League – Matchday 10

An 8-0 defeat on the road to a talented Condorrat outfit is a wake-up call for the Giffnock youngsters. After a strong start to the match the southside dribblers quickly lost their way and were left disappointed with the first match of 2022.

“Welcome back sports fans!” – would have been the message booming from the PA system – as the game kicked off in front of a decent crowd on the snow-flecked astro at Greenfaulds High School. Despite heavy rain on the way over – the weather gods were kind, and the match kicked-off in dry conditions with nary a breeze. The early skirmishes saw both sides makes chances and the opening 20 minutes were close-fought with Giffnock defending well and pushing Condoratt back into their own half on a number of occasions. A committed sliding challenge from Kieran, some nice link up play between Adam and Jospeh, a decent shot from Harrison, some searching runs from Jake, some solid challenges from Jamie and some well-anticipated defensive headers from Leon – just a few of the highlights of an opening spell that gave no indication of the troubles ahead.

3 goals in 7 minutes for the home team turned the match and the home side had netted five without reply when the ref blew the whistle for half-time. He should have given himself a yellow card though after letting two clear infringements go without punishment that lead directly to 2 of the goals. Giffnock did get the ball on the back of the net after the ball was headed in after a Harrison freekick came back of the post – but the ref ruled it offside. 3 – 1 would have been a fairer scoreline – but with a deficit of 5 it was always going to be a struggle to pull anything back – and so it proved with Condoratt netting another 3 before the full time whistle. The home team had no shortage of talent and their finishing was of high quality that would have proved challenging for even a GSC team operating on full gas.

A disappointing match for Giffnock – and the boys will be looking to regroup quickly before the next fixture where they will be able to give a better account of themselves. On the plus side the transfer window is still open and the ever-dedicated backroom team will be hopeful of making a few further signings to help bolster the squad.