The Harry Wraggs 0 Fir Park Corner FC 0

Ross Clark started in goals replacing Graeme Farmer while John Hendry, Graeme Ramage and newly appointed captain Gavin Hepworth formed a formidable back three. Ross Mitchell held onto his starting place however moved into a defensive midfield role. The disappearance of Tony O Neill saw the first start of the season for manager David Fraser alongside Ross Cunningham, Philip Speedie and Ross Galloway. Meanwhile, the forward line comprised of an in-form Joe Lynas and Derek Wilson who pulled on the FPC jersey for the last time before his year long loan move to Germany.

The Captain earned praise

The Corner were on the back foot from the start with the Harry Wraggs starting the brighter of the two sides. However, the Thistle side were restricted to a few long balls over the top which were ably dealt with by the Corner defence. As the Motherwell side came into the match, Joe Lynas and Derek Wilson came into the game with a few chances. With Wilson breaking the offside trap midway through the first half only to be halted by the on rushing goalkeeper. Lynas carved out a few chances as well leading a sustained period of pressure and a number of corners. Claims for a Corner penalty were denied after an aerial clash in the box. While Speedie’s headed effort went just wide of the near post. Joe Lynas continued to cause the defence problems and with minutes to go to half time looked to have broken through the heart of the Harry Wragg’s defence only to be halted just outside the box. The resulting free kick from Ross Cunningham grazed the top of the bar.

Fraser reshuffled the pack at the start of the second half but stuck with the 3-5-2 formation which had been highly successful so far this season. The second period followed the same pattern as the first with the Harry Wragg’s holding onto possession without being able to create chances. Ross Galloway who had moved into the centre of the midfield worked well with substitute David Wyper and as the game wore on were able to carve out a few chances down the right wing. Craig Pettigrew and Graeme Gardiner had to work hard to break the Harry Wragg’s offside trap with the best of the Corner’s chances coming from set pieces. However, Joe Lynas did find space again on the right wing but his shot cannoned off the bar late in the second half but the goal was not to come as FPC had to settle for the draw.

The unbeaten run now stretches from May into September but the last two performances are certainly causing a bit of concern for the team. Pather man David Fraser speaking after the game said, “I’d rather there had been a goal either way today just to get a reaction from the boys. It was a close game but can’t be happy with the result, which shows how far we’ve came.” He praised good performances in the centre of the defence with captain Hepworth singled out after a poor start to the season.

Squad: Ross Clark, Ross Mitchell, Gavin Hepworth, John Hendry, Ross Cunningham, Philip Speedie, David Fraser, Graeme Ramage, Ross Galloway, Joe Lynas, Derek Wilson, Malcolm Boyd, Mark Gardiner, David Wyper, Craig Pettigrew.