Neilston Juniors got back to winning ways in their last home game of 2016 with a 4-2 win over Bellshill Athletic writes Dougie Droy.

The victory pushes the Farmer’s Boys up to sixth in the league. Neilston were down to the bare bones again as several players were missing due to injuries, suspension and other commitments.

A lively start saw Bellshill force a couple of corners before a melee broke out inside the penalty area. After it calmed down, the referee booked a couple of players.

In the 15th minute Craig Patterson and Derek Kennedy combined well before Kennedy found space to curl his shot just past the post.

But it wasn’t long before the home side took the lead when a corner from Kieron Magennis was misjudged by the goalkeeper and Ross Geddes headed goalbound before Kennedy tapped in.

Bellshill drew level in the 38th minute when the home side failed to deal with a corner and McCormack poked the ball home from six yards.

As the second half got under way, Neilston forced a few corners before Kennedy hit an effort just wide.

Paul Young reacted first to the ball from a corner and he slotted it home to give Farmer’s Boys the lead in the 54th minute.

At the other end, Bellshill’s Kane made progress up the right before setting up Simon whose shot was brilliantly tipped over by James Digney.

In the 63rd minute, a long kick-out from Digney caused problems in the Hill’s defence and Kerion Magennis got in to drive the ball low past Liam Grant. Hill were then denied a penalty minutes later and Kyle Robertson took his complaint too far before the referee showed him red.

Despite being down to 10 men, Hill pulled a goal in the 72nd minute when Jordan Jeffrey’s cross-come shot landed into the far corner from a tight angle.

Neilston sealed the points in the 80th minute when Derek Kennedy set up John Paterson who drilled low past Liam Grant into the bottom corner.

Neilston Juniors Xmas raffle tickets are on sale now and available from all the local pubs, The Pad, The Red Hut or any committee member. The draw is on Sat, December 17 at Brig O’Lea Stadium.

The club is saddened to hear of the passing of Jack Tait after a long illness. As well as being a supporter, Jack had spells coaching Neilston Juniors, particularly Hammy Frew’s great 1965 team. Our condolences go out to the Tait family.