Five star Shipyard hit the goal trail.
The Shipyard ran out comfortable 5-0 winners against Kelso United with the only surprise being that the margin of victory was not much greater. A combination of good goalkeeping and poor finishing kept the scoreline down as the Shippy more or less dominated the match from start to finish. Goals from Adam Doig, Brendan Napier and Kevin Masson had the home team three nil up at the interval and a brace from substitute Blair Smart in the second half completed the scoring. Pete Bell, Craig Lowe, Andy MacDonald and Ewan Henderson were all missing from last week’s team which meant starting places for Dale Robertson, Ethan Anderson and goal scorers Napier and Masson.
It took the Shipyard a little while to find their feet and although they had more of the ball in the early stages did not create many chances. That changed in the 19th minute when Doig converted a JP McPhail cross. Five minutes later it was 2-0 as Napier took a Robertson pass inside the box and stroked the ball home. Masson hit the third in the 39th minute when he stabbed the ball home from close range after another attempt was blocked. Kelso saw an effort hit the bar a couple of minutes before have time in a rare foray into the Shipyard box.
Blair Smart helped himself to a double.
Smart replaced Darrell Anthony early in the second half and looked like he had a point to prove having been missing for the last couple of matches. Smart got to grips immediately in the midfield as the Shippy created chance after chance as they looked like over running the visitors. Napier drove over after good build up play and Masson did likewise after being set up by Robertson. Doig then intercepted a pass back only to sclaff his shot into the side netting when a square pass may have been the better option. Kelso keeper William Stewart saved from Napier before the same man fired wide from a good position. Stewart then produced a fine save from a fierce Robertson shot with Doig hitting the loose ball over. Shippy keeper Jordan Mushet then produced a decent save after having watched the action for most of the game. Back at the other end Stewart again denied Robertson with a good stop. However, Stewart was helpless in the 72nd minute as Doig crossed for Smart to head home at the back post. Smart then drove forward and saw his powerfully hit shot just clear the bar. Smart was involved in everything as the match wore on and his free-kick from the edge of the box was not too far away. Fittingly it was that man Smart who rounded off the scoring with the goal of the game when he went on a solo run, rounded the keeper and finished from a tight angle to round off a man of the match display. Doig had another chance in the dying seconds but produced a poor finish when presented with a glorious opportunity to grab his second goal.
A delighted Alex Lowe said after the match “I am very pleased with the result and clean sheet against Kelso. Last season we struggled against the same opposition and today we went for a positive formation and created lots of chances. A combination of poor finishing and good goalkeeping kept the score down a bit. Kelso put us under a bit of pressure in the second half and it was good to finish the game without losing a goal. We had some good passages of play and our midfield all worked hard and played well”. Looking ahead to next week Alex added” We have a very difficult game against Lowland league Spartans next week and we will need to carry a positive attitude into the game. It is very much a game we can all look forward to and enjoy though”.
Burntisland Shipyard: J. Mushet; G. Haywood; T. Arthur; E. Anderson; M. James (R. Kelly); D. Robertson; JP McPhail; D. Anthony (B. Smart); B. Napier; A. Doig; K. Masson (G. Osborne).
Unused Subs: R. Couser & B. Saunders.
Kelso United: W. Stewart; S. Bonnington; J. Logan; D. Bowie; A. Oldham; B. Herdman; R. Beveridge; R. Cunningham; E. Sillah; J. Hopkinson; E. Hutchison. Subs: I. Gay; D. Gillie; L. Hill; K. Blaikie; G. Veitch.
Referee: C. Newman.