Dalbeattie Star v BSC Glasgow

SMITH SHOW SEES OFF STAR
Dalbeattie Star’s League Cup campaign was short and not so sweet as they were put to the sword by a ruthless BSC side, with Jack Smith being executioner-in-chief as he fired home four second half goals. It was always going to be a tough afternoon for Star but with more than half of the team that beat Selkirk last week unavailable for various reasons, it would prove to be mission impossible.
It was a busy week for manager Darren Kerr leading up to the match as he tried to put a team together and he was able to bring John MacBeth, Danny Dunglinson and Shaun Handling back for one more match. It was great to see them back and it says a lot that they would come back and help the club and manager, in their hour of need. Unfortunately they found themselves up against a strong side that will likely finish third in the league. As the table shows the top four sides are a cut above the rest and with BSC now facing East Kilbride in the last eight, it will be seen by many as the final before the final.
On a perfect afternoon for football Star gave as good as they got in the early stages and Lewis Sloan was only inches away from converting Lewis Todd’s cross. However midway through the half the visitors scored three times in ten minutes and it was only a question of how many. The first was a bit fortuitous as a superb pass from the always impressive Stevie Murray opened up the Star defence and a cross from the left was cut back to the edge of the box where a mis-hit shot fell perfectly for Martin Grehan and he smashed the ball into the roof of the net from close range. The second came from a Star corner and from the breakaway Tom Bentham powered his way past the home defence rounded keeper Vinnie Parker and slipped the ball into the empty net. Two minutes later though it looked like Star had got themselves back into the match when Farrel O’Sullivan whipped in a fine right foot cross that was glanced into the corner of the net by Steven Degnan but the assistants flag ended any celebrations. It was a very close call but the official was in the best position. From a potential one goal deficit, two minutes later it was three when Grehan scored his second when he fired home a rebound despite vain appeals for offside.
At the break it was difficult to find any criticism in the Star performance but you had to admire the quality of the opposition especially in the final third and that became more apparent in the second period. Curtis Telfer and Danny Dunglinson both had efforts that brought keeper Stephen Barr into action but it soon turned into the Jack Smith show. His first came in the 63rd minute when he scored with a simple header from a Bentham cross. A minute later Sloan’s free kick from the corner of the penalty area beat Barr but smacked off the inside of the post, ran across the face of the goal and from the tightest of angles Scott Milligan smashed the ball back off the other post and was eventually cleared. However Sloan was not to be denied and he found the back of the net from a 25 yard free kick giving Barr no chance whatsoever. Minutes later he almost did it again but this time Barr touched the ball over the bar with a full stretched fingertip save.
However with 20 minutes left Smith broke through again, rounded Parker and scored with aplomb. Four minutes later he completed his hat trick with a tap-in as the ball fell nicely for him at a corner and with five minutes left he completed the scoring with another smart finish as he beat the offside trap before beating Parker. As said before it was a tough afternoon for Star but the attitude of the players was excellent throughout and the real big match for the club comes on the 5th of May when we face Vale of Leithen at Islecroft in what could be a decider to see who stays in the Lowland League. It will be an afternoon when we will need a big performance from the team and that would certainly be helped by a big home support, so get as many of your pals along to Islecroft to back the boys. We have two weeks to get the batteries re-charged and give it one final go in our biggest match of the season.       
DALBEATTIE STAR 1                                         BSC GLASGOW 7                                                                             
Sloan (65)                                                            Grehan (24, 35)
                                                                                Bentham (29)
                                                                                Smith (63, 70, 74, 85)
                                                                                HT 0-3
DALBEATTIE STAR: V Parker, Telfer (Handling 72), O’Sullivan, Todd, Cameron, MacBeth, McHarrie, Dunglinson, Degnan, Sloan, Milligan
Subs not used: Thorburn, Mason
Yellow Cards: MacBeth
BSC GLASGOW: Barr, Kinnaird, Mills (Redpath 65), Tennant, McNab, Irvine, Bentham (Smith 78), McStay, Smith, Grehan, Murray (McLean 71)
Subs not used: Duncan, Marshall
Yellow Cards: Irvine
Ref: R Menzies
Assistants: K Whalen & R McPhee