We left Starks Park early this morning for the trip through to Glasgow full of expectations. We find out on arrival that the format has changed due to more teams pulling out. Instead of five fifteen games we’re playing four eighteen minutes games and are straight in with a game against Giffnock SC Auld Timers.

A tight game with many chances and only Pagey’s heroics in goal and our new found ability to not put away our chances had the game finely poised at nil nil going into the fifteenth minute when the ref pings us for a third running offence and it’s a penalty to Giffnock which they convert. Sustained pressure from Raith fails to secure an equaliser and we lose our first game one nil.

Game two in our section ends in a three one win for Prestwick over Rossvale Madrid and Game three also a three one win for Giffnock over Bellahouston Thistle.

We go on to our third game against Prestwick determined to take something and keep our chances of progressing alive. Another tight game against a well organised Prestwick side whose striker gets away with murder constantly running off the ball and even running with the ball. Somehow the ref manages to catch three of his many runs inside the first seven minutes and awards Raith a penalty. Scott Jackson steps up and fires the ball low to the keepers left but the keeper reaches it and parries it away. In thirteen minutes Willie Carroll steps up in midfield and rattles a thunderbolt past the keeper. However the ref decides that the two steps Willie took towards the ball was a run and awards a penalty to Prestwick which they convert. Again Raith pressure fails to find the net and Prestwick manage by fair means and foul to run down the clock gaining a yellow for time wasting in the process.

The next two matches before lunch see Rossvale Madrid beat Bellahouston two one and Giffnock beat Prestwick three one.

Lunch taken care of and we face Bellahouston Thistle. A game we have to win, and hope other results go our way, to have any chance of progressing. Despite many opportunities we’re finding it hard to score with most of out shots rushed and off target. In the tenth minute a nice move with the ball pinging between Chillo, Scott Jackson and John Wylie in front of the Bellahouston box leads to John placing the ball in the net. In the twelfth minute a slick passing move down the left again falls to John Wylie and he finishes nicely to give us a two nil lead and ultimately a win.

The next game sees Giffnock beat Rossvale one nil. Game nine is an important one for us with a win for Bellahouston a must if we have to get to the quarter finals. It’s a back and forth game with Prestwick taking a two goal lead only for it to be reduced to one before being increased again. It’s looking dire for us but two late goals for Bellahouston give us hope. But it’s too late and Prestwick go through.

Our final game against Rossvale is just for pride. In the sixth minute a defence splitting one two leaves a Rossvale player alone in front of goal and he slides it behind Pagey for one nil. A similar move in the twelfth lets Rossvale in for two nil. A minute later John Wylie pulls one back for us and it’s two one. In a frantic final few minutes running penalties are converted by both teams (John Wylie) and the game finishes three two to Rossvale.

So one win from three at the end of the day. A bad day at the office or just unlucky in tight games? A bit of both to be honest. We need to learn to put away our chances. We need to be more direct, cutting out the cute little back heels and fancy Dan stuff. When we have the ball, slick, sharp passes and when we don’t we have a man and we cut down the other teams options.
On the other hand refereeing inconsistencies, which will always be there, hurt us bad today. Awarding a running foul against us when our player was cynically scythed down. And later, in the same game, disallowing a good goal and instead giving a penalty against us. If either of these had been correctly ruled the result would have been different. However we take the rough with the smooth and move on to the next set of games.