McBookie Super League Premier Division

KILBIRNIE LADESIDE 3

POLLOK 1

LADESIDE ran out deserved 3-1 winners in this West Premier Division match against Pollok at Valefield Park.

Kilbirnie threatened from the first minute and a cross into the Pollok box was poorly headed away and when the ball fell to Martin Grehan who mis-hit his shot wide from 15 yards.

Pollok then came close when a MacKenzie shot from 25 yards was tipped over by home goalie Kieran Hughes.

Kilbirnie took the lead in 10 minutes when Kyle Rafferty was fouled and David Green took the resultant free-kick, quickly squaring to Steven Meechan 30 yards out and he smashed an unstoppable shot into the top tight hand corner.

The lead only lasted two minutes, however as Winters fed the ball into Rowan and despite appeals for handball he laid it off to MacKenzie at the edge of the box and his low shot beat Hughes at his left hand post.

Pollok came close to taking the lead in 17 minutes when a corner into the box found Winters but his shot was headed off the line by Iain Gray.

Grehan and Meechan then linked up with some good play before Grehan fired his effort over the bar from 18 yards.

Adam Forde then had a chance when a poor clearance from Longmuir under pressure found its way back to the striker who cut inside but his effort went wide.

Kilbirnie regained the lead on 40 minutes after a good ball up the left wing by Ross McKinnon. He found Meechan, who played the ball into the box for Forde who took one touch before smashing the ball past Longmuir and into the net. Ladeside almost increased their lead a few minutes later when Gray found Grehan wide on the right and his cross was met with a diving header by David Anderson, but Longmuir made a point blank save to deny the midfielder.

Pollok were reduced to 10 men just before the interval when McCabe was shown a straight red card by the referee after he took out Gray with a high lunging tackle.

Kilbirnie controlled the second half with Pollok hardly troubling the Ladeside goal and just three minutes after the restart they almost increased their lead when McKinnon's low cross into the box was touched just wide of his own goal by Evans.

Ladeside increased their advantage in 64 minutes when following a succession of midfield passes, Anderson found McKinnon on the left. His cross into the box saw Grehan and Forde both had efforts blocked but the ball came back to McKinnon who skipped past MacKenzie and picked out a perfect cross to the back post for Grehan to rise and head home from six yards.

In 75 minutes Ciaran McElroy played the ball across to Anderson and he laid the ball back to Forde on the edge of the box but the striker's shot went over the bar.

Ladeside saw out the rest of the half with some possession football and earned another valuable three points as they continue to rise up the league away from the relegation positions.

KILBIRNIE LADESIDE: Hughes; Gray, McKinnon, Staunton, Haxton, Green, Rafferty, Anderson, Grehan, Forde, Meechan. Subs: McElroy, Gold, Brannan, Donnelly, Thompson.