Greater Glasgow review: Unstoppable Third Lanark, Newton Vale are on a roll and 23 goal in 3 games i

West of Scotland Cup (Round 3) •EKRR [SAFL] 2-1 Helensburgh AFC What a great performance from Helensburgh this weekend despite the result. The Greater Glasgow club were up against very tough opposition in EKRR, and they played out of their skins. This was the third attempt at getting this game on, and it was well worth the wait. Helensburgh were in the lead with two minutes remaining and looked to be set to pull off an amazing win, but then an excellent free kick and a scrabble from a corner lead to a win for EKRR. After an excellent performance though, Helensburgh should be very proud, and they will take the positives from this match and use them in the upcoming matches in the Greater Glasgow League, having been waiting for almost a month for this game to be on. I managed to speak to Helensburgh after this excellent game, and they said, “Helensburgh came very close to a cup upset on Sat after a tight away game against SAFL Premier dude EKRR in the 3rd Rd of the West Cup. 1-0 up with 2 minutes remaining the hosts scored with a terrific free kick and with it looking as if it might go to spot kicks they gave away a soft corner and EK scored the winner after a goal mouth scramble.” Helensburgh manager Sam Gemmell said, “the boys were gutted at the end. They defended really well against a good outfit and to see it slipping away from them from two set pieces was a choker. However they can be proud of an excellent performance and look forward to more Cup duty next week in the Scottish” •Westercommon Star (SSML) 7-1 Westcliff A tough day for Westcliff, as they lost 7-1 to Westercommon Star, very tough opposition that were not going to be an easy test for Westcliff. They will forget about action in the cup now, and try and focus all of their attention on the league and attaining a great league position. Division 1 •Newton Vale 3-1 Westerlands 'A' Another excellent victory for Newton Vale in the league this weekend, and they continue to put on fantastic displays, and this weekend, they won 3-1 at home to Westerlands A. The Newton Vale goals came from Darren Hampson, Kevin McFarlane and Kieran Blair. An excellent performance from Newton Vale who were hungry for the win, after spending a long time off the park due to the weather. They will be delighted with the three points. Newton Vale have said, “Darren Hampson scored the first in opening minutes with a good strike from inside the box but we allowed Westerlands to get back into the game and they equalised just before half time. Both sides were having a real go even though the wind was trying its best to ruin the game. Kevin McFarlane then scored with a curling shot from outside the box and new signing Kieran Blair came off the bench to secure the 3 points and make it 3-1.” •Eaglesham 2-1 Strathclyde University An excellent game in the league between Eaglesham and Strathclyde University in this encounter, and it could have gone either way. Eaglesham will be delighted with their performance and most importantly, the three points in a very tight league, and over very good opposition. •Erskine 5-0 St. Patrick's FP The home club, Erskine have had an excellent start to the season with a 5-0 win against St. Patrick’s FP, two in form clubs. 4th club Erskine will be delighted with the start and the three points will be welcomed to their tally. St. Pat’s have been in good form over the last few weekend’s, and will hope to return to their best very soon. •Glasgow University 'A' AFC 1-1 Cambria A tough encounter this weekend for both teams, the two teams battled hard against each other, and a draw may be a fair result between the two clubs. Cambria have been in excellent form and currently sit a point behind top spot. They will have wanted the maximum points and the win to go top of the table, but a tough game with a great Glasgow University A team meant a draw for the clubs. Cambria will still be confident going into their upcoming games, they have enjoyed a great start to the season so far this year. I spoke to Cambria manager, Roddy McDonald, and he said, “Cambria controlled most of the game against a young fit enthusiastic Glasgow University team only having a few shots on target throughout the 90 minutes, Cambria scored through a Kevin MacDonald Header after 41 minutes to take a well deserved lead, but unfortunately they could not hit the target again Sam Gray winning a penalty in the second half returning Ibra Blal took the spot kick with the Glasgow uni keeper making a great penalty save! Cambria had further chances 2 cleared off the line, others hitting the post the bar and one heading for the top corner hitting a Cambria player on the back of the head. As often happens in games Glasgow uni go up the park an unfortunate coming together with Uni player Cambria keeper Mckenzie and Mackay the ball spills out to an oncoming Uni player to be able to turn it into the empty net.” Division 2 •Ashvale Victoria 0-1 FC Baillieston A very close encounter between the two brilliant clubs, as Ashvale Victoria pushed the excellent FC Baillieston all of the way, and FC Baillieston won a match by just a goal, and it could have gone either way. FC Baillieston currently sit third in the Greater Glasgow division 2, and they will be delighted with their victory over tough opposition Ashvale Victoria. •Colquhoun Utd 0-1 Third Lanark Top of the table and flying high, Third Lanark will be delighted with their win over Colquhoun United. Don’t let the start of the season define who Colquhoun United are, as they are an excellent team that are set to have a change of fortunes after a tough start in the league. They played very well against top of the table and will have positives to take from it. Third Lanark will be delighted with another win, and sitting top of the table, having now won 7 out of 7, conceding just 7 goals! They are top of the table by 9 points having played just one extra game. This is an exceptional start to the season for a brilliant club, with an interesting history, and looking to add silverware to their list of honours they already have over the years. They will be excited for next weekend to build on what has been an amazing start. I managed to speak to Third Lanark manager, David Ampleford, who said, “Don’t let their position in the league fool you. On that park, they are very difficult to beat. They have a big striker thats a real handful but our CB’s limited him to just a couple of opportunities. We were deserved winners”. •Eastwood Parkmount 'B' 3-2 Crookston Castle An excellent game of football between two good sides, that could have gone either way. It was close, and Eastwood Parkmount B will be delighted with winning this tight game at home. Both clubs have now started the same on the league table and have the same amount of points, 9 from their first 4 games, an excellent start for the two clubs. Crookston Castle will be ready to go again next weekend, and look to pick up three points. •North Kelvin Sports 3-7 Glasgow University 'B' Another tough day for North Kelvin Sports, who lost to a very good young, fit and strong Glasgow University B in the league this weekend. Glasgow University B scored 7 goals away from home in this 10 goal thriller at North Kelvin Sports. Both clubs will look to take confidence from the goals they have scored, but three points to Glasgow University B is the end result. •Westerlands G.G. 2-2 John Street A draw between two good side in division 2, and a game that had two very different halves of football. At half time, John Street were in the driver's seat and were winning 2-0, but then the second half, Westerlands GG picked up momentum and scored the equaliser with a deflected goal deep into the second half. A tough pill for John Street to swallow after they were winning 2-0, but a point is a good result, with both teams taking something from the game. I managed to speak to John Street, who said, “disappointing but could probably called a draw before it started after our last game” Division 3 •Bellaire 4-3 Carradale Carradale made the long drive from Campbelltown to Bellaire this weekend, and they were involved in a thriller, with seven goals in the game. The result did however tilt towards the home club Bellaire, who will be delighted with the three points. An excellent Greater Glasgow division 3 clash, •Boswell 8-0 Busby The Boswell boys are back to their best this weekend, as they have picked up an emphatic 8-0 victory over Busby. Boswell have struggled in the last couple of weeks, a few narrow losses, but of course they did have an excellent start to the season. This week they will be delighted with being back to their best, as their win pushes them back up in the direction they want to be going in. It was a tough day for Busby, a young side, that have had a tough start to this season, but they have proven that they can come back and pick up wins in the league this season. Boswell’s superstar, the exceptional Steven Odunewu scored a hat trick this weekend, scoring his 12th of the season, and new signing Curtis McGurn also scored a hattrick making it, four goals in half as many games, looking to form a dangerous alliance with Steven Odunewu. The other goals came from Sean Donnelly and Dylan Carrick, but man of the match was given to Steven Swan, an outstanding achievement. I managed to speak to Boswell, and they said, “After the last couple of weeks we finally get our season back on track. The return of Kev Forsyth and Curtis McGurn and defender Keshi we were solid all over. Now Steven Odunewu has some other players in the team he doesn’t have to hog the limelight lol. Totally dominated the game with us getting back to playing football. Poor Andy Metafit tried and tried but it just wasn’t his day upfront but special mention for Steven Swan who had a superb performance filling in for the injured Tam Daly. It was his best performance in a Bozzy shirt. MTB”. •St Thomas 3-5 South Lochaber Thistle Another win for the in form side, South Lochaber Thistle, as they won away from home with weekend, in what was always going to be a cracking game. South Lochaber Thistle have cleaned up in October when it came to the polls for the SportCentral manager and player of the month for October. Player of the Month was, the Hungarian super striker, Erik Tot! Manager Alan Gray, has been brilliant in turning South Lochaber Thistle’s season around in the last couple of weeks, and they continued in the same fashion this weekend. They scored 5 once again, and currently sit second in the division 3 table. They will be delighted, with three more points and will want to keep building on their performances, like they have done weekly. St Thomas on the other hand, will be pleased with scoring 3, but will not be happy with the result. They do have a lot of positives to take from this game and to build on in the future, to kick start their season and string together some more wins. I managed to speak to South Lochaber Thistle, and they said, “Another superb win for SLT, this time away from home, taking the tie 5-3. The team have taken their good form forward, which is especially impressive as Manager of the Month Alan Gray was missing for work commitments. Skipper Martin Munro continued to lead from the front, his four goals here taking his total to an impressive 7 in 2 games. Veteran midfield general Dave Forbes nabbed his second in two games, as the team continued our recent improvement, now having won 3/3 in the league. We wanted to say thanks to St Thomas for the hospitality and look forward to welcoming them North in the near future.” Thank