It was a lovely afternoon for Marr’s first away game of the season against Doon Academy. The team was in high spirits on the long bus journey to Dalmellington.


The game kicked off with half an hour to be played in each half.  As a result of some battling play by the home side they were shortly 1 goal up within the first 7 minutes.  This did not deter the Marr boys though, and within a minute of conceding they found themselves level through a well hit shot by Craig. 


4 minutes later and Marr had doubled their scoring for the afternoon, making the score 2-1.  After striking the crossbar with a good free kick that forced a save from Doon's keeper, Marr’s No.11 was on hand to turn the ball over the line for the visitors.  Unfortunately the boys were not able to hold on to the lead for long though, with the home side ensuring the first half ended with the two teams tied at 2-2.


Not long into the second half and the home side find themselves ahead once more.  The Marr boys yet again were not to be deterred by this and showed great determination to eventually go on and win the game.  Ten minutes into the second half Reid manages to squeeze the ball between the Doon keeper and his near post after some impressive, if not lucky, dribbling past the Doon players within their own box.


Not long after Marr win a corner which was well hit, forcing the Doon keeper into making a mistake which allowed McInness to tap the ball across the line giving Marr the one goal lead going into the last five minutes of the game.  The boys held out and the hard fought victory brought the team their third consecutive victory this season.


Well done everyone!!


Player’s Man of the Match: Cameron Reid

The Marr boys took to the field this afternoon full of confidence from their impressive season opener against Kyle Academy. In an attempt to make it two wins in a row however, the team would first need to overcome a physical Cumnock side made up, almost entirely, from S3 boys. It didn’t take long for the home side to take the lead however, with the boys from Troon having the ball in the net after only five minutes. A terrific pass from Harris found Inglis on the edge of the box, who managed to help the ball on to McInness in the middle of the Cumnock penalty box. The Cumnock keeper rushed out to close down the angle, but McInness finished calmly pushing Marr into an early lead. The game settled down after this early goal, but it was Marr who again found themselves celebrating 20 minutes in, after a silky one-two interchange between Harris and McInness created space on the right wing for Harris to sail in an inch-perfect cross, which Craig nodded home with a bullet header at the back post. Two minutes later, and the same move caught out the Cumnock defence once more. This time, the link up play was between Harris and Craig, with Carson meeting Harris’ cross with a volley to give Marr a very comfortable lead. Everything Cumnock threw at Marr was being dealt with and thrown straight back at the visitors, and this was highlighted one minute later on the stroke of half time. A troublesome ball through the middle was calmly cleared by Bilham, which McInness then gave chase to. The Marr striker skilfully lobbed the keeper and watched his effort cleared onto the post by an out-stretched Cumnock defender. McInness had kept up his chase though, and was on hand to knee the ball over the line for his second of the match. 4-0 to Marr at half time and the team was very worthy of the lead!

Cumnock had a bit of a fight-back in the second half, and yet again, there were plenty of goals for the spectators. Marr found themselves 5-0 up after an overhead flick from Craig fell into the path of McArthur who fired a terrific shot from a tight angle straight into the top corner of the Cumnock net. Cumnock were to register on the score sheet five minutes later though, with the referee awarding a penalty for an overly-physical challenge on the visiting team’s centre forward. Rowan guessed the right way in goals for Marr, but the pace of the penalty just beat the out-stretched fingers of the Marr shot stopper. Not to be disheartened by this, Marr went straight on the attack again and two minutes later scored their 6th goal. A terrific lob from Carson over the top of the Cumnock defence found Craig in acres of space, who lobbed his shot over the on-rushing Cumnock keeper to make it 6-1. There was a late fight-back again from Cumnock who scored two goals in the last five minutes to make the final score 6-3. Overall, a fantastic performance from the Marr boys, who find themselves unbeaten thus far this season! Well done boys!


Player’s Man of the Match: Darien Harris
Mr McLaughlin/Mr Moncrieff’s Man of the Match: Blair Craig

The new season for the Under 15s South Ayrshire league started this afternoon, with the Marr boys hosting Kyle Academy on the brand new astro-grass pitch at Marr College. The sun was shining, and the scene was set for what was to be an excellent performance and well deserved victory for Marr on the opening day of the season.

Marr started the first half strongly, with the mixture of the S2 and S3 boys quickly gelling together and looking like a team that had played together for years. Despite the impressive start however, it was Kyle Academy that took the lead just five minutes before half time. The Marr defence had thought they had dealt with an attack from the visitors, with the ball cleared to the halfway line. One of Kyle’s centre halves collected the ball however, took two touches, and riffled a shot into the roof of Andrew Rowan’s net from 35 yards out, leaving the Marr keeper with no chance. Had the score stayed the same there is no doubt Kyle would have started the second half feeling they could go on and win the game. Marr showed fantastic fighting spirit however, and pulled level just one minute after going a goal behind. Darien Harris fired a cross in from the right wing, which was met by the head of Joe McInnes. After a finger-tip save from the Kyle keeper, Blair Craig was on hand to head home the rebound ensuring the home team would go into the half time break level.

Two minutes into the second half, and Marr had doubled their goal tally for the season. Another inch perfect cross from Harris was headed home by Cameron Reid from 15 yards out giving the home side a well deserved lead. Kyle Academy came back into the game after this set back and Rowan had two decent saves to keep his team in the lead. Marr always looked dangerous on the break however, and ten minutes from the end Blair Craig found himself in some space on the left wing. Craig caught the keeper off guard with an early shot which crept its way into the bottom far corner of the goals, making the score 3-1. Not content on sitting on this score line, Marr pushed forward and continued to create chances. Richard Jones fired a shot from just inside the box, which a Kyle defender blocked with a clear handball. The resulting penalty was excellently saved by the Kyle keeper, however Luke Smith was first to pounce on the loose ball and turned the rebound home to give the home side a very convincing, and well deserved 4-1 victory on the opening day of the season.

Player’s Man of the Match: Blair Craig
Mr McLaughlin/Mr Moncrieff’s Man of the Match: Joe McInnes