We look at Championship match from this weekends round of matches.

GREATER CROFTPARK ROSE vrs GLASGOW ANSAR

Firhill Complex, Glasgow: A crowd of 20 braved the freezing conditions.

Greater Croftpark Rose delivered the shock of the Championship day, comfortably dismantling promotion candidates Glasgow Ansar with a comprehensive 3-0 victory at a frigid Firhill Complex.

Ansar, entering the game on the back of excellent early-season form and carrying the heavy mantle of expectation, were tipped by many to dominate. However, they ran into a Rose side that was defensively disciplined and clinically ruthless on the counter-attack.

Early Flurry and Defensive Stand

The opening quarter saw the favourites settle quickest. Glasgow Ansar enjoyed good spells of possession deep in the Rose half, but their intricate passing was continually stifled by the disciplined positioning of the GCR midfield and defence.

Rose, though under pressure, showed they were not merely going to sit back. They almost took a spectacular, albeit fortuitous, lead when a testing cross-cum-shot from wide man McCo forced the Ansar keeper into a scrambling save, only just preventing the ball from dipping under the bar.

Ansar quickly responded, testing the hosts. The impressive midfielder Bhatti, a key cog in Ansar’s engine room, tried to take matters into his own hands, unleashing a powerful shot from distance that narrowly sailed over the crossbar. It was a sign of the quality Ansar possessed, but GCR was determined to match it.

A moment of genuine quality from the home side nearly provided the opener. A flowing, intricate move from Greater Croftpark Rose resulted in a brilliant attempt at goal—an overhead kick from Benghellabe—which was only denied by what can only be described as a phenomenal, point-blank save from the Ansar number one.

Kennedy Breaks the Deadlock

The tension of the match was finally broken just before the half-time whistle. A great through-ball dissected the Ansar defence and found Kennedy in the box. His deft touch, a moment of composure and skill, was enough to completely wrong-foot the Ansar keeper and roll the ball into the net, sending the GCR faithful into raptures.

HT – Greater Croftpark Rose 1 Glasgow Ansar 0

Rose’s Clinical Second Half

The second half saw Ansar emerge with renewed vigour, clearly instructed to press higher and faster. They immediately put the GCR goal under immense pressure, forcing a series of consecutive corner kicks. However, the centre of the Rose defence, marshalled brilliantly by Patterson, proved an impenetrable wall, heading clear every dangerous delivery and relieving the tension. Patterson’s performance was arguably the foundation of the victory.

The resistance paid off spectacularly midway through the half. Against the run of play, Rose secured a vital second goal. The ball found striker McQuade out wide. He demonstrated great footwork and conviction, cutting inside the box before unleashing an unstoppable, near-post shot that left the Ansar keeper with no chance. The 2-0 scoreline felt like a devastating blow to the visitors’ morale.

GCR then applied the final, crowning touch. McBrearty produced a fantastic pass, sending Benghellab through. The striker displayed great strength to hold off the recovering centre back before showing ice-cool composure to finish cleverly past the helpless keeper, sealing the victory at 3-0.

While the scoreline was decisive, credit must be paid to Glasgow Ansar, who, despite facing a three-goal deficit, never stopped pushing forward, trying to break down the GCR defence. Their commitment to attacking football was commendable, though ultimately fruitless.

As the game drew to a close, GCR had a couple of half-chances to further extend their lead, catching Ansar out on the break as the visitors desperately committed numbers forward.

The final whistle confirmed Greater Croftpark Rose’s momentous 3-0 victory, a result that puts the Championship on notice and firmly establishes Rose as a force to be reckoned with this season.

FT – Greater Croftpark Rose 3 – 0 Glasgow Ansar

MOTM ⬇️

The Defender was superb throughout the 90 minutes, Saturday’s performance shows just how big a player he is for his club.