RHU Amateurs were made to pay a heavy price for missed chances at one end of the pitch and poor defending at the other as they were beaten 4-1 by Westerlands at Garscube on Saturday.

Rhu began the game looking to build on last week’s second half performance against Viewfield Rovers, and the visitors started brightly, with some good moves and link-up play through the middle.

And that positive early approach paid off when Rhu took a deserved lead after a corner from Kyle Sharkey was met superbly by Thomas Connolly, and his header bulleted past the Westerlands keeper.

The loss of the opening goal spurred the home team into action, and while Rhu still looked dangerous on the break, Westerlands equalised when their tricky number seven, O’Hare, evaded tackles by Ali Maule and Connolly before slotting an inch-perfect through ball past Rhu keeper William Brown.

The rest of the first half was end-to-end with both sides having good chances, but the interval came with neither team able to get their noses in front.

Westerlands, however, had clearly learned lessons from the visitors’ positive start to the first half, and in the second period it was the hosts who started better, taking the lead when a long through ball picked out striker Dempster to clip the ball over Brown and into the net.

Rhu pressed forward in search of an equaliser, but they were unable to create the decisive chance that could have got them back on level terms – and the game was effectively ended as a contest when a poor challenge by Scott Leishman inside the box gave the ref no option but to award a penalty, and Westerlands’ McCrossan made no mistake from the spot.

The home side were now well on top, and their pressure paid off when another through ball was at first blocked by Connolly, but the follow-up was blasted in by McFarlane to give Brown no chance.

Rhu finished the game better, helped by Westerlands being reduced to 10 men through injury, but the home side saw the game out comfortably in the end.

Team: Brown, Maule, Connolly, McVey, Milne, McElroy, Quinn, Leishman, A. Sharkey, K. Sharkey, Teague. Substitutes: Gorman, Caldwell, Scullion.