Report

Talbot were left to rue a late collapse which saw what looked like a comfortable home win end in a 2-2 draw as the Bot threw away a two goal lead.
In a 1st half of few clear chances it was the visitors who made the brighter start. Carroll had an opportunity to put Arthurlie ahead in the 2nd minute when he met Gribben’s ball in from the right but from only 6 yards out he failed to generate any power & Leishman made a comfortable save at his left post.

A defensive mix-up nearly gifted Arthurlie the lead in the 10th minute. There seemed no danger when a cross from the right came into the area but Lyle ducked under it to leave it to Leishman who was never getting there. The ball sped across to the left of the area where Carroll gathered it & hammered a shot on target that Leishman turned round the right post.

Talbot’s 1st effort on target came in the 11th minute. Young intercepted a slack clearance & played it into the area to find Wilson. He got the ball stuck under his feet & although he managed to prod it on target it lacked power & White made an easy save.
There was little to choose between the sides & little goal mouth action with neither keeper involved.

Gradually Talbot began to settle into the game & play some football, with the game increasingly being played in the Arthurlie half. Talbot put together a good move in the 28th minute. Boyd found Young on the left & he hit a great diagonal ball in behind to find Milliken down the right. He cut it back into the path of Lyle inside the box but he failed to test the keeper with a weak shot.
In the 35th minute Hyslop fed a good ball down the line toward Young who forced a corner off McGregor. Young whipped the corner over to the far corner of the 6-yard box where McGoldrick’s header clipped the top of the bar.

Talbot won a free kick in a promising area in the 39th minute when Gair wrestled Milliken to the ground 30 yards from goal. Pope took it but scooped his shot well over the bar and the half petered to an end without any further chances.
Talbot started the 2nd half in fine fettle and had an opportunity within the opening minute. Hyslop was sent sprawling out on the right but the ref awarded the advantage to allow Milliken to fire a low ball into the centre where Wilson volleyed over the bar.

Tucker was forced into a change in the 51st minute when McCracken limped off with a hip injury. S Wilson came on & White dropped into central defence.
It was now all Talbot & the opening goal came in the 55th minute. McGoldrick charged out from the back & carried it into the down the left before releasing an accurate pass inside to find G Wilson. He flicked it 1st time into the path of MILLIKEN who strolled through & placed a low drive past White to put Talbot 1-0 ahead.

It should have been 2-0 in the 59th minute. Steven Wilson raced through the centre of the defence & unselfishly passed it left to Graham Wilson who blazed his shot over the bar from 12 yards.
Arthurlie won a free kick out on the right in the 61st minute which Gribben delivered to the far post. The Bot defence managed to head it clear & Young then launched a counter-attack with a great pass to release Milliken down the left. He raced down the wing & whipped a cross to the back post where GRAHAM WILSON met it with a diving header to put Talbot 2-0 ahead.

Young had a half chance to extend Talbot’s lead in the 64th minute when the ball broke to him outside the area. He had space 20 yards out but curled his shot well off target.
Arthurlie hadn’t offered anything so far in the 2nd half but Pope made a crucial interception in the 65th min to block Mackie’s pass which was heading straight for McGregor.
Lyle picked up what looked to be a very harsh yellow card in the 67th minute. He slid in & took the ball but the referee judged it a foul & booked him.

The visitors made a double substitution in the 68th minute with Mackie & Devlin making way for McTernan & Young.
Arthurlie made a further change in the 72nd minute when Tart replaced Gair.
Palmer almost fluked a goal back for Arthurlie in the 73rd minute. The left-back swung a cross over which clipped the top of the bar before going behind for the goal kick.
Talbot now made their 2nd change with Shankland on in place of Graham Wilson.

With quarter of an hour remaining Talbot put together a decent move. Milliken made the bye line & cut it back into the area. The defence only cleared it as far as S Wilson & he played it left to find Shankland whose low drive was well saved by White to his left.
Two minutes later Shankland again tested the Lie keeper. He powered a good shot on target from 20 yards but White was well positioned to take it inside his left post.

Tucker made his final change in the 78th minute with Love coming on for Milliken.
Talbot came close to killing the game off in the 84th minute. Leishman hoisted a long ball down the centre that the defence failed to deal with. It was headed out but came straight to Young 20 yards out & he lashed a shot just over the crossbar.

Arthurlie hadn’t looked remotely dangerous but it was game on again as they went straight down the other end & pulled a goal back. The Bot defence were caught sleeping as Gribben gathered on the left & slipped a ball inside to send MCGREGOR clean through on goal & he steered a low shot past Leishman.

Nimmo was penalised in the 85th minute when he picked up a caution for persistent fouling.
Talbot’s defence hadn’t covered themselves in glory at the 1st goal and poor defending played its part in Arthurlie’s equaliser in the 86th minute. Nimmo dribbled into the box & with the defence backing off he kept going. He eventually ran into a wall of defenders but the ball broke left to YOUNG & the sub drilled a low shot that for the bottom corner that Leishman did well to get a hand to but couldn’t keep out.
Carroll picked up a caution for a late tackle on Steven Wilson as Talbot went pushing for a late winner but time was against them and Arthurlie ran the clock down to see the game out.
This was a sore one for Talbot who were well in control, only to lose the plot in the final 5 minutes.
Next for Talbot is a home tie against Dalry on Tuesday night in the Ayrshire cup where Talbot will be looking to get back to winning ways.

Talbot – Leishman, Lyle, Pope, McGoldrick, McCracken, White, Young, Hyslop, G Wilson, Milliken, Boyd

Subs – Shankland, S Wilson, Love, Gillies, Johnstone

Arthurlie – White, McGlinchey, Palmer, Rushford, Gair, Nimmo, McGregor, Devlin, Mackie, Gribben, Carroll

Subs – McTernan, Blakey, Tart, Young, Nugent