NEILSTON JUNIORS 0 GLENAFTON ATHLETIC 1

Scorer: McMullan

With Andy Gow and Steven McGregor both injured Chris Merrilees and Andy Ward filled the central defensive positions, whilst in goals for the Glens was Chris Fahey, returning from injury. The faced a familiar face in Neilston’s attack, that of Craig Seenan who had performed well for the Glens as a trialist in the pre-season friendlies; whilst on the bench was former Glens player Brian Miller in his current leg of his travels.

It was former Neilston player Chris Cameron that almost opened the scoring when with 3 minutes on the clock his shot from distance just flashed over the bar. Fahey was soon in the thick of it as play shifted form end to end and parried a shot from an acute angle by Paul McDougall to safety; also blocked a point blank strike as Neilston pushed for the breakthrough.

Paul McMullan was causing the Farmers’ Boys problems down the left and a great run saw him breach the Neilston box and lay the ball back across the 6 yard box, outwith the reach of goalie Brian Hewitt, but the ball was cleared for a corner before incoming Chris Zok could get a toe to it. Hewitt, as he often does, controlled the airways and soared to grab the resultant high flighted corner-kick with ease.

With 27 minutes gone McMullan perseverance paid off when he gathered a great through ball from Willie Howie and crashed a great shot home, in off the post, with Hewitt stranded. box and crashed a great shot of a post with Hewitt stranded. Half-time Neilston 0 Glenafton 1

With 8 minutes of the second-half gone the home side was awarded a penalty and Fahey red-carder when he was adjudged to have brought down Michael Fulton in the box. However a vigilant linesman had spotted an earlier infringement, Fulton’s attempt to kick the ball out of Fahey’s hands, and the official was courageous enough to reverse his decision.

The Glens went on to create a number of chances the most impressive of which was a lung-bursting run from box to box by new signing Stuart Tullis which ended with ferocious shot, that Hewitt brilliantly tipped over his bar. Full time Neilston 0 Glenafton 1

Glenafton Athletic: Fahey; Ramsay, Ward, Merrilees, Quinn; Doyle, Howie, Cameron (Grant), McMullan; Savage (Feroz), (Tullis), Zok

LUGAR BOSWELL THISTLE 1 GLENAFTON ATHLETIC 0

Close season signing Paul McMullan made his competitive debut for the Glens, returning from injury, on the wide-left of midfield while new signing Chris Zok partnered Craig Feroz up front. The young striker came close to opening the scoring in 13 minutes after good work by Simon Eeles down the right wing, but his hook shot from 8 yards out was parried to safety by Leishman in the Lugar goals. Eeles was causing the home-side all sorts of problems down the right wing and it was another cross from him that Zok got his head to, but not enough to test the goalie on this occasion.

Lugar too were getting upfield albeit on a less regular basis than the visitors but having got into good positions to threaten Gary Matthews in the Glens goal they had a tendency to dwell on the ball too long and let their chances evaporate.

Just before the half hour mark the pattern of the game changed dramatically when Jamie Doyle, who had been on the receiving end of a number of tasty tackles with the assailants going unpunished , was shown a straight red card for a high challenge. Consequently Eeles dropped more into the centre of midfield and the Glens potency as an attacking force was severely diminished and the half ended goal-less. Half time Lugar 1 Glens 0

The home side broke the deadlock 14 minutes into the second half when they broke down a Glens attack at the edge of their own box and charged upfield with a last- ditch tackle by Chris Merrilees in the Glens box preventing a certain goal. The resultant corner kick from the right appeared to have been wasted when the ball found its way to the far side of the pitch, only for it to be lofted high back across the goal-mouth and to come back to earth at the Glens far post where Gary Grosart beat Matthews to the ball and nodded it home.

The 10 men of the Glens pushed for an equaliser but rarely looked like scoring . The visitors were always susceptible to Lugar break-aways and indeed the Jaggy Bunnets looked to have grabbed a second with a low powerful shot from 20 yards out which appeared to be swerving beyond Matthews' reach but the big keeper got a late hand to the ball and pushed it to safety. There were no further chances worthy of note and the parish of Auchinleck have two quarter-finalists.

Glenafton Athletic: Matthews; Ramsay, Merrilees, Gow, Quinn; Eeles, Doyle, Howie, McMullan (Ward); Feroz (Grant), Zok

Match photos at http://picasaweb.google.com/GLENAFTON/LugarVsGlenafton

GLENAFTON ATHLETIC 5 MUIRKIRK JUNIORS 0

Scorers: Feroz (4), Grant

Craig Feroz grabbed the headlines with a four goal haul before setting up JP grant for a fifth as the Glens finally put a plucky Muirkirk side to the sword at Loch Park.

Muirkirk goalkeeper Cammie Menzies kept the Glens at bay , aided by a strong wind at their back in the opening half, until the the 27th minute having by that time scrambled a long range effort from Mark Quinn round the post; punched the ball clear from the head of Simon Eeles and blocked a JP Grant close range effort  with his feet. However, when the Glens broke free from one of the few forays the visitors made, the ball was played to Joe Savage, on the right who then caught the Muirkirk defence napping with a wonderful cross-field pass to Craig Feroz . The hit-man burst into the visitors' box and again Menzies looked favourite to come out on top as he advanced to narrow the angle, but the Wizard Fer-Oz magically found the gap between the outstretched arm of the goalie and his far post with the coolest of strikes.

Feroz tested the keeper on more than one occasion and so too Eeles but the closest the Glens came to dounbling their lead was after Chris Merrilees won a near post header from a corner kick and as Savage looked certain to prod the loose ball into the net it bounced unkindly and hit the big striker's hand.

Half time Glens 1 Muirkirk 0   

Willie Howie was first to seriously test Menzies in the second-half but the young keeper beat the Glens captain to a great through-ball into the box and was strong enough to smother the ball and prevent Howie getting a second bite. Fortune came and went in a flash for Menzies when a Jamie Doyle corner from the left was gathered by Eeles at the far post and played into the path of Grant in a crowded whose stab at goal beat Menzies but hit his post, only for Feroz to tap in the rebound from a two yards out on 57 minutes. Three minutes later Savage was well on his way to testing the goalie when he was pole-axed in the box by a late arriving Cartwell but Referee Dobney for once waved play-on.

On 68 minutes Simon Eeles collected the ball in the middle of the park and as John McMillan peeled off and scurried down the right flank waiting to receive the ball, Eeles made great use of the decoy and played a perfect ball through the middle for Feroz to give chase and to glide past the advancing Menzies and tuck the ball home. There was a degree less subtley about Feroz's fourth when he left his markers for dead and bulleted home a header from a Doyle corner on the right .

With 3 minutes remaining, Feroz was still full of running and with the Muirkirk defence in his wake he homed in on Menzie's goal and rather than round the goalie again he unselfishly laid the ball on a plate for JP Grant to lash it into the empty net.

Full time Glens 5 Muirkirk 0

Glenafton Athletic: Matthews; Merrilees, Gow (Ward), McGregor, Quinn; Doyle, Howie (Ramsay), Grant, Eeles; Feroz, Savage (McMillan)

GLENAFTON ATHLETIC 1 CUMNOCK JUNIORS 0

Scorer : Eeles

New signing Joe Savage partnered Craig Feroz up front and together with Simon Eeles pace on the left wing and Jamie Doyle’s guile on the right they gave the Cumnock defence a torrid time in the opening 45 minutes. The visitors defence had little respite as Willie Howie and Chris Cameron commanded the midfield and stifled most of their attempts to break forward with the ball.

Having said that it took the Glens 21 minutes to open the scoring after Cumnock were caught in possession deep in their own half and Simon Eeles wasted no time in rifling a low hard shot beyond the wrong-footed goalie Graeme Potter. The ‘ Nock defence then committed a carbon copy of the same mistake but this time Potter was alert and the crime went unpunished. Potter then saved well from a Howie shot and just beat the Glens captain to scramble away the rebound and then the ‘Nock goalie showed great determination to prevent Eeles from doubling his tally. There was no takers for a great ball into the box from Doyle after a surging run to the bye-line and at the break the Glens were still only one ahead, when 3 or 4 would not have flattered them. Half time Glens 1 Cumnock 0

Role reversal time with the Glens pegged back into their own half for long spells and it was the visitors that created the best of the goal scoring opportunities. Young centre-back Anton Hefron, who gave a much more assured performance in defence after the break, headed home from a few yards out but the goal was disallowed for an infringement in the six yard box. A Richie Barr header then bulleted over the bar and in the dying embers of the game a perfectly timed tackle by Steven McGregor denied the visitors an equaliser and the Glens secured the three points.Full time Glens 1 Cumnock 0

GLENAFTON ATHLETIC 0 AUCHINLECK TALBOT 2

The first half was an even affair with both sides having chances . Auchinleck scored from a well flighted corner which Kris Doolan headed strongly home at the back stick on 38 minutes.