Neilston Juniors 3 Ashfield F & A C 1 , Brig`o`Lea Park, Neilston - Kick-Off 2pm

Ashfield made their first appearance in the West SuperLeague First Division this afternoon and after an impressive start, lost two late goals to lose out by 3-1 in a fiercely competitive opening day fixture. The Match survived an early morning pitch inspection after the deluge which hit the West of Scotland in the past 24 hours, and by the time the teams graced the turf the sun had appeared. Ashfield made one change to the Team which defeated Clydebank in Midweek with Paul Maxwell replacing Darren O`Donnell up front.

Both teams started brightly and were keen to assert themselves with the visitors causing the biggest threat in the early exchanges. Alistair Martin broke down the left on the 6th Minute & delivered a wicked cross which deceived the Goalkeeper & Craig Smith & was eventually cleared to safety. A minute later Craig Smith hit a terrific 20 yard drive which missed the post by inches & Ali Martin was next up on 9 minutes where his shot was deflected for a corner. It was frenetic stuff and Neilston had shown early glimpses that they had the pace & strength to cause Ashfield problems at the back.

Just as the game was beginning to get a bit `bogged down` in Midfield, Ashfield made the breakthrough and a terrrific goal it was. Craig Smith used his pace down the left to get away from his marker and floated over a lovely cross for Paul Maxwell who diverted his header into the path of Tony Chalmers. The midfielder steadied himself and drilled his shot low and hard & into the corner of the net to the delight of the travelling support. Neilston 0 Ashfield 1.

Ashfield took confidence from this goal & Craig Smith was put through by Paul Maxwell a minute later only to be denied by a last ditch tackle. Goalscorer Tony Chalmers tried his hand again after a mazy run saw his 20 yard shot go narrowly over. On the half hour mark, Neilston carved out their best chance of the match with their No 9 firing a shot straight at Chris Prior. This should have been a warning to Ashfield as 9 minutes later the home side equalised. A Neilston forward picked up the ball at the edge of the box, twisting & turning his way past his marker before despatching a low left foot drive into the net. Neilston 1 Ashfield 1.

Both teams had half chances to sneak a goal before half time but to no avail.

HALF TIME:- NEILSTON 1 ASHFIELD 1

The second half started off at the same frenetic pace as the first and again it was the visitors that had the better of the opening exchanges. Paul Maxwell, who had a great game today, played in Tony Chalmers on the 47th Minute however this time his net bound effort was blocked and eventually cleared to safety. In the 56th Minute the Men from Springburn almost took the lead when Ali Martin broke clear of his marker and drove his shot against the legs of the Neilston `keeper and eight minutes later it was Paul Maxwell who almost got on the end of a Mark Thomson Free-Kick.

Ashfield were failing to convert their chances and inevitably as happens, the home side took the lead in the 75th Minute. The Neilston Centre Forward who had been a handful throughout the match weaved his way through three Ashfield defenders before lashing the ball past Prior to the roar of the home support. Neilston 2 Ashfield 1.

This goal seemed to knock the stuffing out of the visitors as the home side poured forward and they increased their lead in the 82nd Minute albeit controversially. Davie Gumley appeared to be fouled in the middle of the park and the subsequent ball was played out to the right wing. The ball was whipped across the 6 yard line for the unlucky Jim Smith, who deflected the ball past his own keeper to put the `Farmer Boys` 3-1 up. Neilston 3 Ashfield 1.

Ashfield tried hard to reduce the deficit however this was made more difficult in the closing minutes when Skipper Mark Thomson was sent off for a Second bookable offence - a bit harsh was the verdict. So Ashfield`s first foray into the SuperLeague ended in defeat, however based on the home sides performance there will not be many teams relishing a visit to Brig `o` Lea Park this season.


FULL TIME:- NEILSTON 3 ASHFIELD 1

Man of the Match:- Some excellent performances for the `field this afternoon despite the loss with Paul Maxwell & Ali Martin putting in an excellent shift, however Tony Chalmers had a terrific match especially in the first half & also was the `field`s goalscorer.

Attendance:- 100

Photographs by:- Inga