After the highs of last weeks victory Lochar were brought back down to earth after a disappointing performance resulted in a 3-0 victory for visitors Abbey Vale today at a bitterly cold North West Campus.
Thistle were without the injured Mr consistent Ross Woodward while strikers Liam Robertson and Islam Kadyrov were both missing due to work commitments.
In a cagey opening spell both teams looked to be evenly matched. In the first real attack on goal on 10 minutes Vale took the lead, when Lochar failed to clear from a cross into the box and although their was a big suspicion of handball the Vale player didn’t wait for the whistle and rifled home into the top corner from inside the box. They doubled their lead on 23 minutes when a needless foul was given away and the free-kick was dispatched into the top corner. Lochar did have a good shout for a penalty two minutes later but McIlwraith was harshly booked with the referee deeming the winger of diving. Vale did have the chance to go further ahead before the break but somehow Hughes struck the post from 2 yards out when it looked easier to score.
Lochar came out with a bit more intensity in the first 10 minutes of the second half but still never troubled the visiting defence. With Lochar struggling for creativity in the attacking areas, the New Abbey side on the other hand squandered 3/4 chances that could’ve made the scoreline healthier. They did get a third on 88 minutes when the unmarked Hughes headed home from 8 yards to atone for his earlier miss.
A bad day at the office, well beaten by an organized Vale side. Disappointing that we never had an effort on target to trouble the goalkeeper.
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