Arthurlie were soundly beaten by derby rivals Pollok on Saturday at Dunterlie Park as Chris Mackie’s fairytale start to his managerial career went off the rails writes Robert Burns.

The 6-1 scoreline was harsh on the home side however. They were reduced to 10 men after 27 minutes then nine on 51 minutes but did not fall behind until the latter stages.

In heavy conditions Arthurlie started the better of the teams and deservedly took the lead after 19 minutes. An attempted clearance from Longmuir was sent back with interest, the Pollok keeper raced from his area but Gary Carrol got there before him to clip the ball past the stranded number one before coolly rolling the ball home to open the scoring.

Then Arthurlie’s task was made all the more difficult after a moment of indiscipline from Graham Girvan. The Lie man and Michael Daly clashed and as Girvan got up he appeared to aim his boot in the direction of Daly and referee Craig King had no hesitation in flashing a straight red at the Arthurlie full-back.

Arthurlie looked worthy of their lead at the break despite the numerical disadvantage. Six minutes into the second half saw Arthurlie down to nine men. A hopeful ball saw Rowan run across the face of Ryan McGregor who stuck an impeding arm out and the referee awarded a penalty before sending McGregor off. Tam Hanlon stepped up and shot low to Grant Hay’s right just sneaking past the keeper’s outstretched hand to level the scores.

It was all hands to the pump now as Arthurlie looked to stem the inevitable tide.

To shore things up John Gemmell was introduced for Eddie McTernan, then soon after Carroll was replaced by Gary Smith.

Playing with nine men finally started to take its toll on the home players and it was no surprise when Pollok got their noses in front, McStay firing home after controlling a Gary McCann cross.

Just before the 80th minute it was 3-1 when Liam Rowan fired home at the front post from substitute Robbie Winters’ cross. The roof caved in now for the hosts as substitute David Winters scored from a McKenzie set up then Robbie made it five. Right on time McKenzie headed home from six yards to complete the scoring.

Arthurlie: Hay, Girvan, Blakey, Chisholm, McGregor, Convery, Fulton, Leyden, Carroll, Deas, and McTernan.

Subs: Gemmell, Smith, Graham, Curren, and Nugent.