Blantyre Victoria 3 - 0 East Kilbride Thistle
Scorers: Cunningham (29'), Jones (46'), MacKenzie
The Vics faced local rivals East Kilbride Thistle in a closed door pre-season friendly in their first match since March.
The home side started exactly where they left off, fast paced football from the first whistle. Nad Zeb had the first shot of the game four minutes, his shot forcing a diving save from Thistle's keeper Ross Meldrum. This was followed by Dale Jones' first opportunity of the match driving through into the penalty area, however his shot was blocked before it could test the Jags goalkeeper.
East Kilbride had their first opportunity of the game after a cross was whipped in by the right winger it bypassed all in the Vics defensive line and seemed destined to be finished off at the back-post by the EK forward but Jones managed to clear the danger before it reached him, forcing the corner.
Ross Caldwell in the 20th minute showcased his excellent footwork as he skimmed past two East Kilbride defenders into the box where he teed up a shot to test Meldrum. He opted for a precision shot rather than a powerful one, his effort beat Meldrum but not his post. The goalkeeper was able to recover and get his body over the ball.
The Vics took the lead in the 29th minute through John Cunningham. MacKenzie drove into the box from the right-wing then cut the ball back to pick out Cunningham. His initial shot is blocked but it falls onto his left foot and he fires it into the back of the net.
Just before half-time, Cunningham slipped the ball into Sam MacKenzie, his shot from close range is blocked and the rebound falls to Con Boyle who is in a prime position to double the Vics lead, but the whistle blows for offside.
Blantyre Victoria 1 - 0 East Kilbride Thistle
Straight from the off, Dale Jones has a darting run from the right-back position, he looks to cross into the box but it deceives the Thistle goalkeeper as he lobs it over his head to make it 2 - 0.
East Kilbride looked to be in on goal in the 63rd minute as Ally Morgan lined up a shooting chance. His shot is blocked by Martin Smith and quickly snapped up by Vics trialist keeper Rodrigo Dupre. He distributes the ball to the feet of fellow trialist Jack Marriott who fails to maintain possession and Smith is called into action again as he clears the danger.
Two minutes later, Vics midfielder Nad Zeb has the ball in the net but it is disallowed for a foul in the build up.
11 minutes from time Sam MacKenzie is played through from a long ball. Amongst calls from the visitors for offside he finds himself in a one-on-one with Ross Meldrum. The winger scores his first goal since his return to the club as he slips it underneath the keeper to make it 3 - 0 and finish off proceedings for the day.
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