West of Scotland Cup third round

TROON 1

AUCHINLECK TALBOT 3

By Murray Steele

TROON made Junior Cup finalists Auchinleck Talbot work hard for their place in the West of Scotland Cup quarter-finals.

Talbot were awarded a free-kick out on the left after five minutes. Gordon Pope flighted into the area, Mark Shankland met it and flicked a header on target but Ally McInnes threw out an arm to make an impressive stop.

With eight minutes gone Troon had their first effort on target when David Syme was first to react to a loose ball at the edge of the area and drilled a low shot straight at Andy Leishman.

Andy Strachan was penalised for a barge into the back of Shankland a minute later and Gordont the free-kick over to the back post. The defence managed to clear it but only as far as Gareth Armstrong whose shot took a deflection and sailed into the roof of the net.

Troon pushed forward looking for a way back into the game and Dean Keenan tested Leishman.

David Syme had the home side’s next chance when he timed his run to meet a ball in from the right only to see his side-footed effort blocked by Willie Lyle.

Talbot came within inches of a crucial second goal in 38 minutes. Armstrong surged past Grant Thorburn down the right before cutting the ball back to the waiting Shankland who blasted a shot that clipped the top of the bar.

Ross Harvey conceded a free-kick 25 yards out in the final minute of the first half and Dean Keenan hammered the ball past the wall and Leishman to make it 1-1 at the interval.

Talbot won a free-kick out on the right for handball after 52 minutes and Shankland whipped the perfect ball in to the near post where Harvey glanced a header home.

Troon came close to an equaliser in 55 minutes Jack Sherrie beat Lyle out by the touchline and cut inside before squaring the ball to Evan Maley whose low drive from 25 yards slipped just wide of Leishman’s right post.

The crucial third goal arrived in 78 minutes A ball down the left found Jamie Glasgow haring away from the defence and he kept a cool head to stride on toward goal and slot it past McInnes.

In 83 minutes, Lyle dinked a ball over the defence and Glasgow held off the challenge of Strachan before lobbing it just over the bar and onto the roof of the net.

With two minutes remaining Troon had an opportunity to pull one back and make the closing stages a little more uncomfortable when they won a free-kick 30 yards out. Once again Keenan took it, this time firing it low past the wall just past Leishman’s left hand post.

TROON: McInnes, McCreadie, Thorburn, Keenan, Strachan, Chatham, Curragh, Syme, Fulton, Maley, Sherrie. Subs: Miller, Brown, McGeechan, Garden, Murphy

AUCHINLECK TALBOT: Leishman, Lyle, Pope, McPherson, Harvey, Armstrong, Thomson, McCracken, McIlroy, Shankland, Faulds. Subs: G Wilson, S Wilson, White, Hyslop, Glasgow.