SCARVA RANGERS II 1 TULLYGALLY RESERVES 3

THIS fixture was expected to be Scarva Rangers Reserves’ toughest assignment of the season so far and it didn’t disappoint.

Tullygally sit on top of Reserve Division Three, having suffered only one defeat and scored 52 times.

They were utterly dominant in the opening stages of Saturday’s league clash at Scarva Park and were soon two goals ahead.

A rout seemed on the cards. Scarva struggled to get out of their own half and a fine long range strike from Mo Brown was one of very few moments when the hosts posed anything like an attacking threat.

But as half time approached there were signs that Scarva had started to steady the ship and it set the scene for a much more even second half.

An own goal sealed the three points and Wayne Dodds pushed a goal bound shot on to a post to prevent the visitors making it four.

But a resilient Scarva side worked hard to ensure the margin of defeat was respectable and the welcome return to action after injury of Scott Jardine gave the locals an extra physical edge in midfield.

The home side should have been on the score sheet when David William McCabe headed the ball into the path of Gary Dodds inside the penalty area but he fired his shot wide.

A Scarva goal did eventually arrive in the dying seconds of the game, when Stephen McNeill delivered a pinpoint cross to the back post and central defender Ernie Hammond rose and sent an unstoppable bullet header into the net.