Shipyard slump to heavy defeat.
The Shipyard turned in another very poor performance as they bowed out of the South of Scotland Challenge Cup as Leith won as easily as the scoreline suggests. Poor defending, misplaced passes and a general lack of urgency were the main reasons for the defeat, with a bit of bad luck thrown in. Jordan Mushet, Gavin Bridges and Adam Doig dropped out from last week and were replaced by Ryan Connor, Stuart Blake and Dale Robertson.
Leith were very much on top in the early stages forcing a couple of corners that came to nothing. Connor in the Shipyard goal then dived low to hold a fierce cross from the left-hand side. Connor was again called into action in the 18th minute as he held a shot from Lewis Martin. Blair Smart then produced a fine block as Leith threatened again. Connor then saved well at his near post as Kenneth Hall fired in a low shot. Connor was finally beaten in the 23rd minute as another piece of misfortune hit the Shipyard. Kyle Hogg tried his luck from distance and the ball deflected of a Shipyard leg and looped over Connor and into the net. Four minutes later it was 2-0 when the ball broke to Lewis Cairns at the edge of the box and he made no mistake as his well placed strike found the corner of the net. Connor fumbled a well hit free-kick in the 31st minute and the Shipyard defence were relieved to see the follow up shot go wide though Leith were expecting a corner. Youngster JP McPhail had to be carried off in the 33rd minute when he fell awkwardly and jarred his knee and he was replaced by Grant Blyth. The only scare that Leith had was in the 40th minute when keeper Jamie Newman hit his clearance against Brendan Napier; however, the ball rebounded well off target. The Shipyard then had a miraculous escape a minute later when Connor pulled off a fantastic save to deny Euan Campbell, the ball looped up and Christopher Barrie saw his header come back off the bar. As the Shipyard tried to scramble the ball away Connor pulled off another great save as the loose ball was fired towards goal. In added time Hogg should have done better that shoot wildly over from a good position.
Stuart Blake did well to deflect a Hall drive into the side netting but from the corner Leith increased their lead. It must have been Hogg’s lucky day as he seemed to know nothing about the ball hitting him as it ended up in the net for his second and Leith’s third goal. Leith got their fourth goal in the 63rd minute and again they did not have to work hard for it. A simple long throw to the near post found the head of Barrie and unchallenged he was able to glance the ball beyond Connor. For the final 27 minutes Leith looked happy with what they had and seemed to take the foot off the gas though they still threatened on several occasions. For the Shipyard, very little was created and Newman must have had his easiest game in a long time. After putting up such a good show last week this was a very disappointing result and performance and Myles said after the match “We just made it far too easy for Leith this afternoon. I’ve been happy to praise the guys when they have deserved it over the last couple of games but today we just didn’t work hard enough and the players have to take it on the chin when some harsh words are directed at them. If you want to cause an upset against a team from a higher league then you have to put them under pressure when they are in possession and also use your own possession well. We did neither today and we sat off them and showed them far too much respect. Last week, although we lost, I couldn’t have asked much more from the players but I mentioned that we still have a young and inexperienced squad so there would be inconsistent performances. I was hoping that I wouldn’t be proved correct quite so quickly”.
Teams: Burntisland Shipyard: R. Connor; A. MacDonald; L. Henderson; B. Smart; A. Clark; S. Blake (K. Masson); JP. McPhail (G. Blyth); C. Lowe; R. Sartarello (K. Buckley); B. Napier; D. Robertson.
Unused Subs: M. Morrison & A. Doig.
Leith Athletic: J. Newman; K. Hogg; K. Hall; D. Simpson; G. Tainsh; S. Lynch; C. Barrie (L. Tracey); J. Lauder (J. Combe); L. Martin; E. Campbell (R. Mason); L. Cairns. Unused Subs: I. Gordon & M. Leslie.
Referee: B. Cooper.