BELLSHILL Athletic and Blantyre Vics were left wondering what might have been after their 2-2 Stagecoach Central First Division draw.

Neither side were happy after sharing the spoils in a hard-fought tussle at Fullarton Park, but Vics boss David Greig was quick to praise his side after they came back from 1-0 down to almost steal the points late on.

He said: "In the second half my players were everything they weren't in the opening 45 minutes and I'm immensely proud of that, however we certainly deserved more than a draw for our efforts.

"That said, it was crucial we never lost, so from that perspective it's probably a better result for us than Bellshill as we know the points target needed to pip them to the finishing post, and my players will be up for having a real go at achieving it."

Vics took a while to find their feet in front of a sizeable crowd, and their towering backline looked all at sea attempting to cope with the movement and pace of Bellshill attacking trio Craig Holmes, Jay Mackay and Mark McCarry.

Their problems were compounded with just six minutes on the clock as former St Anthony's star man Mackay fired a low, curling cross into the penalty area that found the net via the far upright to put the home side 1-0 ahead.

Blantyre were rocking, and another Mackay cross just missed by the inrushing McCarry was followed by a Darren Henderson header at a set-piece being blocked on the line when a goal seemed certain.

Visiting keeper Kevin Macklin made a superb reflex save to keep out a McCarry point-blank header, but he was helpless when the striker ran on to a through ball and rounded the experienced No.1 only to blast the ball over the bar.

Bellshill's players went in at the break to loud cheers from their supporters, but the resumption saw them swept aside by a fiercely- competitive Vics who were back on level terms after 53 minutes when David Galt's close control skills saw him skip past three defenders inside the area before a push by Craig Gupwell stopped the winger in his tracks and brought a penalty kick award from whistler Ross Hardie.

Dead-ball expert Mark Thomson slotted the ball home for 1-1 to give Blantyre a new lease of life and they roared forward time and time again, only to be thwarted by a resolute Bellshill rearguard until three minutes from time when a Galt corner found Thomson unmarked at the back post and he buried a strong header beyond goalkeeper Jamie Donnelly.

Now it was the Vics fans' turn to roar, but their delight turned to despair in the final minute when a corner sparked a penalty area stramash that saw Bellshill substitute Ryan Donnelly netting from close range for a 2-2 scoreline.

Bellshill gaffer Brian McGinty was unhappy with his side's missed opportunities in the opening period, and he said: "We knew Blantyre would be leggy after playing on Monday night, so we urged the guys to start with a high tempo and they did everything we asked of them except for scoring a second goal.

"That would have put the game to bed, but our failure, combined with Davie getting into his players during the interval, resulted in a totally different game second half and we took a bit of a pounding.

"It looked like curtains when they scored late on, but our players showed great character to go back upfield and level matters. It's a great positive for us to finish the game as we did."

In the only other Central First Division affair, Carluke Rovers finished their campaign with a 6-2 defeat of Lesmahagow, where formidable striking duo Ian Hart (3) and Ryan Smillie (2), were on target along with Greg Cavanagh.

And a major shock ensued atop the Super First Division pile where league leaders Pollok succumbed to a 2-0 defeat in their final home league game of the season against relegation-battling Largs Thistle for whom Creag Little and Glenn Thomson were on the mark.

Largs now move up to ninth spot, and another notable basement winner on the night was Yoker Athletic, for whom Reece Pearson, Greig Maitland and John Harvey were on target in a 3-1 victory over Greenock.

Up into third top spot in the table and homing in on the play-off spot are Shettleston, after Chrissy McCormick grabbed a double in a 2-0 success over Neilston.

RESULTS

Stagecoach Super Premier: Hurlford v Troon (OFF).

Super First: Shettleston 2 Neilston 0, Greenock 1 Yoker 3, Pollok 0 Largs Thistle 2, Ardeer Thistle 0 Irvine Vics 0, Rob Roy v Glencairn (OFF).

Central First: Benburb v Larkhall (OFF), Bellshill Athletic 2 Blantyre Vics 2, Carluke Rovers 6 Lesmahagow 2.

Central Second: Johnstone Burgh 3 East Kilbride Thistle 3.

Ayrshire Cup first round: Saltcoats Vics 0 Auchinleck Talbot 5.