KILBIRNIE boss Stephen Swift and his players breathed a huge sigh of relief after a 0-0 home draw against table-toppers Auchinleck Talbot secured their Stagecoach Super Premier place for another season.

The final blast of referee Chris Graham's whistle after 97 minutes of action sparked huge celebrations as the Blasties supporters saluted their management team and players.

And Swift revealed afterwards he was a nervous wreck after being sent to the stand for the final 10 minutes for kicking out in frustration at the flag stick on the halfway line after the whistler controversially denied the home side what looked to be a stonewall penalty.

Kilbirnie striker Adam Forde raced clear inside the penalty area only to be tripped by Talbot defender Steven White, but Graham deemed the foul as occurring inches outside the box and awarded what proved to be a fruitless free-kick.

Swift admitted: "Our players had battled their corner magnificently to hold the best team in Junior football at bay, so a decision like that going against us was tortuous, and more so coming with just three minutes of regulation time left to play.

"A goal would have helped relieve the pressure which became intense as the clock wore down and I definitely sprouted a few more grey hairs on account of the referee playing so much stoppage time.

"But the guys continued to be as resilient and focused as they were at the start of the game, and saw the closing stages out, so nobody can surely deny them this chance to celebrate with supporters given the circumstances. Kilbirnie are still a Super Premier team and that's all that matters."

A strong wind blowing across Valefield ensured little football was played in an error-strewn first half that turned out to be something of a non-event in terms of clear-cut goalscoring opportunities.

However, there was more for the fans to get excited about on the resumption - particularly those following Talbot - and Dwayne Hyslop, Bryan Young and the hard-working Keir Milliken went close.

Talbot's territorial dominance saw Kilbirnie hemmed deep into their own half and led to another centre-back, Scott Gair, being introduced from the bench, although he was hardly on the pitch when the penalty incident occurred at the other end.

Their rearguard action prevailed until the final whistle, with Talbot boss Tommy Sloan praising his opponents. He said: "All credit to Kilbirnie for doing what they had to do, however it didn't help our chances of a breakthrough that one or two guys were out of sorts."

TALBOT'S slip now sets up a potential title decider in their final Super Premier Division game against nearest challengers Hurlford United this Saturday.

Darren Henderson's side kept up the chase by closing the gap on their neighbours to seven points with a comprehensive 4-1 defeat of Shotts through goals from Ryan Donnelly (2), Stewart Kean (pen) and Paul McKenzie.

And matters became every bit as intriguing in the Super First Division where goals from Jamie Darroch, David Winters and Alan McKenzie helped champions Pollok to a 3-0 success over Maybole and there were amazing scenes at Newlandsfield as Tony McInally, his backroom staff and players celebrated with the trophy.

Yet the fight for the second automatic promotion spot could be going right to the wire after Shettleston had Chrissy McCormick and Paul Martin on target in their 2-0 victory over Cumbernauld United which moved Hugh Kelly's men four points clear of Rob Roy, who have played two games fewer.

At the other end of the table, Yoker - whose remaining two fixtures are away to the Rabs and Town - were left needing a point to avoid the drop by virtue of being held 3-3 at home by already-relegated Neilston, for whom Alan Diack netted a hat-trick, while basement rivals Irvine Vics were running out 4-1 winners over Thorniewood United in their final march.

Meanwhile, there were shocks atop the Central First Division as Maryhill were held to a 5-5 draw by Larkhall Thistle, while Blantyre Vics and Dunipace both suffered damaging defeats - the Vics going down 2-1 at home to Renfrew for whom Jamie Benton and Scott Arthur were on target, and Dunipace similarly losing out to Michael Collinder and Michael Stewart goals for Wishaw at Westfield Park

St Roch's sealed promotion by finishing third in the Second Division thanks to Baboucarr Mussa and Chris McFadyen goals earning a 2-2 share of the spoils at Royal Albert.

Their hard-earned point at Tileworks Park enabled the Candy Rock to go above Glasgow Perthshire by a goal difference of one as a consequence of the Shire losing 3-1 to Johnstone Burgh.