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.
The Shipyard slumped to a 2-0 home defeat against Easthouses Lily at Recreation Park on Saturday, with two second half goals sealing their fate. A second yellow card for Ethan Bauld on the hour mark only exacerbated the Shippy’s problems, especially as fellow centre back Iain Millar had limped off a few minutes earlier, just after the visitors had taken the lead. Liam Taylor replaced the suspended Ben Anthony and Elliot Jowitt was a late replacement for Daniel Brockie who pulled out in the build up. Unfortunately, young Taylor took a whack to his knee just short of the half hour mark and he had to leave the field in some considerable pain, curtailing his comeback.
Easthouses had a chance in the fourth minute; however, Ryan Couser was quick off his line to avert the danger. Shipyard had a great chance to take the lead in the 10th minute when Mikey Gibb broke clear, but he slightly overran the ball and Easthouses’ keeper Tom Angus was able to save. Shippy did have the ball in the net two minutes later following a flowing move which was well finished by Tony McAndrew, only for the referee to deem him offside. Taylor got caught by a poor challenge that had the youngster in obvious distress and the shouts of abuse he took from the visitor’s technical area were disgusting and uncalled for. Bauld responded to some of the shouts which he was cautioned for, something that would later come back to haunt him. Couser got down low to his left to save a shot from around twenty yards before Shippy almost broke the deadlock through Gibb. A Jordan Galloway free kick was headed back across goal by Millar and Gibby went close as his attempt went just wide. Cammy Bell was also unfortunate as his angled drive drifted wide.
Easthouses opened the scoring in the 56th minute through Logan Imrie when he drilled a low shot into the corner of the net after Shippy had failed to clear the ball from their box. Millzy was hurt in the lead up to the goal and was replaced by Blair Kerr before the match resumed. A couple of minutes later Bauld received his second yellow for a foul midway inside the Shipyard half and unfortunately had to walk. A Galloway snapshot was just wide as Shippy searched for an equaliser; however, it was the visitors who scored again, this time from the penalty spot after Couser was penalised for his challenge while grounded in his area. Neil Janczyk made no mistake from twelve yards. Shipyard had a chance to reduce the arrears late on as Gibb broke through but once again, he was unable to beat Angus from inside the area.
We are at home again next week as Vale of Leithen visit for another league match. Kick-off is at 2.30pm.
Burntisland Shipyard: R. Couser; M. Robertson; E. Jowitt; E. Bauld; I. Millar (B. Kerr 57’); M. James; C. Bell; D. McBay; L. Taylor (J. Galloway 30’); A. McAndrew (K. Crielly 70’); M. Gibb. Unused Subs: D. Brockie; K. Beard; C. McBay; K. Ritchie.
Easthouses Lily MW: T. Angus; J. Murray; R. McQueenie (D. Waugh 74’); A. Garland-McGlynn; R. Kearney; A. Elliot (M. Gilfillan 81’); L. Sives; N. Janczyk; C. Dyet (D. Leslie 81’); L. Imrie (J. Devlin 74’); S. Thomson (L. Marko 81’). Unused Subs: D. Simpson & R. Comerford.
Shippy progress in cup after dramatic match at Treaton Park.
The Shipyard made heavy weather of it before finally seeing off Kennoway Star Hearts 3-2 after extra time to book a place in the 2nd round of the King Cup where a home tie against Bathgate Thistle awaits.
This cup tie had everything! Two red cards, two penalties, five goals and more yellow cards than you could shake a stick at. How many of the cards and penalties were merited was open to debate, however, you could argue that the controversial decisions added to the spectacle of the match. Daniel Brockie, Matty Robertson, Mark James, Dan McBay and Ben Anthony all returned to the starting eleven with Blair Kerr and Craig McBay taking places on the bench. Liam Taylor and Darrell Anthony remained sidelined through injury.
The hosts had the first opening when Shipyard defence failed to deal with a through ball, however, Ryan Couser was sharp off his line to avert the danger. In the 16th minute Cammy Bell and Ben Anthony combined at a free kick but Kennoway keeper Ben Duffield was alert to the danger and saved the cross. Duffield blotted his copybook three minutes later as the referee had adjudged that he had fouled Mikey Gibb as the Shipyard forward burst into the box. Anthony stepped up and scored from the spot to give Shippy the lead. Kennoway were reduced to ten men in the 25th minute when the referee took exception to being encouraged to hurry the match up by Grant Allan. Shipyard capitalised on their extra man immediately as Duffield could only parry Bell’s shot and Tony McAndrew was on hand to knock the ball home from close range. Anthony fired a free kick into the side netting and saw a rising drive held by Duffield at the second attempt. In between those two efforts Sean Johnstone flashed a shot across the face of the Shipyard goals.
Elliot Jowitt replaced the injured Brockie early in the second half and in the 53rd minute Gibb shot wide of the target from a tight angle. KSH started to enjoy a spell of pressure as Couser held a Ronnie McGill headed effort. A free kick was deflected wide before Kennoway were awarded a penalty, with no one really knowing why. We later found out that Ethan Bauld was penalised for allegedly holding his opponent at a corner. Dylan Walker netted to bring his team right back into the match. Shipyard started to regain some control of the match again and some good build up ended with the ball being scrambled away for a fruitless corner. An Anthony cross was deflected into the path of Gibb; however, he failed to make good contact and Duffield saved easily. Shippy were shocked as the match moved into added time as Kennoway sensationally equalised when Walker capitalised on some poor defending to slot the ball beyond Couser. Kennoway were reduced to nine men when Dale Prattis was unable to continue after picking up an injury and by that stage KSH had used all their available substitutes.
Unsurprisingly, Shipyard dominated extra time with a two-man advantage and shooting down the hill. D. McBay had a shot saved and James headed over from a corner before D. McBay Headed in a Gibb cross to give his side the lead again. Gibb shot straight at the keeper before Shipyard went down to ten when substitute Blair Kerr picked up a second yellow card for winning the ball, too aggressively apparently. The last few minutes passed without any real action as Shipyard were able to retain possession and keep Kennoway at arm’s length.
Manager Lee Richardson was not too impressed after the match when he said “We should have won that at a canter by creating and taking more chances. There is nothing we can do when penalties like that are given, however, their equaliser should have been defended much better. We are into the next round and at the end of the day that’s all that matters.”
Next week we host Easthouses Lily in the league with the match kicking off at 2.30pm.
Kennoway Star Hearts: B. Duffield; C. Barney (A T. Sweeney 87’); A. Cameron; L. Young; D. Prattis; G. Allan; D. Walker; S. Johnstone; L. Bennett (D. Nugent 77’); C. Hutchison (L. Black 46’); R. McGill (L. Gartshore 77’).
Burntisland Shipyard: R. Couser; D. Brockie (E. Jowitt 51’); M. Robertson; E. Bauld; I. Millar; M. James (K. Beard); C. Bell (B. Kerr); D. McBay; B. Anthony; T. McAndrew (J. Galloway); M. Gibb. Unused Subs: K. Crielly; C. McBay; K. Ritchie.
A woeful first half performance ensured that Shipyard returned empty handed from their trip to the borders. A much-improved showing after the interval made that half competitive, however, the damage was already done in respect of the result, and it was always going to be a tall order to claw back a three-goal deficit. There was no cohesion about the Shippy play as they struggled to string two passes together and never threatened to trouble Matt Hall in the Coldstream goals as all the action was in the visitor’s half. Injury, suspension and unavailability restricted manager Lee Richardson’s options and he had to utilise some youngsters and put not fully fit players on the bench.
The Streamers started on the front foot and they maintained that momentum for most of the first half as Shipyard had no answer to their constant pressure. In the second minute a low shot flew just wide of Ryan Couser’s goal and in the 9th minute the big keeper held a deflected free kick from Iain Gay. Coldstream took the lead in the 15th minute and there was a touch of good fortune about it as James Paxton got the break of the ball inside the box and fired the ball past Couser from around fourteen yards. Thomas Grey missed a good chance when he beat Couser to the ball, however, from a tight angle he could only hit the side netting. Couser saved twice from Paxton and in between those saves Gay headed a corner wide. Just as it looked like Shipyard may reach the interval only a goal down, the roof caved in three minutes before the break. Grey was given far too much time and space wide on the right and he smashed a great angled shot across Couser and into the far corner. It got worse for the Shippy as again Coldstream found space on their right hand side and Miguel Freire’s cross was knocked home by Grey for his second.
Richardson made a double change at the break with Matty Robertson and Kai Breard replacing the injured pair of Elliot Jowitt and Kierren Ritchie. Shipyard enjoyed their first spell of pressure at the start of the second half as Mikey Gibb got on the end of a Kris Murphy head flick but Shipyard’s top scorer could not hit the target. Murphy then headed over a Cammy Bell cross as at last the visitors imposed themselves on the match. Big Kris then hit the outside of the post from a very tight angle. Coldstream scored their 4th goal in the 84th minute and once again there was no luck for Shippy. The Streamers player met a cutback from the byline, however, his attempt at goal was more of a clearance but the ball fell kindly for Matt Storm and he smashed the loose ball high into the net. Shipyard kept at it and scored a well worked consolation goal as Kieran Crielly linked well with Bell who set up Tony McAndrew who calmly netted his first goal of the season.
Richardson cut a disconsolate figure when he spoke after the match when he said “We played so well last week when we beat Dalkeith, however, I had to make three changes to the team when ideally, I would have started the same eleven. That has been the big problem for me all season, last season too for that matter, in that I can get no continuity in team selection.”
We take a break from league action next week as we travel to Kennoway Star Hearts for a King Cup 1st round tie. Kick off is at the earlier time of 1.30pm.
Coldstream: M. Hall; M. Freire; C. Briggs (L. Roberts 66’); D. Cummings; R. Graham; T. Grey (J. Storm 73’); J. Forster; J. Paxton (S. Kennedy 66’); I. Gay (K. Ross 60’); T. Hume; M. Fox.
Burntisland Shipyard: R. Couser; K. Crielly; E. Jowitt (M. Robertson 46’); E. Bauld; I. Millar (O. Farley 75’); A. McAndrew; C. Bell; J. Galloway (R. Sharp 75’); K. Murphy; K. Ritchie (K. Beard 46’); M. Gibb. Unused Subs: F. Russell; L. Taylor; D. Brockie.
I think first of all we have to thank the 109 hardy souls who braved the elements last night to come and watch the match. It was certainly eventful and most of the crowd would probably have gone home happy, if a little bit wet. It goes without saying that manager Lee Richardson was pleased after the game as he said, “I thought we played very well tonight and created a whole host of chances, indeed we could have been a couple of goals ahead within the first quarter of an hour, but we kept at it and got our rewards in the end.” He added “We defended well tonight as we never gave them too many chances and when they did get a sight of goal, Ryan was in fine form and deserved his clean sheet.”
Shipyard came flying out of the traps and might have been ahead in the 7th minute when Michael Gibb broke clear, however, Dalkeith keeper Jamie Newman saved with his legs. Gibby was constantly in the thick of the action as he saw his shot saved in the 10th minute and just a few minutes later should have done better when he shot wide from a very good position. Jordan Galloway then shot wide as Shipyard dominated the first quarter. Ryan Couser was called into action in the 23rd minute as he saved well then minutes later produced another fine stop as he dived low to his left to save. Darren McTernan dragged his shot just wide of the post and that was about as good as it got for the visitors with only a loud shout for handball causing any consternation for the Shippy. The hosts were awarded a penalty in the 44th minute when Galloway was brought down in the box by Christopher Jack. Ben Anthony stepped up and fired the ball into the corner of the net.
Shipyard got off to a wonderful start in the second half, however, it was a disaster for Thistle’s Greig Callaghan when he tried to clear an in swinging corner but his attempted clearance hit himself in the chest and bounced over the line despite the best efforts of Newman to keep it out. Shippy had their tails up now and it came as no surprise when they netted again in the 59th minute. The ball was moved quickly out to Anthony and his pinpoint cross gave Gibb the easiest of chances to score from six yards out. A poor clearance fell to Dan McBay and his audacious lob from 20 yards hit the top of the crossbar and went over. McBay had another effort in the 81st minute before Shippy scored their fourth a minute later and it was a first Shipyard goal for Cammy Bell as his controlled left foot shot found the net. The match ended on a sour note as Anthony and Dakeith’s Elliot Grieve clashed near the corner flag. Both players were shown a red card following the altercation with both sets of players getting unnecessary involved.
Next Saturday we make the long trip to Coldstream with the Club running a bus to the match. Contact the Club for details via our social media channels for booking a seat etc. Kick-off is at 2.30pm.
Burntisland Shipyard: R. Couser; K. Crielly; E. Jowitt; E. Bauld; M. James; A. McAndrew (S. Strang 78’); C. Bell; D. McBay; B. Anthony; J. Galloway (K. Ritchie 66’); M. Gibb (J. Hopton 78’). Unused Subs: C. McBay; F. Russell; K. Beard; O. Farley.
Dalkeith Thistle: J. Newman; R. Aitchison (A. Faulds 78’); E. Grieve; G. Callaghan; M. Lennie; J. Mackie; K. Brockie (M. Gould 66’); L. Russell; D. McTernan; C. Jack (D. Greig 46’); J. Clark (C. Cameron 78’). Unused Subs: M. Brown; P. Kelly; C. Malcolm.
Thirty minutes into the match and all your roving reporter had noted was that three times he had to retrieve the match ball from the trees. It was that type of game, it was dour, it lacked quality, the strong wind blowing down the park didn’t help matters and ultimately not many chances were created. It always looked like a mistake could settle the match and that’s how it turned out as the Shipyard defence missed a long high ball and Jordan Devine gathered it, bore down on goals and showed composure as he fired the ball through Ryan Couser’s legs to net the only goal of the match with 89 minutes on the clock. Ethan Bauld and Kris Murphy returned to the starting eleven replacing Mark James and Kierren Ritchie. Ben Anthony returned from holiday and Matty Robertson who had served his suspension took their places on the bench, though unfortunately, Robertson only lasted ten minutes before he had to limp off injured.
Both teams huffed and puffed as they struggled to deal with the conditions and it was not until the 33rd minute that a clear cut chance materialised. It came the way of the Shippy as Mikey Gibb controlled a long ball and burst into the area; however, the ball wouldn’t sit for him and although he got his shot away Bathgate keeper Cody Thomson was able to push the ball away and the danger was cleared. That was it for the first forty five minutes.
The second half saw a bit more action with Gibb shooting high and wide in the 52nd minute and Couser produced a fine reaction save as he blocked a close range header three minutes later. In the 77th minute Bathgate were harshly reduced to ten men with Ryan Stevenson seeing red for pulling back Gibby as he broke forward. It looked like at least one Thistle defender could have covered the run but the referee thought otherwise. The match still meandered along until that 89th minute breakthrough. Deep into added time Shipyard threw everyone up for a corner including keeper Couser and had Thomson been switched on when he caught the ball he may well have scored as when he eventually launched the ball up the park it took a brilliant goal line clearance from Daniel Brockie to keep the ball out.
After the match manager Lee Richardson could not hide his disappointment when he said “I can’t believe we lost that today. I didn’t think they troubled us much at all and ultimately one mistake has cost us dearly. We didn’t carry a lot of threat either to be fair, however, I thought we should have won it. Gibby has a couple of decent chances, particularly the one in the first half but I can’t rely on him every week. I need others to be chipping in with goals too.”
There is Friday night action this week as we welcome Dalkeith Thistle to Recreation Park. Kick-off for this one is at 7.45pm.
Burntisland Shipyard: R. Couser; D. Brockie; E. Jowitt; E. Bauld; I. Millar (M. Robertson 65’) (K. Crielly 74’); A. McAndrew (B. Anthony 65’); C. Bell (S. Forster 93’); D. McBay; K. Murphy; J. Galloway; M. Gibb. Unused Subs: E. McQuade; K. Beard; K. Ritchie.
Bathgate Thistle: C. Thomson; R. Stevenson; N. Williamson; S. McMillan; J. Macadam; L. Peddie (J. Rodger 65’); M. Campbell; F. Cormack; R. Wilson (F. McKay 65’) (J. Brown 90’); G. Thomson (K. Mooney 83’); Z. Mooney (J. Devine 65’). Unused Subs: M. Morton & R. McGill.
