Glens' bubble is still not burst as they draw blank

The Glens haven't lost this season, yet many pundits were predicting their bubble might burst against near-neighbours Town, whose previous scalps at Greenfield Park included table-toppers Pollok.

But confident Harvey had no hesitation prior to kick-off in claiming that the two teams appeared to be evenly matched and his players were capable of keeping things tight and perhaps even pinching a goal on the counter-attack.

His bold prediction came so close to coming true deep into stoppage time when the Glens passed up the best chance of this hard-fought contest.

Former Shettleston frontman Steven McClung set up sub Thomas 'Deco' Kilmartin, only for his striking prowess to desert him as he tamely shot into the arms of keeper Bryn Halliwell.

That opening came not long after a fluke own goal was only prevented by the width of Halliwell's post, which kept out a wayward headed clearance attempt by Shettleston full-back Rab Jenner.

Over the piece, though, the home side undoubtedly held the upper hand territorially, a point which Harvey admitted after the final whistle.

He said: "It was very competitive. I thought both teams cancelled each other out.

"Our central midfielders, Del Esplin and Sean McGuire, were unable to get on the ball to make passes and there were very few passages of quality football on show as a result.

"Shettleston pressed hard and pinned us down in the second half, but without creating a genuine scoring chance.

"A draw was a fair outcome but in our dressing room my players are beating themselves up because they felt the game was there to be won.

"But I believe Greenfield will prove a hard place to come for a lot of teams."

SHETTLESTON had looked the livelier of the sides in the early stages with their winger Kyle Robertson prominent in their forward sorties.

The absence of striker Scott Anson clearly blunted their attacking edge and the Glens' keeper JC Hutchison was untroubled until the closing stages when he was called into action to make what can best be described as routine saves.

Town's gaffer Hugh Kelly admitted: "Both keepers dealt comfortably with what few shots came their way.

"Sometimes you have to hold your hands up and say the game was a bit of a non-event and let it go at that."

Spotted on the terracings was former Hibs, Falkirk and Ayr United midfielder Johnny Graham, who revealed his own Junior career amounted to just a six-month stint with Strathclyde Juniors before they went defunct in 1965.

His take on the encounter was: "That would get football stopped." Nobody disagreed.

Pollok, though, failed to capitalise on two of their title rivals dropping points.

That was despite goals from Jamie Darroch and Alan McKenzie firing them into a 2-0 lead inside 10 minutes at home to Neilston.

The turning point came just after the half-hour mark when McKenzie was shown a red card and Lok manager Tony McInally was also sent to the pavilion for his protests.

James Canning then scored either side of the interval to put Neilston level and seven minutes from time the home keeper Ross Harkness saw red for denying a scoring opportunity outside his penalty box.

But the Farmers Boys could not capitalise on their two-man advantage and Lok got a point to remain top of the pile.

MAYBOLE leapfrogged Glencairn into second spot with a 3-1 win at Thorniewood United thanks to goals from Robert Patterson, David Cunningham and their skipper Stuart McGrady.

Michael Rogers scored the only goal to give Yoker a home win over Ardeer Thistle.

New Greenock signing Ryan Craig blasted in a hat-trick in a 4-1 triumph over Irvine Vics, with Alan Docherty getting their other counter.

Ross Foley and James Brown were on target at Guy's Meadow to give Cumbernauld United a 2-1 derby triumph over Rob Roy, who finished with ten men after Gary McMenamin was sent off.

Largs Thistle now prop up the table after a 1-0 defeat at Kilsyth Rangers. Mark Duffy was the match-winner.