BROLLY WINNER IS VIC OF THE BUNCH

Published 22 Jul 2009 17:09

JOHNSTONE BURGH claimed a confidence boosting victory in their first friendly of their pre-season campaign by edging out Saltcoats Victoria on Monday night.

The Burgh faced stern competition from their Ayrshire visitors and had to wait until the dying minutes for a wonder strike from forward David Brolly to round off the 3-2 victory.

The veteran front man hammered home the winner from around 30 yards out, after goals from Colin Smith and a Burgh trialist early on in the match.

Burgh fans may look to their side's inability to deal with cross balls in the box as a serious cause for concern but could be heartened with their use of the ball in the middle of the park.

Forward Colin Smith also caused a lot of problems for the Saltcoats defence and opened the scoring after a defensive lapse offered an opportunity for Smith to score against his former club with a smart strike from just outside the box.

Saltcoats levelled after a mix up in the Burgh defence gifted a goal to the visitors with Victoria's Gary Taylor reaping the benefits.

Burgh restored their lead and looked to have wrapped up the win with five minutes from time as the Burgh trialist slipped the ball past the Victoria keeper.

The visitors landed a sucker punch after a neat move and smart finish from forward Alistair Ross with the end of time bearing down.

However, Burgh's David Brolly decided matters as he lost his marker with a clever turn before rifling home the winner form outside the box.

Manager George Walker was pleased with his side's start to their pre-season campaign but concedes that there is room for improvement.

He said: "In general, it's a good work out for them. I was very impressed with the boys.

"But we'll need to sharpen up and keep our shape a bit better.

"Our possession was good at times, but at other times I thought it was poor.

"On the whole, I thought we did well out but we will know on Wednesday when we play Clydebank, and next Monday when we play Pollok.

"we have four games coming up but as long as we're ready for a week on Saturday I'll be happy."

The Burgh continue preparations tonight (Wednesday) against Scottish Cup finalists Clydebank at 7.15pm at Keanie Park.

Premier League side Pollok will then visit Johnstone on Monday July 27.

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This article appeared in The Gazette 22 Jul 09

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