AC Milanda 2 Ballieston Thistle 5 (HT 1-1)

MILANDA suffered their third league defeat on the trot but the final scoreline is a bit hard on players who gave the title favourites a difficult 90 minutes.

Ahead twice in the match, Milanda shot themselves in the foot to let Baillieston equalise both times and they went on to dominate the last 15 minutes and take full points.
But the reaction of their players at the final whistle suggested they knew they had been in a game.

Individual mistakes are costing Milanda goals and points at the moment and it's something that must be rectified or all our good work in the early part of the season will have been for nothing. Both sides squandered chances in the opening stages but Milanda got their noses in front after 20 minutes when a long throw by John Griffin was headed home almost on the goal line by midfielder Scott Preston.

Bailieston equalised before the break when a wayward back-header by John Wilkie was pounced on by an alert forward and steered into the net. Keeper Chris Preston was grateful to see a Baillieston shot hit a post and bounce into his arms early in the second period.

It was a let-off and Milanda made the most of it by going 2-1 up after 57 minutes. Another superb throw by Griffin was knocked on by Scott Preston and Martin Coyle stuck out a leg to divert the ball past the keeper from close range. Midfielder Preston had another header cleared off the line as Milanda continued to pose a huge threat at set-pieces but this time it was Baillieston who took advantage of their good fortune.

The ball was cleared out of their box to Dave O'Neill, It should have been a straightforward matter to deliver it back into the danger area but he got himself in a terrible tangle, allowing Baillieston to break upfield and make it 2-2.

Milanda went looking for a third goal in an entertaining match but never looked like getting it and Baillieston took advantage to bang in three more of their own.
A disappointing result but the performance by the midfield and front players was excellent and they did not deserve to be on the losing side.

MOTM: The work rate of the middle four and front two was tremendous. Andy Scott also deserves a special mention for putting in a good shift for almost the entire 90 minutes despite being knackered and in pain from a couple of knocks. But the award for this game must go to Scott Preston who did all that was asked of him in midfield and was also a threat in the opposition's penalty box.