Irvine Meadow 2 Troon 1
George Grierson admitted he feared Irvine Meadow’s missed chances against Troon would come back to haunt his side.
Meadow got the better of the Seasiders on Saturday after quickfire first half goals from Louis Kerr and Callum Graham cancelled out Jamie Gallagher’s early opener.
But boss Grierson was left biting his nails until the bitter end after his players passed up several opportunities to make the scoreline more comfortable.
Graham had a second half penalty saved to keep Troon in the game and Grierson admitted: “As long as there was only one goal in it there was always something for them to run at us with.
“Coming in at half-time 2-1 up, I’m maybe being a wee bit critical here, but it could have been three.
“We were working really hard and there was some good link-up play. We hit the bar and passed up some good chances. We definitely deserved to be ahead.
“It was hard to play at the same level in the second half but I think we were worthy of the three points.”
Meadow started the brighter of the two teams with Connor Boyd denied by the trailing leg of Troon goalkeeper Dale Burgess with just two minutes on the clock. Kerr then went close with a curling free-kick as the hosts stayed on the front foot.
Troon had to wait until the eighth minute for their first sight of goal, Josh Black forcing a fine save out of Marc Waters from close range.
But the visitors got their noses in front moments later when Gallagher‘s low drive from the edge of the box took a slight nick off defender Isaac Kerr, sending the ball spinning away from Waters and into the net via the inside of the post.
Meadow got back on level terms midway through the half when Ross Urquhart won possession deep inside Troon territory and slipped a pass to Kerr who had enough time and space to stride into the box and dispatch a low shot beyond Burgess.
Disappointment then quickly turned to disaster for Troon when defender Sam McCloskey upended Graham in the box for the clearest of penalty kicks in the 27th minute. Graham dusted himself down to send Burgess the wrong way from the spot and turn the match on its head.
Graham hit the bar from close range and Boyd tugged a shot wide of the target when it looked easier to score as Meadow looked for a knockout blow before half-time with Troon on the ropes.
Graham earned his side a second penalty early in the second half after Jack Sherrie’s clumsy challenge in the box but this time his effort was saved by Burgess and the rebound scrambled clear.
That was as close as Meadow would come to a third goal again but Troon didn’t have the wherewithal to create any clear cut chances of their own as the hosts collected all three points and a second successive home victory.
Don't miss the latest Ayrshire headlines – sign up to our free daily newsletter here
