New Coin Holdings West of Scotland Cup Second Round

SALTCOATS VICTORIA 0

POLLOK 11

By Christopher Dodds

SALTCOATS Victoria’s West of Scotland Cup dreams were shattered on Saturday, after holders Pollok came to the seaside and proceeded to put 11 past them without reply.

However, some heroic defensive efforts in the second half stopped the margin of victory being even bigger.

A first half hat-trick from Stefan McCluskey and goals from Paul Byrne, Mark Sideserf, Bryan Wharton, Nicky Little, Liam Rowan, Derek Hepburn, Bryan Young and an own goal for the unfortunate Graeme Grant in the Victoria defence.

The Premier Division Outfit opened the scoring after just four minutes with Saltcoats keeper Christopher Wright punching an in-swinging free kick from Mark Sideserf off of Graeme Grant, who could only look on as the ball trundled into an empty net as he didn't know what had hit him.

A quickfire double from Stefan McCluskey saw Pollok three up just after 20 minutes, firstly receiving the ball in the penalty area and dispatching the ball into the top right corner. He then gathered the ball on the right hand side, cut in, and fired low and beyond Wright into the bottom right corner.

Mark Sideserf then went from provider to scorer, hitting a fine first time strike from 35 yards out into the top left corner, leaving Wright helpless to make it 4-0.

In 40 minutes, Paul Byrne made it five to the good putting Liam Rowans cut back from the right into an empty net. Stefan McCluskey then made it six and sealed his hat-trick, waltzing through the defence into the box to finish past Wright into the bottom left corner

In the second half, Saltcoats came out and defended resolutely for the majority of the half after conceding a penalty less than a minute into the second half. Gary Russell brought down Stuart McCann in the box and Bryan Wharton stepped up and coolly slotted the ball into the bottom left corner, sending Wright the wrong way.

Some backs to the wall defending was finally undone with just under 20 minutes left when Derek Hepburn played in Nicky Little who rounded the keeper and passed the ball into an empty net.

With nine minutes remaining, Little chested the ball down to Rowan at the edge of the box, with Rowan firing past Wright in the net for his third goal in three games.

In the final minutes, Hepburn and Bryan Young netted goals 10 and 11, with Hepburn finishing off a lovely move after Little had squared from the left.

Young scored a delightful reverse shot, allowing the defender to come across him before deceiving him and the goalkeeper to ping the ball into the near post from the edge of the box to make it 11-0 and complete the scoring.