13/08/2026
🔴⚪️⚽️⚽️ Michael Bennet Memorial Festival hosted by Morton Thistle 2012 ⚽️⚽️🔴⚪️
We travelled down to Thornhill on Sunday after being kindly invited to participate in Morton Thistle's 1st ever tournament. It was a great day, it was extremely well run and at an excellent venue too. A good calibre of teams in attendance and we found oursleves in a tough group and with challenging 35 minutes games too. Just the sort of test our boys needed.
Game 1
Morton Thistle 1 Valspar 1
⚽️ Callum McMillan
A great start against the hosts who are a really decent outfit. The boys played well and the game ebbed and flowed until we took the lead half way through via Callum McMillan shot following a corner. We looked like we would hold on and after great defending as a team and assured goalkeeping from Max we lost a goal with 1 min left. To be fair the Morton boy swung in a brilliant corner and sometimes you have to say well done. A draw a fair result.
Game 2
Valspar 2 Linwood Rangers 1
⚽️ JS
⚽️ Bryce Linwood
A good performance from the boys and a game we should have won more comfortably. Played well from start till finish all over the park, Hotting crossbar via Jude, Finlay firing wide, Lewis Brown came close and a brilliant Bryce Linwood freekick stung the palms of thier goalie. The opener came from sheer determination from the Drongan due as Bryce slid in to win ball back and Callum then winning the next tackle to set Finlay through his left foot curler came off the post and was finished calmy by Jude. We scored a quick 2nd as Bryce reacted quickest from a corner to score. Kade Daniel nearly added a brilliant 3rd after a great move and his shot was an inch wide from the edge of the box. We looked comfortable but with 1 min left again the ref decided to give a penalty for handball. Ball to hand, handball, hard to say but fortunately it didn't really matter and we held on for the win and 3pts from 2 games.
Game 3
Valspar 2 St Cadocs 3
⚽️ Callum McMillan
⚽️ Charlie Little
A rollercoaster of a game against the eventual cup winners. We started slowly but then we came into the game and Callum McMillan scored a cracker for the lead. We conceded after reacting slowly to a rebound in the box. St Cadocs took the lead but then we played our best football against a good team, lots of endeavour and some good football. After coming close a few times we equalised through Charlie Little after a great move involving 4 or 5 players and Charlie finished calmy after being played in by Jude. We looked the only team likely to win from here but we went down to 10 men when Callum was harshly sent off for a tackle and reaction. We then ended up losing a 3rd and despite battling and still looking like we could score again it wasn't to be and we undeservedly lost the game 🥲 A great effort from the boys ina string group saw us finish 3rd on goal difference. Typically the Valspar way 😀
We entered the Trophy semi final now.
Game 4 semi final
Valspar 2 Knightswood 2
⚽️ Caleb Merry
⚽️ JS
A game we should have held onto win but ended in a draw and penalty shoot out controversy like I've never known 😀. We went a goal down early but stepped up and a nice strike from Caleb Merry slipped under the opposition keeper followed by a good move and theough ball to Jude who slotted under the keeper for 2-1 up. Nothing much else happened in the game until near the end when Kerr Whiteford got an accidental elbow in his face and went down, unfortunately the ref never seen it and a move led to a goal from the gap where Kerr would have been. Just our luck, but there was more to come 🙈🤣. Straight to pens, 5 penalty kick takers decided and away we went. 2 each after our 3rd pen after one miss and Knightswood take and score thier 3rd to go up 3-2 and then run to celebrate with thier GK to all our confusion. It turns out the ref had informed them it was a 3 penalty each shoot out but never told us nor was it in the rules, long story short the shoot out was ordered to be finished to 5 and went to sudden death and we finally won theough to the Trophy Final 😳🙄.
Penalty scorers for Valspar
⚽️ Caleb Merry
⚽️ Kade Daniel
⚽️ Jamie Simpson
⚽️ Boyd Arthur
⚽️ Daniel Gourlay
⚽️ Max O Hara
⚽️ Charlie Little
Game 5 Trophy Final
Valspar 1 Linwood Rangers 3
⚽️ Caleb Merry (pen)
A game too far after a grueling 140 mins of football in the lead up and a dramatic penalty shoot out it was all too much for us. Don't get me wrong we were still well in this game despite being nowhere near our best, we went behind but responded after a brilliant Callum McMillan burst forward seen him up ended in the box, Caleb Merry converted the penalty. It stayed 1 each all the ay until just a few mins left and with drifting to another pen shoot out we lost a poor goal. We then threw everyone up chasing and lost another with the last kick but we had to go for it. Crazy tk think how dominant against the same opponents in the group but congratulations to Linwood Rangers who stayed strong to win the Festival Trophy.
We had a great run and it was apparent how we dropped as we reached the latter stages but all good for the fitness levels moving forward.
Congratulations to both St Cadocs and Linwood Rangers and a massive thanks to Morton Thistle for having us, it was a pleasure.
⚽️🔴⚪️🔴⚪️🔴⚽️
