bay at Beechwood Park on Saturday.
Rob Roy keeper Craig Gordon saves Gordon Pope's penalty at AuchinleckRob Roy keeper Craig Gordon saves Gordon Pope's penalty at Auchinleck
Rob Roy keeper Craig Gordon saves Gordon Pope's penalty at Auchinleck

Manager Stewart Maxwell made five changes as he looked for a response to the previous week’s defeat by Irvine Meadow.

And his side took the game to Talbot in the opening phases, defender Lewis Kinnaird sending in a shot which went wide.

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Rabs enjoyed plenty of possession without creating any chances while at the other end all the pressure from Auchinleck was dealt with by a resolute defence.

After Jamie Glasgow’s header was held by Rabs’ keeper Craig Gordon, at the other end a free-kick from Gavin Mackie ended up with Lewis Kinnaird having another attempt on goal but his effort was cleared.

Good play by Joe Slattery in midfield then released Gary Carroll on the right but his shot went wide.

Rob Roy keeper Craig Gordon saved well from Gordon Pope before Slattery created space again in midfield to release Mackie who in turn fed Carroll but his shot was blocked.

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Talbot had a great chance to take the lead when they were awarded a penalty for a clumsy Mackie challenge at the edge of the box, but Gordon dived to his right and palmed away Pope’s effort.

Fabio Capuano had a shot from distance that went wide of the Talbot goal and just before the break Carroll’s effort from a Capuano free kick was easily saved by Andy Leishman.

Gordon was called in to action early in the second half to save from Graham Wilson and then Stephen Wilson’s free kicked bounced off the keeper for a corner.

Another Carroll effort for Rabs was blocked before Gordon did well to make another diving save to his right to keep Talbot at bay.

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In the 65th minute Rob Roy substitute Jordan Currie-McLean shot wide when put in a position by Carroll - and the Roy were soon regretting this miss as Dwayne Hyslop outjumped the defence to a cross from the right and power a header past Gordon to give the home side the lead.

A Stephen Wilson sailed over but Talbot doubled their advantage when Keir Samson twisted his way past Michael Daly and John Sweeney to shoot low past Gordon.

Substitute Calvin Kemp was causing problems for the Roy defence down the right hand side and brought out another good save from Gordon before Stephen Wilson saw his effort hit the side net following a mazy run.

However with ten minutes remaining, following a cross from the left, Gareth Armstrong’s header found Kemp in the box who blasted past Gordon to score Talbot’s third.

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Substitute Lee Gallacher’s cross was missed at the back post by Vezza as the Roy attempted to crawl their way back in to the game. In the closing minutes Rob Roy pressed forward and Sweeney’s shot on target was blocked as the Talbot defence held firm to claim all three points.

It was an improved performance from last week but not enough for Rob Roy to take anything away from the game despite matching Talbot well for the first 45 minutes.