Shippy well beaten by slick Tynecastle.
Although the Shipyard were on the end of a heavy defeat it did not quite tell the whole story of the match. Yes, Tynecastle deserved their victory but the Shippy created several good chances with three cleared off the line, one off the bar and a couple of decent penalty shouts waved away. At the other end Ryan Couser, making his debut, pulled of some fine saves to keep the visitors at bay. In this final Qualifying League match Alex again shuffled his squad with everyone now having had some game time. Jordan Mushet, Craig Lowe, Pete Bell dropped out to be replaced by Couser, Ryan Kelly and Andy MacDonald.
Tynecastle took the lead in the 4th minute when Couser could only parry the ball away and it fell to Stewart O’Neill who knocked the ball home. The Shipyard could have been level in the 9th minute when Kevin Masson burst clear and rounded the keeper and although contact was made Masson stayed on his feet only to be denied by an excellent goal line clearance from Ryan Hall. MacDonald then saw a powerful shot deflected for a corner as the home side pressed for an equaliser. Tynecastle were awarded a penalty in the 17th minute when Todd Arthur was adjudged to have fouled his opponent in the box. Although Arthur clearly won the ball the referee deemed he when through the man to get the ball which was a harsh decision. Robbie McIntyre made no mistake from the spot. The Shipyard were rattled now and two more goals quickly followed with McIntyre netting the first and Scott Coleman the second though he appeared to be in an offside position. Adam Doig pulled a goal back for the Shippy in the 37th minute when he took advantage of poor play at the back and swept the ball home from the edge of the box.
Five minutes into the second half Ewan Henderson got on the end of a cross but he was only able to flick the ball into the keeper Sean Diamond’s hands. Any slim hopes the Shipyard had of saving the match disappeared a minute later when a deflected shot from Chris Milligan found the net. Danny Munro cleared a Doig shot of the line as the Shippy kept at it and Darrell Anthony also saw his attempt cleared by the Tynecastle defence. At the other end Couser was being kept busy as he pulled of three fine saves as he continued to impress. The Shipyard then had a couple of penalty shouts denied as firstly Henderson was impeded in the air as he went to head the ball and then an Anthony free-kick appeared to be handled in the wall. Kelly headed into the side netting after getting on the end of a deep cross from the right hand side before Coleman lobbed over for the visitors at the other end. Couser produced an excellent save in the 81st minute as the Tynecastle player looked certain to score but he was beaten again in the 86th minute when Coleman prodded home a loose ball. With a couple of minutes left Doig went close again, this time hitting the bar but it was the visitors who had the last word when sub Stewart Adams knocked the ball home from close range after it had come back off the post.
Manager Alex Lowe was far from happy after the match when he said “We were well beaten by a very talented Tynecastle side. Our defending from back to front was very poor at times and Tynecastle did not have to work very hard to score their goals. The only positives from the game were that Ryan Couser in goals pulled off some tremendous saves and kept an already embarrassing scoreline down and we created many chances ourselves. However, their defence was alert to the danger and had at least three last ditch blocks to avoid conceding. At one down if Kevin Masson had went down after being challenged by their goalkeeper rather than staying on his feet and trying to score then we may have had a different game”.
Looking ahead to next week’s Scottish Cup match Alex pointed out” We will need a vastly improved performance next week against a free scoring St Cuthbert side and indeed for the rest of the season if we are going to compete in this league. However, I will have everyone available for selection next week and I have signed Mark James after his showing as a trialist in the last two matches and I may sign another in the week”.
Burntisland Shipyard: R. Couser; B. Saunders (E. Anderson); T. Arthur (M. James); G. Haywood; A. MacDonald; R. Kelly; JP McPhail; D. Anthony; E. Henderson; K. Masson (C. Williamson); A. Doig;
Unused Sub: B. Napier
Tynecastle: S. Diamond; D. Munro; G. Jardine; R. Hall; M. Catlin; D. Robertson; C. Milligan; R. Malcolm; S. Coleman; S. O’Neill; R. McIntyre.
Subs: C. Joyce; R. Ferguson; S. Adams; L. Ritchie; H. Crane.
Referee: A. Grieve.