IPollok secured their passage into the second round of the Scottish Junior Cup with a comprehensive ten goal victory over North Region opponents New Elgin at Newlandsfield Park. 'Lok boss Rab Sneddon made three changes for the home side. With Derek Gardiner having been injured in a midweek friendly, a fit-again Gary Wilson took the left-back berth, while Anton Franchetti filled the void left by Andy Essler's departure to Irvine Meadow. Davie Turnbull made way for Raymond Logan, who took to the field for the 100th time in a Pollok shirt.

Fears of a shock result were quickly allayed when Pollok took the lead within the first 30 seconds. Zander Ryan's corner was headed towards goal by Logan, and although Scott Dunbar kept his effort out, the ball fell to BRYAN DINGWALL who found the net for the opener. The lead became two after 12 minutes when RAYMOND LOGAN ran across the New Elgin defence with the ball before wheeling towards goal and despatching it into the bottom left-hand corner of the net. After 14 minutes Pollok were awarded a free-kick on the very edge of the penalty box when Alan Waddell was brought down by a clumsy challenge, and the visitors were punished when ZANDER RYAN whipped the ball into the top corner of the net at pace from a tight angle.

Pollok added a fourth eleven minutes later when a home corner was cleared to the right wing, where Wilson collected the ball and crossed to an unchallenged ALAN WADDELL, who headed the ball beyond Dunbar. Ninety seconds later 'Lok went nap when Wilson crossed from the other wing to Dingwall, who headed the ball back to ZANDER RYAN, who chested the ball down before firing it past the 'keeper. On the half-hour mark GARY WILSON got in on the scoring act himself when he galloped down the left-hand side of the park before cutting inside and shooting beyond Dunbar for his first goal in Pollok colours. 'Lok grabbed a seventh before half-time when BRYAN DINGWALL picked up the ball with his back to goal before twisting to shoot home from close range.

While the home side had things their own way in the first half, it was to be a different story in the early stages of the second period. After 51 minutes a sweeping move from the visitors culminated with SIMON LONGRIGG firing home after an excellent cross from Daniel Forde from the right-hand side of the park. Within a minute 'Lok should have restored their seven-goal cushion when Dingwall was brought down inside the box. Ryan stepped up to try to complete his hat-trick, but saw his effort pushed around the post by Dunbar. Pollok had their lead cut yet further after 58 minutes. Kris Robertson had time to deal with a Stevie Aitchison back-pass, but succeeded only in playing the ball to the feet of DANIEL FORDE, who gleefully accepted the gift and returned the ball beyond the 'Lok 'keeper and into the net to make the score 7-2. A spate of substitutions followed, and New Elgin successfully stemmed the flow of Pollok goals until the final eleven minutes.

SIMON BLACK marked his returned from injury by heading home a Joe Carruth cross after 79 minutes, and moments later BRYAN DINGWALL completed his hat-trick by heading home a Robert Downs cross from the right. The home tally reached double figures in the 82nd minute when DAVIE TURNBULL took advantage of the break of the ball, coupled with some good footwork, before blasting the ball into the roof of the net from the edge of the penalty box. ROBERT DOWNS became the eighth 'Lok player on the scoresheet after 85 minutes when he latched onto a pass from Black and lifted the ball over the advancing Dunbar for goal number eleven. The scoring was completed after 89 minutes when a Dingwall corner was nodded into the net by DAVIE TURNBULL for his eighth goal of the season.

The goals scored will provide Pollok with a welcome confidence boost before their midweek Sectional League Cup Final clash with Clydebank, who will doubtless provide a far stiffer challenge to 'Lok.

Pollok: Robertson, Carruth, G Wilson, Aitchison, Heaton, McClay, Ryan (Turnbull 76), Logan, Dingwall, Waddell (Downs 54), Franchetti (Black 64). Not used: O'Donoghue, Miller.
New Elgin: Dunbar, J Mitchell, Henderson, Arnott, Sim, Cummings (Campbell 66), Burgess, P Mitchell, Forde (Laing 73), Longrigg (L Wood 70), McGettrick. Not used: Connelly, G Wood.
Booked: J Mitchell (62)
Ref: S. O'Brien

It was a case of ninth time lucky for Glenafton Athletic as they finally recorded their first Super League victory over Pollok at Newlandsfield Park. With Chris Cruickshank injured, Derek Gardiner filled the left-back berth for his first start in Pollok colours, while Ross O'Donoghue dropped to the bench and Davie Turnbull came into the starting eleven.

'Lok made a bright start, with Andy Essler and Alan Waddell both having efforts deflected away for corners within the first two minutes of play. Essler then crossed for Waddell, but his header looped over the bar. Bryan Dingwall pounced on a poor clearance by Gary Matthews after nine minutes, and his pass was dummied by Waddell allowing Zander Ryan a crack at goal, but Matthews saved down low. 'Lok were not to be denied in the 11th minute when Turnbull lifted the ball over the Glenafton defence, and ALAN WADDELL brought the ball under control before coolly beating Matthews for the opener.

Waddell was within inches of a second minutes later when he just failed to connect with a driven Essler cross after the winger had been freed on the left by Dingwall. When Waddell did connect with an Essler cross after 17 minutes Matthews made another fine save to keep the deficit at one. Four minutes later Matthews was helpless when the ball broke to Dingwall inside the penalty box, but he could only prod his shot wide of the post. Pollok were made to pay for failing to take their chances when Glens drew level after 25 minutes. Dale Beattie shot at goal, only for Kris Robertson to spill the ball into the path of DARREN JOHNSTONE, who made no mistake when presented with an open goal. This lifted the visitors considerably, and they nearly added a second when Scott McQuade fired a dangerous cross into the home box, but found no takers. Willie Howie then struck a drive that deflected off the heel of Gardiner, with the ball squirming wide of the post.

Glens did gain the lead after 40 minutes, when a cross from Peter Jordan wasn't defended properly, and STEVIE AGNEW was given space to place his shot into the net off the inside of the post. Turnbull saw a late free-kick beaten away before he had to leave the field due to injury, which allowed Rab Sneddon to introduce the recently re-signed Raymond Logan into the action.

Logan nearly found the net after seven minutes of the second half when his header from a Ryan corner was cleared by Matthews from under his own bar under pressure from Dingwall. Glenafton killed the game off when they scored a third after 62 minutes. Jordan played a low ball into the 'Lok box at pace, and DARREN JOHNSTONE ran into space past a static home defence to connect with the ball and send it past Robertson. He should have completed his hat-trick moments later when left clean through on Robertson, but the 'Lok 'keeper stopped the ball with his foot. From the resultant throw McQuade was left unmarked, but his header missed the target.

Waddell set up Logan with a sight of goal after 67 minutes, but his shot was wide of the target. Ryan was also wide of the mark when he dragged an Essler cross past the post six minutes later. Paul Cassidy should have added a fourth after 'Lok presented Glenafton with possession just outside their own box, but he lifted his shot over the crossbar. Matthews made a terrific save with five minutes to go to deny Logan from a Ryan corner, and again in injury time when he got his legs to a Dingwall strike, preventing 'Lok from taking what would only have been a consolation goal.

Glenafton will now be looking to close the gap on early pace-setters Auchinleck Talbot, while Pollok must address the defensive frailties that have seen them lose ten goals in their opening five league games, without securing a shut-out in any of those matches.

Pollok: Robertson, Carruth, Gardiner (O'Donoghue 70), Aitchison, Heaton, McClay, Ryan, Turnbull (Logan 45), Dingwall, Waddell, Essler. Not used: Kinney, Franchetti, Miller.
Booked: McClay (35), Heaton (45), Logan (84)
Glenafton: Matthews, Jordan, Quinn, Stewart, McCaig, Howie, Cassidy (David Martin 79), McQuade (Allan 86), Johnstone, Beattie (Bonner 62), Agnew. Not used: Paterson, Trialist.
Booked: McCaig (13), Cassidy (34), Bonar (80), Martin (90+4)
Ref: A. McWilliam

Pollok finally grabbed their first 3-point haul of the league season with victory over Glasgow rivals Petershill on a tight playing surface at Saracen Park. After leaking five goals in their previous two games Pollok made a number of changes at the back, both personnel wise and positionally. Kris Robertson returned from suspension to take the gloves from John Thomson, while Chris Cruickshank and Zander Ryan replaced Stevie Miller and the injured Gary Wilson, with Joe Carruth moving to right-back and Stevie Aitchison dropping back into central defence.

The first effort on target came for Petershill after just eighty seconds when Kevin Miller headed a free-kick towards goal, but Robertson held comfortably. Kevin Murray was just off target from a James Coulter cross after 14 minutes, and a minute later Bryan Dingwall met a Ryan throw-in, but under pressure he failed to trouble Neil Parry. Both teams struggled to create opportunities, although Carruth forced a save after 31 minutes from a Cruickshank throw. It was the home side who took the lead, however, after 34 minutes. Miller played a quick free-kick to Murray on the right-hand side of the park, and his deep cross was volleyed home powerfully by former Dundee United youngster KIERAN McALEENAN, giving Robertson no chance. Peasy celebrations were short-lived as Pollok were level within three minutes. A poor clearance by Ryan Jordan, a New Year signing from Linlithgow, was intercepted by 'Lok, and Andy McClay moved the ball quickly to Ryan on the right. He picked out BRYAN DINGWALL with his cross, and the striker bulleted home a header to bring the scores level at half-time.

The visitors nearly had a disastrous start to the second half when Cruickshank came within inches of putting through his own net, and Jordan headed over from the resultant corner. Dingwall then volleyed just wide for 'Lok. After allowing a number of robust challenges to pass without the need for cautions, referee McDermott produced a flurry of yellow cards for dissent, with ex-Livi man Jordan, Coulter and Miller all finding their way into the notebook within a five minute spell. Pollok introduced Davie Turnbull to the action for Ross O'Donoghue, and he could have given 'Lok the lead after 70 minutes. McClay released Aitchison, who cut the ball back to Turnbull, but he lifted the ball over the bar from just inside the penalty box. Pollok took the lead just a minute later, however, with a well worked throw-in. Aitchison threw the ball to BRYAN DINGWALL, whose clever run had created just enough space to allow him to fire a drive past Parry for his second goal of the game.

Deja-vu nearly struck for the visitors sixty seconds later when Murray again crossed for McAleenan, but this time he mishit his volley and 'Lok maintained their lead. Kieron Downs was then booked for a late challenge on Carruth, before 'Lok put the game beyond doubt. Rather than pick out Dingwall in an offside position through the middle, Aitchison played a perfectly weighted ball to Andy Essler on the left-hand side of the park. His cross was touched goalwards by Dingwall, with ZANDER RYAN following the ball in at the back-post to apply the finish that gave Pollok an unassailable lead. Substitute Alain Kinney could have put the icing on the cake with a late shot that sneaked just wide of the post, but the points were already destined to be travelling to the south-side of the river.

Pollok will hope to continue with winning ways when they host Glenafton at Newlandsfield Park next week, although the five-goal second half salvo that the Ayrshire men hit Kilsyth with on Saturday is a sign that the task will be far from straightforward.

Petershill: Parry, McPhee, McKenzie, Merriman, Jordan, Dick (Irons 73), Murray, Coulter, Downs, Miller (McLernon 82), McAleenan (McHarg 82). Not used: McManus, Stirling.
Booked: Miller (58), Coulter (61), Jordan (63), Downs (76)
Pollok: Robertson, Carruth, Cruickshank (Gardiner 73), Aitchison, Heaton, McClay, Ryan, O'Donoghue (Turnbull 61), Dingwall, Waddell (Kinney 85), Essler. Not used: Paterson, Franchetti.
Ref: Frank McDermott

With Kris Robertson suspended after being sent off at Shotts last weekend, Rab Sneddon was forced into bringing on board former Renfrew veteran keeper John Thomson as a trialist. That was the only change from the team that started against Rob Roy. For Gers, John Thompson and Andy Scott dropped out of their last starting line-up, to be replaced by the impressive former Thorniewood midfielder John Goodwin and David Kirkwood.

In miserable condition, Pollok started brightly and had the better of the early exchanges. In the third minute Alan Waddell directed a free-kick into the box towards Derek Heaton but the Lok central defender couldn't connect with it. Soon after, Kilsyth hit Lok on the break with former Falkirk man Garry McStay surging through the middle, only for Andy McClay to halt his run. From the resultant free-kick, Thomson in the Lok goal had to get himself in the way of Brian Welsh's effort.

Pollok fell behind in the sixth minute when a ball in from the right wasn't dealt with by the Lok defence and JOHN GOODWIN popped up in a fair amount of space to fire a shot goalwards that with a degree of fortune wickedly clipped Stevie Miller's heel and agonisingly spun away from Thomson and over the line by his left-hand post.

Willie Stewart, formerly of Lok, looked lively as a part of the Kilsyth frontline, a position he seldom found himself in when originally at Newlandsfield. With ten minutes gone, he fired a shot over the bar from 25 yards as the visitors looked to extend their lead. That second goal arrived in the 13th minute when Goodwin broke down the right but seemed to lose control of the ball. Sweeper Carruth attempted to pass the ball clear but instead only returned possession to the Kilsyth man who skipped past him and delivered a fine ball across the Lok box as Thomson came out to narrow the angle, leaving unmarked WILLIE STEWART with the simple task of rolling the ball into an unguarded empty net.

Pollok were gifted a fantastic opportunity to pull a goal back in the 17th minute when Alan Waddell forced a corner. As everyone waited for O'Donoghue to cross the ball in, the referee noticed Kieran McGuiness pull Derek Heaton's shirt, so duly booked him and awarded Lok a penalty. Unfortunately for Lok, the recent penalty hoodoo continued as Waddell placed a good low-struck effort to Rowan's right, but also just past the post.

Lok's first goal of the day arrived five minutes later when they managed to break away with Andy Essler on the left and his cross was excellently headed beyond Rowan by ALAN WADDELL from the edge of the six-yard box. Some good play from Miller and Dingwall set up Waddell soon afterwards but his shot was tame. As the game continued to swing from end to end, Goodwin fired in a cross from the right that Carruth ended up heading into Thomson's arms.

The tireless Andy Essler was having a fine game for Lok and with half an hour played he made an excellent saving tackle on John Goodwin to put the ball out for a corner. Essler is normally thought of as an attacking force, but he displayed the attributes that have made him so highly regarded as a wing-back throughout this game. From the corner, McGuiness headed over.

Kilsyth again hit Lok on the break in the 35th minute, when Stewart set up former 'Lie man Chris Kerr but he shot weakly at Thomson with the goal at his mercy. The scoreline took a turn for the worse for Lok in the 36th minute, and yet again, for the third time, the source of trouble was the left flank. Lok were slow in getting men back from an attack and a ball over the top of the defence left Lok exposed. John Goodwin picked up possession well beyond the Lok rearguard, prompting shouts of offside, and he sprinted down the left before driving in another low cross for WILLIE STEWART to tap in to the goal with no one picking him up. Andy McClay picked up a caution for his protest about the perceived offside.

The uglier side of the game exploded into life in the 38th minute when former Blantyre Vics and Benburb fullback Gary Shearer put in a heavy challenge on Bryan Dingwall, leaving the Lok man crumpled on the ground. Somewhat bizarrely, Dingwall was booked while Shearer was not, and as play restarted, McClay was overheard continuing his protest and was shown a second yellow card. Down to ten men and trailing by two goals, Lok were now up against it. However, ALAN WADDELL reduced the deficit slightly within a minute with a fine individual goal from the edge of the box that Craig Rowan barely moved for.

Lok began the second half fired up, and a ball from the left from Waddell found ROSS O'DONOGHUE who picked up possession at the edge of the 'Cart End penalty box and delivered what's fast becoming a trade-mark of his - an unstoppable, powerful rising drive. Again Rowan was left helpless.

The game began to slow down, with Lok making the first sub of the game by introducing Cruickshank for Wilson. Kerr fired over from 30 yards not long after and Dunbar sent an effort wide of target after some nice play on the Gers right. Lok had a chance on the hour when Aitchison and Waddell linked up before the latter's cross found Dingwall, but his headed effort was saved by Rowan. Essler then again displayed excellent tracking back and workrate when he pursued Goodwin for a good 40 yards before diving in to not only avert the danger, but he also managed to hook the ball away with enough skill to maintain possession.

Pollok's next chance came from an O'Donoghue corner that Cruickshank headed goalwards, only for a Gers defender to scramble the ball away. Lok continued to pressure the visitors and Thomson's punt was misjudged by McLaughlin who headed the ball into Dingwall's path, but as the Lok dynamo unleashed his shot goalwards, Shearer did enough to put him off.

Lok still looked shaky in their own box though and there was a bit of pinball around the area following a Kilsyth corner after Stewart's header caused all manner of panic. In the 74th minute, Kilsyth had a good chance to win the game when Cruickshank lost out to Andy Scott on the left and ended up forcing the wide man to the ground inside the area as he darted beyond him. Brian Welsh stepped up to hit the penalty, but consensus was it was one of the poorest efforts at Newlandsfield as he sliced it, and watched it thump back off one of the ad boards around 15 yards wide of the goal.

Dingwall then headed an Essler cross over while Stewart at the other end was set up by Goodwin, only to shoot straight at Thomson. He then squandered two more opportunities as the game wound down, one saved the other put over, but Lok were not without threat themselves. From an O'Donoghue corner from the right, Cruickshank again found himself in a scoring position, but on this occasion he has a shot as opposed to a header beaten away. With time running out, Lok made a few changes, introducing Alain Kinney and Anton Franchetti. Chances were becoming scarcer for Lok by now, and when they won a free-kick around 25 yards out it had to be made to count. As it was, Essler's layoff was drilled just over by O'Donoghue. Lok then conceded a corner in the last minute but Sloan's shot was saved by Thomson, tipping it over. John Goodwin, who for me was a standout going forward for the visitors, then had a chance to win the game with a chipped effort that just drifted over the bar.

At full time the 10 men of Lok will have been delighted to salvage a point, but there was plenty of food for thought for the management team to chew over this weekend. The areas of concern are known to all, and the game at Petershill has suddenly become 'MUST WIN' with Lok languishing at the bottom of a league table for the first time this century. Credit to Kilsyth for playing with verve and energy. They have the players to make sure they have an enjoyable and perhaps also a successful season. Reassuringly for Pollok, they were undone by three goals of quality, unlike the Lok rearguard whose increasing tendency of gifting dreadful goals is far less welcome.

Pollok: Thomson, Miller, Wilson (sub 51 for Cruickshank), Carruth, Heaton, Aitchison, O'Donoghue, McClay, Dingwall (sub 86 for Kinney), Waddell (sub 88 for Franchetti), Essler. Not used: Gardiner, Turnbull.
Booked: McClay 36, Dingwall 41, Carruth 71
Sent off: McClay 40
Kilsyth Rangers: Rowan, Shearer, McGuiness, McLaughlin, Goodwin, McStay, Dunbar, Welsh, Kirkwood (sub 71 for Scott), Stewart, Kerr (sub 57 for Sloan). Not used: Feenie, Hunter (GK).
Booked: McGuiness 16, McLaughlin 54, Goodwin 59
Ref: Paul McDowall