Johnstone Burgh Junior Football Club

It's not often a 5-1 defeat can be seen as anything other than a disaster, but Burgh's first-half performance gives hope to the fans that relegation might not be a foregone conclusion.
George Walker has said in the past that the West of Scotland Cup is not high up on his list of priorities but going by the first 45 minutes at Premier League side Arthurlie's Dunterlie Park, the players were focussed on progressing.
Despite going behind early, the team came back strong and equalised through Craig Marr on 28 minutes.
Arthurlie were forced to change their approach after the break and Burgh were eventually well beaten. Indiscipline was a problem yet again, with Mark Ferris sent off for an apparent elbow.
A suspension is the last thing we need, but we can look forward to next week and a second local derby in a row, this time away to Renfrew in the First Division. Thanks to Peter Gurney for the report.

Largs Thistle 0-0 Johnstone Burgh

Saturday, December 28, 2007, Super League First Division.

The most dramatic goalless draw you will ever see took place at Largs' Barrfields Park as Burgh had four players sent off along with manager Geordie Walker.
A makeshift Burgh side, which included two trialists from Elderslie Amateurs, Steph McGarrigle and Ross Perrie, was always up against it but gave as good as they got in a hard-fought first-half.
Largs created the only real chances in the first 45 and midway through the half they had the chance to score form the spot when Davie Brolly handballed in the box.
But with big Alan Donohoe between the sticks there's always a good chance of it being saved - and Donny did it again with a quite brilliant save low down to his right hand post. It was a truly unbelievable stop from one of the best Junior keepers around.
There was little else to get excited about before the break, but in the second-half the game exploded into life. First Davie Brolly missed what he would consider a sitter from about eight yards. A long ball into the area was well controlled by the striker, but he poked his effort inches wide.
Determined to make amends, minutes later Brolly chased down a ball into the area and when the defender got a toe in a split second before him, the players' boots came together. The referee, much to the amazement of both sets of players, sprinted over to Brolly and showed him a yellow card - which meant he was headed for an early bath after he had talked himself into the book in the first-half.
The away bench was so angered by the decision that the nearside linesman called the referee over - and he sent Geordie Walker back to the dressing room along with Brolly.
Under the cosh for long periods after this, Burgh were holding on and Donny once again came to the rescue just after the hour mark when he sailed through the air to claim a goalbound header. What made the save even better was that the keeper held onto the ball with two Largs players following in.
On no fewer than three occasions, Largs players were through on goal and on each occasion Donny pounced on the ball and smothered the danger.
Then came the first of three decisions that truly had the Burgh support in a fury. Adam Nisanci made what looked like a hard but perfectly fair tackle on the halfway line on 73 minutes. He even looked to have got some of the ball but the referee produced a straight red card to reduce Burgh to nine men.
As if that wasn't enough, just five minutes later debutant Ross Perrie was also given a straight red card for a tackle that, at the very worst, deserved to be punished by a free-kick and a quiet word in his ear.
Burgh were now holding on for dear life, but remarkably could have gone in front when Mark Ferris chested the ball down in the Largs area and turned sharply before firing a shot that looked certain to hit the net - only for the home keeper to pull off a miraculous stop.
Then with seconds to go, John Sherry was given his second yellow card for a foul that once again was not deserving of such treatment.
With just seven men on the pitch, and six minutes of injury time played, Johnstone Burgh held on to record a fantastic draw and leave the home fans and players utterly shellshocked.
In a game where neither physio was required to enter the field of play, quite how four players were sent off is a complete mystery.
But what a result for brave Burgh. There were brilliant performances all over the pitch, not least the two debutantes McGarrigle and Perrie who were both fantastic. Young Craig Marr on the right wing was superb and Brolly battled away until he was red-carded.
But there can be no doubt that Alan Donohoe was the man of the match for his miracle working between the sticks.

Troon 0-0 Johnstone Burgh

Saturday, December 15, 2007, Super League First Division.

A battling 0-0 draw away to Troon earned Burgh a very desperately needed point on Saturday, 15 December. A classic it wasn't, but a point away from home is a definite improvement. George Walker praised the team, and particularly the youngsters, for their performance. The gaffer said: "It was a good performance and a decent result. Any point away from home is a positive and we have to be happy with the performance when you consider there were seven players in the team that are in their first season as Junior players. It is something that we can build on."

Kilbirnie Ladeside 2 - 0 Johnstone Burgh

Saturday, November 17, 2007, Super League First Division.

Burgh were under the cosh for large periods of this game but did create a handful of decent chances that, had they been taken, might have earned us a point. But the moment that will be spoken about most came just before Ladeside's second goal.
Their centre half, Jimmy Quigley, formerly of Renfrew, aimed an elbow at the face of Davie Brolly just a few yards away from the referee. The noise was sickening and how it went unpunished was a complete mystery. We can only assume the referee didn't have a clear view of the situation and perhaps Quigley carried out the assault on the ref's blindside. Davie had to be substituted but thankfully he will be okay. It was a shocking incident and what made it worse was that the thug Quigley stood over Brolly and told him to get up. Disgraceful behaviour from a man with enough experience to know better.
In terrible conditions with pouring rain and howling wind, Ladeside's scorers were Chris Erskine (54) and Jamie Longworth (84). Burgh's man of the match was big George Bonner who kept Ladeside at bay early on with some smart defending.

Johnstone Burgh 1 - 2 Renfrew

Saturday, November 10, 2007 Super League First Division.

After a first-half dominated by Burgh, it's a mystery how we managed to completely fall apart after the break and lose to local rivals Renfrew. Burgh passed up a number of early chances before taking a deserved lead on 15 minutes. John Sherry was a constant thorn in Frew's side and his lovely finish from just inside the area capped off a sweet passing build-up. James Donnelly's pass set Sherry free and he cracked it into the net from 16 yards.
Six minutes into the second-half, former Kilmarnock kid Graeme Mort pulled Renfrew level and McAlpine won all three points with two minutes to go. Renfrew dominated the second period but Burgh passed up more than enough chances to win the game.
Man of the match from a Burgh perspective was Chris Wozencroft. The big man won everything in the air and was also good going forward.