It was an underwhelming return to Buffs Park for Chris Strain as his side were defeated 1-2 by Beith in a pivotal game in the hunt for promotion. The conditions were far from ideal, and the game descended into a scrappy contest as a result.
The match got off to a cagey start, with very little being created in the opening quarter of an hour. Beith goalkeeper Aitchison had several scary moments early on, which led to the best of the action. Conor McLaughlin profited the most from the under-pressure goalkeeper, as a loose pass allowed him to pick up possession and try his luck from distance. McLaughlin attempted to chip the ball over the stranded number one, but dragged his shot wide of the left post.
Buffs created the first real chance of the game around the 30-minute mark through a great Mark Lamont delivery. Lamont aimed a deep free-kick into the box and found Hendry in a great area. Lawrence headed across the goalkeeper towards the right side of the goal and looked to have opened the scoring before a great diving save from Aitchison managed to push the strike wide.
Almost immediately after Hendry’s chance, The Buffs found themselves in a great area once again, with Lamont in control around the Beith box. Some neat play between the midfielder and McLaughlin enabled Ryan Wilson to receive a pass on the left side and cut inside. Wilson beat his man and bent a perfect right-footed shot into the right side-netting to add to his impressive goal tally for the season.
Ex-Buffs striker Thomas Collins had the visitors’ first opportunity as he went close from a corner. The corner was whipped into the front post, where Collins had managed to get in front of his man and glanced a header at goal. The header had Dylan Brown beaten, but thankfully for The Buffs, hit the upright and bounced away.
The referee’s whistle drew the first half to a close with The Buffs in front, despite not really finding any consistent joy in the game to this point.
The Buffs had a brilliant chance to double their lead just after the second 45 began as Ryan Wilson ran through on goal. Ben Lewis latched onto a second ball in midfield and cut the Beith defence open with a great through pass into the path of Wilson. The striker drove into the box and tried to squeeze a shot past Aitchison, but the goalkeeper got off his line quickly and narrowed the angle to save.
Beith drew themselves back level just before the hour after a good move forward. The ball was switched from left to right for Ross Taylor, who dribbled down the line before putting a dangerous cross into the centre of the Buffs’ box. Liam McGonigle found space in the box, which allowed him to stoop down and send a header into the back of the net from close range.
It went from bad to worse for The Buffs, who never really came out for the second period, as McGonigle scored his second to put the away side ahead. It was a quick counter-attack which unlocked the Buffs’ defence and allowed Beith to hit from the edge of the area. It was a powerful effort, and Brown was unable to keep hold of the ball, allowing Beith a second chance at goal. The rebound fell to Sharp, who headed straight back at goal from inside the 6-yard box. Brown did magnificently to keep the second effort out with a great reaction save, however, the danger was still not cleared for The Buffs. The Buffs’ back-line seemed to be sleeping as another rebound landed at the feet of a Beith forward, and this time Brown could do nothing about it as McGonigle slid the ball into the empty net.
A decent first half from The Buffs was not emulated in the second as Beith fought their way back into the game and probably ended as deserved winners. It was an important three points for ‘The Mighty’, who drew level on points with The Buffs in the race for one of the coveted promotion spots.
