Month: October 2020

Ants on the march as away trip to Drumchapel starts league campaign

The Ants are on the march as Danny Taylor’s men travel to face Drumchapel United in the Ants first ever league match as a West of Scotland Football League club, with Drumchapel having taken their debut bow in the league the week before, going down 4-0 to Kilsyth Rangers at Duncansfield in their opening fixture. The Ants for their part drew 3-3 with Irvine Victoria in the SoccerShop Challenge Cup, winning 5-3 on penalties in the new management teams first competitive fixture in charge.

The Ants have never faced Drumchapel before as both teams played at different grades, with The Ants being a Junior team and Drumchapel United being an amateur side before both became founding members of the West of Scotland Football league this season, so its a trip into the unknown for both sides. Drumchapel will be looking to put last weeks defeat behind them, and get their home league campaign off to a flier, whereas the Ants will be looking to build on a good performance in the match at Irvine, and will want to get their own league campaign off to the best possible start.

Drumchapel have been busy building a squad for this season with their marquee signing Darian McKinnon the standout signing, having played in the SPFL with Hamilton and latterly Partick Thistle, as well as captain Willie Dyer who had spells at St Johnstone, Morton and Dundee. In preseason they had big wins over Scoutable United (5-1), Arthurlie (7-1) and East Kilbride Thistle (4-1) as well as wins over Benburb (0-1) and Rossvale (3-4). They drew 1-1 with Maryhill and 4-4 with Kilwinning and suffered defeats to Rob Roy (5-1), Johnstone Burgh (1-3) and Darvel (2-0). Theres also a familiar face in the backroom staff with former Ants keeper Jon Connolly on the books as the goalkeeping coach.

The Ants have added a trio of new faces to the squad this week with Jay Burns joining from Forth Wanderers after they withdrew from playing this season, Drew Boult who previously played with Vale of Clyde as well as a spell in Germany with TSV Amicitia Viernheim, and Declan Walsh who has signed on loan from Saltcoats Victoria until Dec 2020 following their withdrawl from the league.

Ants Manager Danny Taylor is looking forward to getting league business finally started after the cup game last week whetted the appetite for competitive football, Speaking to the web team he said “The boys were magic last week in the cup, I was delighted with their attitude, showing great battling qualities which we will need to produce tomorrow again. Although the Ants haven’t played them before, I am well aware of the threat they can pose having faced them in the Amateur game. I am buzzing to finally get the league campaign started and fully expect a tough match, but having said that, theres no easy games in our conference”

#cmontheants #forzaants #itsanewleagueseasonantsthing

Ants Spot on in shootout win over Irvine Vics

vs

The Ants advanced into the 2nd round of the SoccerShop Challenge cup after finally seeing off an Irvine Vics side who came back from 3-1 down in the final 15 minutes of normal time to draw the match 3-3, with the Ants triumphing 5-3 on penalties as new the new management team took charge of their first competitive match in charge.

It was the Ants who took the lead after only five minutes, when Ndlovu got on the end of a Patrick kick out, he knocked the ball on ahead of himself then a deft touch put the ball into the path of ROBBIE EWART, who will go down in Ants history as the scorer of our first ever goal in “Senior” football, and he made no mistake firing past Taylor. A short pass back then sent Bembo scampering through on goal, but as Taylor advanced the Ants striker tried a cute little lob which went just past the post. The Ants had the bit between their teeth in the opening exchanges, buoyed by the goal, and a nice move down the left saw Bembo and Ndlovu combine and the latter cross the ball to Carballo, the youngster slipped past his marker and found Ewart but he couldn’t generate enough power in his shot on the turn and Taylor held easily. Despite the Ants enjoying the lions share of the opening fifteen minutes they were handed a warning when Martins got on the end of a well delivered corner but he could only head past the post and the chance was gone. The Ants did soon make their pressure pay when Bembo found Ewart, who cut inside and fired a shot at goal which was beaten away by Taylor but EVA BEMBO was quickest to react inside the box and he fired the ball into the net with 19 minutes on the clock to make it 2-0 to the delight of the small number of Ants committee who had made the trip to the seaside. The two teams settled down and despite half chances at either end there was nothing of note to report until the 35th minute when DANIEL MARTINS got his head to a free kick that had been swung into the box and put the ball into the net past Patrick to reduce the deficit to a single goal.  Given a boost by the goal Vics started to come into the game more and Connor  came close when he was put through on goal but he tried to chip Patrick and didnt connect properly and the Ants keeper held easily then Watupa fired a short a yard or two past the post.

HALF TIME – IRVINE VICS 1 (MARTINS 35) v 2 ANTS (EWART 5, BEMBO 19)

The second half saw the Ants take the front foot and Tran and Conway combined well at a throw in, the former didn’t catch his cross correctly but it somehow found Carballo although the youngster couldn’t generate sufficient power as he spun and shot and Taylor gathered. The Ants did regain their two goal advantage in the 52nd minute. Ants U20s captain, Rui Carballo, making his first team competitive debut knocked the ball one way past his marker and then went round him on the other, raced onto his own knock on and raced towards the edge of the penalty box, his pinpoint pass avoided the attentions of Martins and landed at the feet of EVA BEMBO who grabbed his second and the Ants third. With just over an hour played Carballo swung in a corner that Conway just failed to get on the end of and the ball took a deflection and landed in the six yard box but Taylor was brave, diving onto the loose ball as Bembo closed in for his hat-trick. Bembo came within inches again of scoring his third of the day in the 68th minute. Conway sent Carballo scampering down the wing again where he was tackled by a Vics defender, but he showed great tenacity to win the ball back before crossing into the path of the aforementioned Bembo who just couldnt get a touch as the ball shot across the face of goal and cleared to safety. Patrick had so far had very little to do in the Ants goal during the second half but that all changed in the 75th minute when a cross into the box was flicked home by BRIAN CONNOR to give the home side some belief. The striker was then clean through at an angle but his effort only found the side netting and the Ants remained a goal ahead, that was until the 79th minute, Patrick came for a corner and punched it to just outside the box, the ball was played back in and BRIAN CONNOR beat Patrick to the ball before knocking the ball into the net to equalise. With no further scoring we headed to extra time

FULL TIME – IRVINE VICS 3 (MARTINS 35, CONNOR 75,79) v 3 ANTS (EWART 5, BEMBO 19, 52)

Extra time was a cagey affair with both sides tiring on the heavy Victoria Park surface with the only chances of note seeing efforts disallowed. Connor had the ball in the net for Vics but was judged offside after 103 minutes and then controversy reigned as the Ants thought they had won it in the 112th minute. A throw in from Littler was headed into his own net by Robb, but the man in the middle adjudged there to have been a foul by Bembo, which the video suggests is an incredibly harsh call, and we went to penalties.

Anton Conway, Rui Carballo, Ndjabulo Ndlovu and Danny Smith all netted for the Ants whilst the opening 3 Vics penalties were scored but the fourth taken by Sam McKee was saved by Patrick to give EVA BEMBO the opportunity to win it and he made no mistake sending Taylor the wrong way and earning the Ants a 2nd round tie against Lowland League high fliers East Kilbride FC in November at McKenna Park

ANTS MAN OF THE MATCH SPONSORED BY ROGUE MONKEY DIGITAL MEDIA – RUI CARBALLO

Video

Details

Date Time League Season
October 24, 2020 1:30 pm South Challenge Cup 2020-21

Ground

Victoria Park Irvine
Marress Rd, Irvine KA12, UK

Results

Club1st Half2nd HalfGoals
Irvine Victoria123 (3)
Saint Anthony’s FC213 (5)

Ants v Irvine Vics Preview – SoccerShop Challenge Cup First Round

It’s finally time for the season to get underway, and the Ants are on cup duty to kick off their campaign with a trip to visit Irvine Victoria at Victoria Park. Due to the Coronavirus restrictions sadly fans are not allowed to attend the match, and along with the other restrictions will give this season opener an unfamiliar feel but both teams have had a taste of these restrictions with training and friendly matches having been subject to the same restrictions and protocols.

Pre season for both teams has been a long drawn out process, and both teams will be itching to get competitive football underway after a number of friendlies which saw both teams take a couple of defeats, although Vics won their last match v Ayr United 5-0, and the Ants came from behind to draw with Glasgow Perthshire 1-1 in our new management teams first game in charge.

The Ants will be hoping the new look squad, including latest recruits Zander Tran and Njablo Ndlovu, that they have brought in over the summer will get the season off to a flier, with a tie at home against Lowland League side East Kilbride awaiting the victors in the 2nd round in November.

It’s time for the real stuff to start now and we can’t wait!. Kick off at Victoria Park tomorrow is 1:30pm and if after 90 minutes the scores are level, then extra time will be played. If the extra half hour can’t settle it, then it would go to penalties.

Here’s hoping come full time it’s the Ants name in the hat!

Captain Conway cant wait for Campaign to kick off

As we build up to the season starting in earnest tomorrow we caught up with Ants captain Anton Conway and spoke about the forthcoming season, and used our new Random Question Generator.

 

ANTS WEBSITE (AW) – Theres been a fair amount of upheaval, uncertainty and obviously the whole COVID issue for the past few months, Hows the mood in the squad as we finally approach the opening game of the season with the new management team in place?

Anton Conway (AC) – We have the first game on Saturday and the squad are finally looking forward to starting the season. Think everyone is fed up talking about COVID and will we/won’t we play, the boys just want to get going. we played on Friday night and their was lots of positive to take from it so think everyone is looking forward to starting.

AW – How has pre-season went?

AC – Pre season has been the longest ever, we started with the 5k challenges during lockdown. We then started training again in small groups and only been recently that we have been training together due to the restrictions. We have had a few games with results not the best but been lot of changes due to players coming in. We played Perthshire on Friday and all the boys done well with few really impressing. We still have a large squad which is good for competition. But with new management in the last few weeks the tempo has increased in training

AW – You are in your 7th season with the club, what is it about the Ants that has seen you ply your trade here so long?

AC – 7th season already? Why do I stay? Because nobody else will take me 😂😂😂 2 player of the year awards and still here 🙈
Seriously though, I enjoy it at the Ants and for me it’s the people that make you want to play for the club. It’s a really family club and will do anything they can to help. I missed almost all of last year with an ACL injury so I am looking forward to get back on the pitch

AW – This season there is no promotion or relegation and theres issues with no changing facilities or fans in at the moment, how has this affected you and the rest of the squad?

AC – The no promotion this season will help the club this season as will give the new management time to build a team and hopefully challenge next year.
Don’t think most players across the conferences will say they are happy with no changing rooms but small sacrifices are needed to help get football back. Hopefully this will be looked at and will be put back in place.

AW – An away tie to Irvine Vics to open the season in the Cup with the winners playing your home town club East Kilbride in the second round, how much of an incentive is a plum tie like that waiting in the next round?

AC – Irvine Vics will be tough fixture as they were a few devisions above us last year and they are at home which would make them favourites but the boys are more than confident about going down there and winning the game. Playing East Kilbride would be a great test for this new squad. East Kilbride have signed some really good players and the boys would look forward to testing themselves. Personally I know 3/4 of the players and in particular Chris Erskine who has just signed from Livingston so would be good to play against Chris and hopefully cause an upset

AW – There has been massive debate over clubs playing or not playing this season. Do you feel the club has made the right decision in continuing to play?

AC – Personally I think the club made the right decision as I think some of the clubs who have pulled out will struggle to attract boys back as players will move on or even take extra shifts in work. The boys at the ants are delighted to be playing and looking forward to the season ahead

Thats the serious stuff out the way, now its time for our Randomly generated questions –

AW – What’s getting worse and worse as you get older? What’s getting better and better as you get older?

AC – What’s getting worse? Well surely I can’t get any slower? But am sure some of the committee think I am 😂😂. What’s getting better? Not a clue that’s a question for the manager

AW – How many chickens would it take to kill an elephant?

AC – None, Can’t see any amount of chickens being able to kill an elephant!

AW – If you could have one superpower, what would it be and why?

AC – Super Speed, I’ve never been blessed with pace, so it would be nice to actually go fast

AW – Lastly, What’s the most ridiculous fact you know?

AC – Ridiculous fact? Not too sure if this counts but I know Graeme Crawford’s dog has more followers on social media than he does!

Big thanks to Anton for that insight into the mood in the camp ahead of the season kicking off, and for answering our random questions!

Ants and Vics through the years

The Ants face Irvine Victoria in their first match since moving over to the “Senior” ranks as the teams come head to head in the SoccerShop Challenge Cup, with the winners facing off against Lowland League side East Kilbride FC in the second round. We took a look back over the years to see how the teams have fared against each other. Despite the old Central Region and Ayrshire Region of the Juniors merging to form the West Region SJFA in 2002/03 the clubs have never faced each other on league business, but have faced each other eight times over the years in cup competitions.

The first meeting of the sides was in the Scottish Junior Cup in the second round in 1952-53 where it was Irvine Vics who advanced to the next round with a 4-0 at Victoria Park. It would be 21 years until the next encounter when they were paired in the West of Scotland Cup first round, once again at Victoria Park, with the Vics coming out on top, this time with a 5-3 win in what appears to have been a pulsating cup match. In 1976/77 the sides met in the West of Scotland Cup once again at Victoria Park, this time the contest was not as close as previous encounters with the Vics strolling to a 6-1 win in the third round tie.

Four years later in the 1980/81 Scottish Junior Cup third round, the Ants, this time with home advantage, recorded our first win over their Ayrshire counterparts with a resounding 6-0 victory of our own, then in 1992/93 broke our Victoria Park hoodoo with a 1-0 win in the first round of the West of Scotland Cup. We met again in the first round of the West of Scotland Cup in 1995/96 at Victoria Park, with the Ants missing some key players and fielding a goalkeeper upfront, and unsurprisingly it was the Vics who emerged victorious, this time running out 5-1 winners.

The last competitive meeting of the sides saw the Ants come out victorious in the Second round of the Scottish Junior Cup after a replay. The first game was a 1-1 draw at McKenna Park, A Gareth Timoney own goal giving the Ants the lead before Gary Madden netted the Vics equaliser. The replay wasn’t as close though and the Ants ran out 4-1 winners at Victoria Park, goals from Abou Mansare, Graham Jaap and Michael Williams gave the Ants a 3-0 lead, Gary Madden netted again to reduce the deficit but Joe Mulheron put the icing on the cake for the Ants in the last minute to make it 4-1 as seen on the highlights video below.

STATS

Games Played – 8

Irvine Vics Wins – 4

Ants Wins – 3

Draws – 1

Goals Scored  Irvine – 22 | Ants – 17

Highest Win – Ants 6 v 0 (1980/81 Scottish Junior Cup)

Club Statement – WOSFL Announcement 13th October 2020

The club has today received notification from the West of Scotland Football League of its plans for starting season 2020/21 with no promotion or relegation from the Tier 7 Conferences. We understand that we are currently in unprecedented times but the uncertainty and lack of leadership around the league has had a detrimental affect for clubs of all sizes, none more-so than ourselves, who have lost a manager and half a squad due to this uncertainty.

However we feel that it is in the clubs best interests that in order to be ready for the challenges in Season 2021/22 it is important that we give our new management team the opportunity to gain valuable experience in a league setting where they can rebuild the squad, therefore we today are reaffirming our position that we will be playing in the West of Scotland Football league this coming season despite being hugely disappointed in the fact there is to be no promotion or relegation.

Hopefully this can prove to be a turning point for the clubs and the league itself, and we can put the numerous fiascos behind us and work together to make this fledgling league a success going forward.

Mon The Ants!

New Ants management team delighted to be on board

Ants management team Danny Taylor and Mark McCuish spoke to the Ants media team today to reveal their delight at their whirlwind appointment as the new Ants management team. Both Danny and Mark played for the club for a number of years and has always had a place in their hearts, so when given the opportunity to lead the club they were delighted to accept the position.

Ants manager Danny said “I am over joyed to be asked to try take the club forward. I know I don’t have a lot of experience in managing at this level but I have loads of knowledge from the managers I have worked under”. He’s also itching to get started ” I cant wait to get started and hopefully we have a good season. I think everybody knows how much this club means to me so I will give it 100%”

Assistant McCuish was also buzzing to be given the chance and he hopes the move will re-connect the club with the people of Govan, “I am delighted to be back at the club again. Hopefully with myself and Danny the club will have a bit of identity back and get back to being one that the people of govan will get behind and support”

They will meet up with their new charges on Monday night at training where they will be looking to continue with our preparation ahead of the new season.

 

 

Club Statement – Danny Taylor appointed new Ants Manager

The club are delighted to announce that former player and coach of the club Danny Taylor has been appointed as First Team manager with immediate effect following the resignation of John Kelly yesterday. Danny will be assisted by another former Ants player, and ex Thorniewood coach Mark McCuish, who’s late father  Alco also assisted the club back in the early 80s. The club had to move quickly to install a new management team with the start of the season only a couple of weeks away. We are all delighted here at McKenna Park and we will have a statement from the new management team in due course.

Mon The Ants!

Statement from John Kelly

Outgoing Ants manager John Kelly spoke to the Media team late last night and would like to put out the following statement –

Firstly I want to thank the committee for the opportunity to take the managers job at the Ants. This is a great club with great people at it, but i felt it was time for me to step down. I wish the club all the best for the future. To all the players who have pulled on that famous green and white hooped Jersey thank you for your efforts and commitment it was my privilege to coach each and every one of you. To my back room staff of Alan Colin Tiger Mic Ronnie and young David thank you for your efforts over last 3 years and I appreciate everything you done for myself and for the club. Thank you to all the sponsors who have came on board over the last few seasons your contribution has been very much appreciated. Hopefully the club can go and make there Mark on the new WOSFL and get the reward the club truly deserves

John Kelly

 

Thanks once again John for all your efforts over the past three seasons. Don’t be a stranger! Once an Ants Man always an Ants man

Club Statement – John Kelly steps down as Ants manager

The club has today reluctantly accepted the resignation of Manager John Kelly who has been with the club for just over 2 seasons. John’s first season saw the Ants finish mid table and his second was cut short by the postponement of the league due to Coronavirus pandemic. We would like to place on record our thanks to John for all his hard work and service to the club over the past two years as manager and the 6 months previous to that as a coach. He will always be welcome around McKenna Park way, as the old saying goes, once an Ants man always an Ants man.

The club will now begin the process of identifying suitable candidates for the vacant role and a further update will be made when available.

#forzaants #itsanantsthing