Comeback sees Port grab a point

Published 13 May 2010 14:00 0 Comments

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EQUALISER: Scott Nugent.

AFTER their seven-goal mauling at Pollok on Monday, Port Glasgow showed character to come back from two down to snatch a draw at Ravenscraig last night.

The hangover from the Pollok match looked obvious in the early stages, with the Vics taking the lead after just five minutes.

A corner was cleared to the edge of the box, where Gary Espener collected the ball and shot home.

The remainder of the opening period was mainly fought out in midfield.

Scott Nugent had a chance to level matters just before the break, but was thwarted by a great tackle from Ryan McAloon just as he was about to pull the trigger.

The visitors doubled their advantage within four minutes of the restart, when Paul Stanton lost out in a tussle for the ball with James Cochrane, who went on to fire past Sean Graham.

It looked like the Port were heading to defeat when the normally-deadly Nugent missed two good chances in the space of five minutes.

But referee Rodney Marshall threw them a lifeline in 53 minutes when he ruled a tackle on Jonathan Donnelly in the box to be worthy of a penalty kick, allowing Paul Coyle to bring Port Glasgow back into the game.

Trialist Andrew McEwan, who has been playing with Drumchapel Under-21s this season, then came on as a sub.

He immediately injected some energy into a match that had until then been lukewarm at best.

Unfortunately, though, it wasn't just his feet that were doing the talking, as he fell foul of the whistler and was booked for dissent within ten minutes of coming on, to be followed later by Kevin McKay and Paul Coyle as the match at last saw some passion.

Sean Graham kept the Port in it with a good stop from a header, and then with just 12 minutes left, Nugent made amends for his earlier misses with the equaliser.

A high ball deceived a Vics defender as it bounced awkwardly off the fiery surface, and Nugent took advantage to fire home and give the Port a well-deserved point for their spirited comeback.

Port Glasgow manager Craig Brown said after the game: "The heavy defeat at Pollok was horrible for everyone, so I was delighted the lads showed real character tonight after falling two goals behind.

"It was also good to see Andrew McEwan making an impact when he came on, and he may also feature again during our last league game at Larkhall on Saturday."

PORT GLASGOW: Graham, Jack, Coyle, Brown, Stanton, K. McKay, F. McKay (McEwan 61), Wilson, Nugent, Donnelly, Beckley. Subs not used: Temporal, Kidd.

l Port Glasgow Juniors are sponsored by 5 Star Plasterers, and WJ.

This article appeared in Greenock Telegraph 13 May 10

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