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#AnnounceFraser

The club are delighted to announce the signing of Fraser Williams. Fraser made his debut in Saturdays great 3-1 win at home to Johnstone Burgh and Ants manager John Kelly is buzzing to have secured his signature. Speaking to the Ants website John said

I am delighted to add Fraser to the squad. Fraser is a winger who is very direct and has bags of quality, I can’t wait to see more of him in an Ants jersey this season. He has a real hunger and determination about him which fits perfectly with the model of the current squad

Welcome on board Fraser!

Duffy debut delight as Ants beat Carluke

The Ants put a run of four straight single goal defeats behind them to take all three points at the John Cumming stadium in a match that in truth could have finished 6-6 on the chances created by both teams.

Carluke had the first real chance of the game when a cross was inches away from the head of Haley but the striker couldn’t connect and the chance was gone, The Ants thought they had taken the lead in the 12th minute of the match when Grant Kelly put Graeme Crawford through on goal, his shot was saved by the keeper and in raced John Ball to knock the rebound into the net, however somehow the man in the middle deemed Ball to be offside despite being behind both Crawford and a Carluke defender when the shot was hit much to the annoyance of the Ants fans and management alike.  The game flowed from end to end and Biggart found Jeffrey on the edge of the box but he dragged at the shot and it went past without troubling. Carluke took the lead in the 22nd minute in what appeared to be even more controversy. SAM BIGGART looked to try and whip a cross into the box on the volley but it looped over McCallum, appeared to hit the inside of the post and shoot back out, the ref was in no doubt though that the ball had crossed the line from his postion 25 yards away, The Ants players questioned the decision with Ball picking a booking for his protests, having reviewed the video at about 5 different speeds you have to say he got the decision spot on. McKenna then came close for Rovers but McCallum saved well with his legs and the chance was kicked to safety. The Ants were in the hunt for the equaliser and Littler headed just over before Conway failed to connect with a header properly under pressure from Weir, McIlvaney’s cross saw Kelly’s effort saved on the line by Tobin and Ball’s shot from the rebound deflected off McAllister and was hacked off the line by a Rovers defender and the halftime scoreline was Carluke 1 v 0 Ants.

Within a minute of the restart the Ants were level when RALPH GAMBA got on the end of Littler’s throw in to head past Tobin to the delight of the travelling Ants fans. The second half seemed to follow a similar pattern to the first with both sides enjoying spells of pressure and creating chances. Gallacher sent Ball through on goal but the Ants striker’s shot was well held by Tobin then Biggart fired in a great cross which flew over the Ants six yard box but Littler was on hand to clear. Weir then fired a shot from 25 yards which McCallum did really well not only to save but to hold onto the ball with a Rovers player closing in to pick up on any rebounds. The Rovers captain then hit the bar with a tremendous effort from fully 30 yards which had McCallum rooted to the spot but luckily the Ants managed to clear the danger from the rebound and the chance was gone. Rovers were enjoying their best spell of the game with these chances and McCallum had to be sharp again this time to deny Haley with his legs. From the resultant corner the Ants had Crawford to thank for keeping the scores level when Haley got on the end of the cross but the Ants man headed off the line before Marshall deflected Weir’s effort out for a corner from the goal line. The Ants survived this 10 minute spell and started to come more into the game again, Kelly was unlucky with an overhead kick attempt before Gamba almost got on the end of a Crawford cross but a Rovers defender beat the Ants man to it and headed it out for a corner. In the 85th minute the Ants brought on TONY DUFFY for his debut, replacing John Ball and it turned out to be an inspired substitution as one minute later he raced onto a through ball from Littler to fire past Tobin and give the Ants a 2-1 lead with 4 minutes left on the clock. Deep into injury time another Rovers corner caused a bit of a scramble in the Ants six yard box but McCallum eventually gathered the ball and the Ants had stopped the rot and put their first three points on the board.

Ants Website Man of the Match –

 

Ants need to mow Meadow at home to progress in Scottish Junior Cup

The Ants were drawn at home to West Region Premiership side Irvine Meadow in the Macron Scottish Junior Cup 2nd round at Hampden earlier today. They received a bye into the second round with only 1 tie drawn for round 1. The match itself will take place on Saturday 29th September 2018 with a 2:30pm kick off. Come along and get behind the Ants in what is sure to be a tough match.

#Itsamacronscottishjuniorcupantsthing

Darren Marshall makes McKenna Park Move

Continuing with our signing announcements we are delighted to announce the signing of former Renfrew Under 21s Darren Marshall. Speaking to the Ants official website ‘Dinky’ let us know that he has promotion in his sights this year “I’ve signed for the Ants to try and help the club achieve promotion this season coming”. JK was delighted to have snapped him up “Signing Dinky from Renfrew was one of my top priorities when I took over at the Ants. He is a very creative player but he reads the game so well in the middle of the park and is excellent at breaking up play”. With an endorsement like that from the Gaffer the fans at McKenna Park will be looking forward to seeing him in the hoops.

Ants Comedy Night Lineup announced – Friday 4th May 2018

 

The comedians are booked, the venue is set for the Ants Comedy Night. Following on from the success of last years comedy night we are proud to announce a second night on FRIDAY 4th MAY 2018 at The South Western Social Club, Corkerhill Gardens, G52 1SE and tickets are only £10!

The Headline act for the night is Scott Agnew. Scott is a Glaswegian critically acclaimed stand up comedian and compere performing around the UK and internationally.  Agnew has won the Scottish comedian of the award and is shortlisted as best headliner at this years Scottish Comedy Awards having won best solo / festival show for “I Snapped my banjo string, lets just talk” at last years awards. Across the board critics agreed his sell out Edinburgh 2012 run at The Stand, Tales of the Sauna, was a hit. So much so he has been asked to perform his Tales of The Sauna show in London’s West End at the Soho Theatre. Agnew is considered one of the best story tellers in the business and is a former journalist with TV presenting credits (MTV, BBC Three, STV) and also radio appearances (BBC FiveLive, BBC Radio Scotland, Clyde 1, Galaxy FM) under his belt.

Ryan McDonnell is a London based Northern Irish comedian who recently was the MC at the Celtic Comedy Night for the Glasgow International Comedy Festival. Despite hailing from Northern Ireland, McDonnell’s stand-up career began in London where he amassed a number of newcomer accolades, most notably seeing off thousands of entrants to come second in the Amused Moose Laugh Off final in 2009, hosted by Jack Whitehall. In doing so Ryan joined the ranks of a prestigious alumni of former winners and finalists that include, Sarah Millican, Jimmy Carr, Greg Davies, Romesh Ranganathan, Katherine Ryan, Rhod Gilbert and Rob Beckett.

 

Since starting out in stand up comedy in September 2010, aside from gigging relentlessly, Robin Grainger has reached the semi-final of Scottish Comedian Of The Year in 2010 (on his 3rd ever gig) and again in 2011 and 2013. He was a semi-finalist in the Laughing Horse New Act Of The Year competition in 2012, one of the biggest new talent competitions in the UK, beating thousands of entrants to get to the semi-final in London. He has gigged all over Scotland, at clubs such as Breakneck Comedy and The Beehive Comedy Club and The Stand, arguably the best comedy club in the country and one of the best in the UK.

 

Our MC for the evening, Gus Lymburn burst onto the comedy scene in 2006 when he performed at The Stand’s Red Raw night. Since then he’s been charming and disturbing audiences in equal measure (don’t be fooled by the cheeky chappie demeanour, behind the puppy dog eyes lurks a sick mind). Never one to take a standard approach to his stand up, Gus’s act can – and has – incorporated a range of props from noodles to a burka, and on one occasion in a routine described by the Evening News as ‘the act of a desperate man’ – a can of squirty cream. He has even sustained a cracked rib when a mock stage fight with a fellow comic got out of hand. He has also won best compere at the Scottish Comedy Awards.

If you want a ticket get in touch by emailing comedynight@theants.co.uk via facebook or twitter or get in touch with any of the committee who will be able to sort you out.

Game set and Mooch as Ants get McKenna Park Revenge over Vale

The Ants avenged their opening day defeat to Vale of Leven with a 1-0 victory at McKenna Park. In a game that won’t live long in the memory of those who attended CHRIS MCLAUGHLIN headed the Ants in front after 6 minutes from a Milarvie cross. Chances were at a premium with the Ants going close a few times and Vale having a goal chopped off rightly for offside with 5 minutes to go.

Saint Anthony’s FC
1Tony Curran Goalkeeper
2Graeme Crawford Defender 55'
3James Ross Defender
4David Donnelly Defender
5Ross McDougall Defender
6Anton Conway Defender 87'
7Michael Milarvie 16 Defender
8Michael Archer 15 Midfielder
9Chris Gordon Forward
10Chris McLaughlin Midfielder 6'
68'
11Mark McManus 14 Midfielder
12Kieran Donaghy Midfielder
14Jason N’Sukama 11
15Jamie Boyle 8
16David Hill 7

Vale of Leven
1Andrew Campbell
2Matthew Devine
3Adam Monaghan
4Stuart Bryson
5Josh Grace
6Craig Cowan 36'
7Ryan Kerr 12
8Mark Butler 75', 78'
78'
9Allan MacPherson 65', 90'
90'
10David McNaught 15
11Lee McGeachy
12Ben Craig 7
14Andrew Clark
15Andrew Biddulph 10
16Stephen Griffen

Ants Scottish Junior Cup dreams over for another year

This years Ants Scottish Cup dream is dead in the water following a 3-1 loss to West Central District first division side Yoker Athletic at McKenna Park, RYAN HYNES opened the scoring for the visitors in the 20th minute before CHRIS GORDON equalised for the Ants 7 minutes later. Yoker re-took the lead when RICHARD HENRY slotted home a 38th minute penalty before STEVEN YOUNG finished the scoring with 20 minutes remaining.

Saint Anthony’s FC
1Gavin Wallace Goalkeeper
2Graeme Crawford Defender
3Mark McManus Midfielder
4David Donnelly Defender
5Ross McDougall Defender
6Anton Conway Defender
7Ralph Gamba 14 Defender
8Michael Archer
9Jonathan Stephen Forward
10Chris Gordon Forward 27'
11Michael Milarvie 16 Defender
12Adam Dougan Defender
14Brian Henderson 7 Forward 79'
15Jason N’Sukama
16Andy Scanlan 11 Defender

Yoker Athletic
25Liam Campbell
2Andrew Rankin
3Hashim Cole
4Kerr Allan
5Robert O’Neill
6Gary Bissland
7Gregor Cree 12
8Richard Henry 38'
9Steven Young 70'
10Ryan Hynes 14 20'
11Scott Smith 15
12Stewart Sharkey 7
14Jamie Carson 10
15Jaludi Karenzi 11
16Stephen Howie


 

#GIMMESHELTER – Get behind the Ants

The club have entered the Aviva Community Fund to gain funding for a covered stand at McKenna Park and we need you all to help us. The first part is a public vote so if you could take 2 minutes out of your day to register and vote for us it would be greatly appreciated. If you have ever visited McKenna Park you know that it’s wide open to the elements and if the weather aint great you usually end up soaked. We don’t have the funds ourselves to rectify this however the Aviva Community Fund allows us the chance to secure the funding required.

It’s easy to get behind us, simply click https://community-fund.aviva.co.uk/voting/project/view/17-4555 , register and then use your ten votes for us. If you could share and retweet it and encourage people to vote it would be greatly appreciated!

Voting opens at 9am on 24/10 and remains open until 12pm on 21st November.

Thank you all and #GIMMESHELTER!!