THE GARTCAIRN juggernaut came to a halt today after Benburb stole a 1-0 victory at MTC park.

A very vocal Benburb bench did all they could to upset a depleted Gartcairn side who were without 3 regular defenders.

A scrappy first half passed without much action although Craig Holmes was unlucky with a snap shot midway through the half. The Benburb bench did all they could to unsettle a young and sporadically consistent referee. When it looked like the first half would end in a draw, a mistake by cairns keeper Martin Meek was pounced on by Bens striker Boyle to make it 1-0.

The second half Benburb came out to spoil the game and employed questionable gamesmanship to run the clock down. A flash point came on 63 minutes when Cairns defender Stuart Easton mistimed a tackle and was subsequently punched by a Benburb player which was caught on camera and looks like it will be reviewed by the referee.

Both teams were reduced to 10 men as a result of the fracas.

The game fizzled out with Cairns failing to take advantage of some wonderfully crafted half chances.

Benburb have a game in hand over cairns now with cairns travelling to East Kilbride for their final game.

Promotion is still achievable but it’s now out of Gartcairns hands. On today’s display Benburb will drop points in the run in which will make for an interesting climax.