Troon Football Club

Recap

⚽️ Irvine Meadow XI versus Troon F.C. ⚽️
Saturday 28th January 2023
PDM Buildbase WOSFL Premier Division
Meadow Park, Irvine
Kick-off 1.30pm

by Jay Allan

Another miserable away match for The Seasiders after they failed to maintain their lead and ended up suffering a 2-1 defeat at the hands of local rivals Irvine Meadow.

The first chance of the match fell to the home side after Callum Graham powered through towards goal in the 6th minute. Ewan McLevy came storming in to block his shot, allowing Dale Burgess to come and collect the loose ball.

Troon got themselves in front 11 minutes into the game after Jamie Gallagher fired a shot away from the edge of the box. A slight deflection off the heel of Isaac Kerr was enough to send the ball flying past the keeper and into the bottom left corner.

The lead was not to be long-lived as the hosts equalised 12 minutes later. Louis Kerr received the ball at the edge of the box, darting forward into space where he got the space to hit a perfectly timed shot through the legs of McLevy into the bottom left corner.

A collision between two Troon defenders in the 26th minute allowed Meadow’s forward to run in and take the ball through on goal. Sam McCloskey lunged desperately to block the shot but took down the man instead and gifted the hosts a penalty. Graham stepped up and rifled the penalty off the right-hand post into the back of the net, securing his side the lead.

The home side almost got themselves a third a few minutes later after breaking on the counterattack from inside their own half. Kerr played a neat pass into the Troon box to Graham who rattled a shot straight off the top of the crossbar and out of play.

Irvine Meadow went in at the break the happier of the two sides while Troon were still in utter disbelief as to how easily they had allowed their opponents to take the lead from a losing position.

HALF-TIME: IRVINE MEADOW XI 2-1 TROON F.C.

The home side were awarded their second penalty of the game six minutes into the second half after Graham was hauled to the ground by Jack Sherrie in the box. Graham stepped up and fired his penalty the same way as the previous. Burgess guessed correctly and pulled off a superb save and keep his side in the match.

That penalty scare certainly kicked Troon into shape and they really started to pile the pressure onto their rivals. Jamie Gallagher played his pass through to Sam Jamieson on the 55th minute from which Jamieson could only fire away a shot straight towards Waters to gather.

Another huge opportunity fell for Troon only minutes later after a quality ball was played through to an unmarked Sam Jamieson, leaving him one on one with Waters. Jamieson chipped the ball over the keeper, but his attempt soared narrowly past the near post and into the side netting.

The first change for the visitors came on the 64th minute when Dean Fulton would come off to be replaced by Ben Black.

The hosts came close to making it three once again after Kerr sought out Graham with his pass down the right wing. Graham tried to pass the across towards his teammate in front of an empty goal, but McLevy was able to quickly intercept and clear the ball out of play.

Kyle Gilroy would be the next player to be subbed off as he made way for Jack Marks on the 72nd minute.

Jack Marks played a lovely ball through the defence to Ben Black on the 84th minute. The winger drove forward and fired a shot away from inside the box, but his effort soared well over the bar and out for a goal kick.

Troon won themselves a corner on the 89th minute which Ben Black swung hastily into the crowded box. His cross fell to Josh Black at the back post who could only direct his header over the bar and out for a goal kick.

Some lovely skill on display from Ben Black in the 91st minute as he played a back heeled pass to Jaime Gallagher who was in space on the right wing. Gallagher darted forward and fired away a shot which Waters was able to comfortably gather.

The full-time whistle blew a few minutes later, leaving Troon on a run of nine consecutive league games without a win. With other teams in the bottom half of the league picking up some unexpected points this weekend, it made the defeat even harder to take and left the team wondering what could have been.

Manager Jimmy Kirkwood has now accepted his side will face a daunting relegation battle. However, he is still hopeful that they can make amends in their next fixture against Glenafton Athletic on Wednesday night to earn a vital three points that could bring them within touching distance of the other teams.

To read the match preview, follow the link:
https://troonfootballclub.co.uk/medda-280123-preview/

⚽️ Troon F.C. versus Glenafton Athletic ⚽️
Wednesday 1st February 2023
PDM Buildbase WOSFL Premier Division
Portland Park, Troon
Kick-off 7.30pm