Shipyard progress in Fence ‘N’ deck Cup
The Shipyard earned a hard fought but deserved victory over an improving Inverkeithing side in the 1st round of the Fence ‘N’ Deck Cup at a rain lashed Recreation Park. The Shipyard team showed two changes from the team that beat kettle on Thursday with Owen McCue returning in place of the unavailable Stephen Hamilton and Steven McAndrew replacing the injured Gordon Grieve.
The Shipyard were first to create a chance that was cleared for a corner and from the resultant kick Cook appeared to be pushed as he went to head the ball, however, the referee waved play on. Small had a great chance in the 12th minute when after a mix up in the Inverkeithing defence he had a clear sight of goal, unfortunately his shot was off target. M. Hamilton saw his fierce free-kick from 20 yards go narrowly wide in the 22nd minute. Inverkeithing came into the game and after forcing a couple of corners missed a great chance in the 25th minute when the Shipyard defence missed a through ball, Duddy latched onto it but, despite having only Chalmers to beat he dragged his shot wide. The Shipyard were back on the attack and Johnston hit the inside of the far post with an angled shot after the ball broke to him some ten yards out. In the 29th minute Small weaved his way down the right-hand side, cut the ball back to Leishman who saw his shot well saved by Wilson in the Swifts goal. The Shipyard finally broke the deadlock in the 36th minute when the ball was worked to Owen McCue 20 yards out and Wilson never moved as his shot crashed into the net.
The second half was becoming a bit of a feisty affair and the Shipyard complained of a stray elbow hitting Johnston. There was not many chances being created at either end, though Stewart’s long throws were causing the Shipyard defence some problems. In the 64th minute Small broke down the right and after his cross was dummied, Leishman shot wide. A minute later M. Hamilton had his effort blocked as the Shipyard searched for a second goal. That goal almost came in the 77th minute but Johnston’s shot from the corner of the 6 yard box was blocked by the keeper, the rebound was also blocked by a combination of the defender and the left-hand post. The Shipyard had a let off 2 minutes later when they somehow managed to scramble the ball away after it looked certain that Inverkeithing would equalise. That equaliser did come in the 83rd minute with a fantastic strike from Grieg Brechin who drove the ball into the corner of the net from 25 yards. The Shipyard responded well and a cross from sub Dow caused a bit of panic in the Swifts defence before the ball was swept clear. In the 87th minute the Shipyard regained the lead when Neil Johnston superbly headed home Whyte’s well delivered free-kick. In added time the Shipyard should have scored a third when Leishman burst into the box but elected to pass to the offside Paul instead of taking it on himself. After the match manager Billy Whitehead said “I’m pleased to be in the next round but I don’t think Inverkeithing should have run us so close. The game should have been wrapped up earlier with the chances we created. At 1 – 0 all it takes is a mistake or a great strike like we seen today. However, we responded well and scored a fine goal to win it”.
Teams: Burntisland Shipyard: Chalmers; McAndrew; Whyte; T. Williams; Cook; Small; M. Hamilton; Leishman; McCue (Paul); Johnston; J. Williams (Dow). Unused Subs: Hutt; Grieve; Houston.
Inverkeithing Hillfield Swifts: Wilson; Miller; J.Stewart; Morris; Tarvit; A. Stewart; Helliker; Slimmings; Duddy; Dundas; Brechin. Subs: Fraser; Baragwnath; Birnie; Briggs.