It was disappointment for The Buffs at Buffs Park as a second-half comeback from Maybole saw them leave with all 3 points despite The Buffs controlling most of the game. It was a decent first half from The Buffs, who could’ve gone into the interval a few goals up but were forced to wait until the last kick of the ball in the first half to take the lead. The Buffs seemed to have total control of the game but looked disjointed in the second half, and after some sloppy defending, The Bole capitalised and snatched the points out of the Buffs’ hands.
It was a slow start from both sides, who looked to play very direct in the opening exchanges but failed to really create anything until around the 10th minute, when Mark Lamont swung a good ball in from a corner. Lamont’s cross found Blair at the back post, where he headed back across the box to Lawrence Hendry, who miss-hit a volley which sent the ball spinning well wide of the right post.
The Buffs were made to wait by Maybole, who defended resolutely throughout, for another chance to fall their way, which came when Lamonth sent another cross into the box, this time from a deep free kick on the right-hand side. The ball was aimed for the back post again, where it was Jack Maccalman attacking it this time. Maccalman redirected the ball back to the edge of the 6 yard box for Jack McMahon, who got up well, but his header crashed off the bar and away from danger.
It was another set-piece which unlocked the Maybole defence when Jack Maccalman lobbed the ball into the box from a throw-in on the right. Jack’s throw floated into the centre of the box where Maybole goalkeeper Scott Johnstone came out to try and clear, but failed to get anything on the ball, which allowed Bryan Boylan to leap and get his head on the ball. Boylan couldn’t get over the ball, which meant his header went well over the bar and out for a goal kick.
The Bole were struggling to assert any dominance in the game and The Buffs were beginning to play some nicer football, with their best move of the game so far coming through Boyland and Lennox. Bryan received the ball on the left wing and flicked it round the corner to Lennox, who controlled before giving it back to Boylan, who had made a darting run down the left. Bryan carried the ball to the byline before driving the ball across the box as he looked to find one of 3 Buffs attackers.
The Bole frustrated The Buffs really well in the first half and looked like they were going to be heading into the break all square with The Buffs until the ball was sent high into the sky and looping over the Maybole defence. The strong wind made the ball hard to deal with for The Bole, which led to the ball falling out of the sky and hitting the arm of a Maybole defender on its way down. The referee pointed to the spot, which allowed Mark Lamont to step up and slot the ball into the bottom left corner for his 7th league goal of the season.
It was a great time to score for The Buffs, with the referee blowing the whistle straight after the goal and should’ve probably set up a fairly comfortable second half for the home side, but it turned out to be anything but that.
It was a similarly scrappy start to the second half as it was in the first, with Maybole eventually creating their first chance of the game through a long ball up the park. James Tyler flicked the ball on for The Bole, but his header looked like it was going to be comfortably collected by Brown in the Buffs’ goal. Unfortunately for the goalkeeper, the ball took a massive bounce up and over his head, which allowed Christopher Campbell to come in at the back post and finish the ball into the empty net to equalise for the visitors.
The Buffs managed to reply well when Jack McMahon burst down the left wing and beat Scott Granger before cutting the ball back to Dylan Duncan, who had come on as a substitute. Duncan tried to hit the ball first time but didn’t connect properly with his left foot, which allowed Johnstone to comfortably save.
The Buffs began to look nervy, and a feeling of inevitability seemed to set in around Buffs Park as The Bole probed the Buffs box with a series of corners. Finally, The Buffs defence broke when the ball was swung in from a corner on the left, which found the head of the unmarked Scott Granger, who headed the ball back across goal and into the bottom left corner.
The goal seemed to take the wind out of the Buffs’ sails as they failed to create anything at all after falling behind as the game just petered out without any late drama.
The result means The Buffs do lose a bit of ground to Renfrew, who now top the table by 1 point after their 3-3 draw with Arthurlie however, there is still a long distance to go in the lead, with many chances to make up for the defeat for Kevin Kelly’s side, who face 6 massive games from now until the end of the season, starting with Petershill next weekend.
