Resilient Shipyard gain well earned point.
A never-say-die performance from nine-man Shipyard ensured they travelled back up the road with at least the point they deserved from their controversial encounter with Tweedmouth Rangers at Shielfield Stadium on Saturday. Cammy Bell and Tony McAndrew were both ordered off for remarks the referee took umbrage to, Bell was shown a straight red and McAndrew received a second yellow while entering the dugout with the referee not permitting his replacement by Sandy Strang to take place. Meanwhile, Shippy keeper Kacper Okupnik sustained a three-inch gash just above his knee following a dangerous challenge at the edge of the box. Nothing to see here though!! The game swung back and forth with the lead changing hands three times before Elliot Jowitt’s 93rd minute leveller sent the Shipyard contingent wild with delight, probably with a sense of some justice in the celebrations. A happy Lee Richardson said after the match “There is no individual man of the match today. Every one of those boys who took the field today deserves enormous credit for their performances, every facet of their play that you would look for in the face of adversity shone through. Grit, character, determination, passion, togetherness and no lack of skill earned them some reward.” He went on to add “There were some decisions that were made today that I found strange to say the least, however, I won’t be drawn on the referee’s performance.” There was a Shipyard debut for the aforementioned Okupnik and the young keeper can be very pleased with his contribution with some fine saves and excellent distribution.
Okupnik made a good stop in the 7th minute diving low to his left to turn the ball away for a corner. The hosts went close when the set piece was delivered, however, no one could get on the end of the low ball across the face and the danger was averted. Bell drove forward and engineered some space for himself but his shot was straight at Rangers keeper Aaron Jones. Michael Gibb also ran at the Tweedmouth defence but his shot lacked the direction to trouble Jones. The hosts took the lead in the 21st minute with a great strike from Cameron Howden who found the top of the net with a well struck shot. Bell received his red card in the 29th minute, however, that didn’t see Shipyard heads go down and Jordan Galloway brought out a great save from Jones who pushed the effort around the post at the expense of a corner. Shippy drew level in the 39th minute when a pinpoint Kieran Crielly cross was headed home by Gibb giving the keeper no chance. Crielly then timed his tackle to perfection as he slid in to deny the Rangers forward. There were a couple of minutes added on at the end of the half following the challenge on Okupnik.
In the 52nd minute your roving reporter was noting the substitution of Strang replacing McAndrew when the referee left the pitch, entered the technical area and showed the Shipyard youngster a second yellow card and did not allow the substitution to take place. Bizarre!!! Even being two men down didn’t break Shippy resolve and in the 64th minute they took the lead. A sublime free-kick delivery from Galloway found the head of Dan McBay and he showed great composure as he nodded the ball home. Naturally, Rangers were now enjoying a lot of the ball and were camped in the Shipyard half, however, a resolute Shippy defence was standing firm at this stage with Okupnik getting down low to make a save and also clutching a couple of shots that were straight at him. The defence was finally breeched in the 79th minute with a sensational overhead kick from Craig Bell that nestled in the corner of the net. Four minutes later Shipyard spurned an outstanding chance to regain the lead when Gibby got on the end of Daniel Brockie’s long ball but sadly for Shippy he couldn’t keep his attempt down. Matty Robertson made a great block at the expense of a corner and it was from there that Tweedmouth took the lead. The near post delivery was headed into the net by Christian Temple for what many though was the winner. It was a disappointing goal to concede, that being said, the lack of numbers was a factor. A Shipyard free kick played into the area caused panic amongst the defence and a Strang attempt bounced off the outside of the post. Shipyard were not to be denied though and a Kai Beard corner was headed back across goal by Gibb and Jowitt was on hand to knock the ball home from close range sparking wild celebrations within the Shipyard camp. Jowitt was cautioned for taking his shirt off in the celebrations but frankly, who cared. Certainly, nobody in Shipyard colours. There were ninety three minutes on the clock.
Next week we return to Burntisland for King Cup action as Bathgate Thistle visit for a second round tie. Kick-off is at 2.30pm.
Tweedmouth Rangers: A. Jones; R. Dixon; E. Smith; C. Heath; R. Lightfoot; C. Temple; C. Bell; R. Bloomfield; C. Howden; TJ (S. Straughan) 62’; J. Cummings. Unused Subs: T. Gruter; E. Duff; G. Sabatini.
Burntisland Shipyard: K. Okupnik; C. McBay (D. Brockie 56’); K. Crielly; M. Robertson; E. Jowitt; J. Galloway (K. Beard 77’); C. Bell; D. McBay; B. Kerr (S. Strang 56’); M. Gibb; A. McAndrew.
Referee: B. Blackley.