Another trophy to stick on the Gantry

Jun 17 2009 by Colin Paterson, Airdrie & Coatbridge Advertiser

GANTRY’S glorious season ended with more silverware at the weekend after they won the Airdrie & Coatbridge Sunday League Cup to secure the quadruple.

The Shettleston men proved far too strong for Fourways with goals from Craig Halliday, Tony Griffiths and Kevin Turner sealing a deserved win.

It was a fantastic way to finish the season for the Scottish Sunday Amateur Trophy holders who clinched the league title recently.

Peter Taggart’s troops also got their hands on the Premier Division Knockout Cup during a highly successful campaign.

Fourways worked hard in Sunday’s final at Harthill Royal’s Gibbshill Park but the Airdrieonians were unable to recover from a 2-0 half-time deficit.

A healthy crowd turned out for the final amateur football match of another long season and they witnessed Gantry’s Lewis Stewart test keeper Colin Harper in the 12th minute.

Gantry were making much of the early running and they opened the scoring in style four minutes later.

The Glasgow-based side were awarded a controversial free-kick just outside the box and Halliday sweetly curled his shot into the top corner of the net.

Fourways had offered little in an attacking sense but found their range in the 33rd minute when Steff McAuley blasted a free-kick over the bar.

And with a couple of minutes left of the opening period, only a great save from Scott Threlfall denied McAuley after he collected Stephen Cameron’s square ball.

But all of that good work was to go to waste in the dying seconds of the first half as a lovely ball in behind the defence from Turner found Griffiths who lobbed home a second goal.

Fourways started the second half strongly and Threlfall needed to be alert to block a fierce McAuley effort after the striker powered into the box.

However, any hopes Craig Armstrong’s boys had of staging a fightback were dashed in the 63rd minute when an unmarked Turner rifled a shot high past Harper.

The Airdrie amateurs continued to press and, in the 77th minute, Chris Kelly headed a Cameron corner against the bar before Gary Nicol hooked the ball to safety.

There was enough time for both sides to smack the woodwork. A Cameron free-kick hit the post while, at the other end, Nicol struck the bar.

Fourways: Harper, G McAuley, Cooper, McAlear, Grey, Henderson, O’Brien, McInally, Kelly, S McAuley, S Cameron. Subs: Rolink, G Cameron, Leslie, Clark, Armstrong.

Gantry: Threlfall, Turnbull, Hughes, Smillie, Gaitens, Jaconeli, Nicol, Griffiths, Halliday, Turner, Stewart. Subs: Anderson, Charters, Skinner.