Thankfully, Recreation Park survived storm Eowyn relatively unscathed, therefore, it was game on as Harthill Royal travelled to Burntisland for the very first time. The big disappointment was that the teams served up a poor goalless match, with very little in the way of clear-cut chances, in front of a decent attendance, with 94 spectators inside the ground. With Ryan Couser still feeling his injury Kacper Okupnik returned in goals and he could be very happy with what was a solid performance. Mark James replaced the unavailable Blair Kerr in the only other change from last week’s win over Vale of Leithen.
The visitors started the brighter and held the upper hand early on though they never really troubled Okupnik in the Shipyard goals. Shippy passed up the best chance of the contest so far when a well worked short corner found the head of Iain Millar, however, big Millzy would be disappointed not to get his header on target. A Jordan Hunter cross was met by Mikey Gibb, but the Shipyard’s top goal scorer couldn’t direct his effort on target either. That was the last chance of a very drab first half with neither keeper having a difficult save to make.
Big Millzy was involved in the action at both ends.
Five minutes into the second half a deep Hunter cross found the inrushing Cammy Bell at the back post; however, the young midfielder’s volley flew wide. Harthill created a good opportunity that had Okupnik making a save though the referee blew for offside in any case. A Harthill corner fell to Oliver Jessimer but the big striker hooked his attempt over. Okupnik came to the edge of his area to clear potential danger following a long ball played through the middle of the Shipyard defence. Gibby had a chance when he burst clear and rounded keeper Thomson as he came out, however, a well-timed tackle denied him as he was about to pull the trigger. Both teams pushed looking for a winner in the closing stages and both Hunter and substitute Kierren Ritchie saw shots blocked while Harthill had the ball around the Shippy box but could not engineer a shooting opportunity.
Manager Lee Richardson cut a frustrated figure when he spoke after the match as he said “I am very disappointed today. All the good things we did in the attacking third last week were missing today. We just didn’t create nearly enough chances as our final pass or delivery into the box was not good enough. Defensively we were terrific with Kacper, Millzy and Jamesy all solid.”
With no match next week, our next competitive game is away to Dalkeith Thistle on Saturday 8th February 2025.
Burntisland Shipyard: K. Okupnik; D. Brockie; E. Jowitt; M. Robertson; I. Millar; D. McBay; C. Bell (K. Ritchie 85’); A. McAndrew (J. Galloway 60’); J. Hunter; M. James; M. Gibb. Unused Subs: K. Beard; C. McBay; K. Crielly.
Harthill Royal: D. Thomson; A. Cross (C. Morrison 65’); G. Bonnes; G. Moore; L. Kelly; J. McNie; E. Buchanan (K. Kalala); L. Paton; O. Jessimer (M. Casey 65’); F. Hall; D. Strickland (D. Campbell 80’). Unused Subs: P. Gilbowski; P. Lauk; L. Mulvanny.
It was perhaps somewhat poignant that on the day the Club paid its respects to Robert Matthew, the 6-2 Shippy win replicated the result of probably one of Rabbie’s finest hours in a Shipyard shirt, when his hat-trick helped beat St Cuthbert Wanderers by the same scoreline in the 2nd round of the Scottish Cup, some thirty years ago this month. Ex-manager and chairman Jim Thomson led the tribute, saying a few words before an impeccably observed minute’s silence was held.
There was a return for goalkeeper Ryan Couser following several weeks on the sidelines with a knee injury, otherwise, the Shippy were along the usual lines with a couple of changes from the team that started the last competitive match against Kennoway.
Shipyard got off to a whirlwind start as they hit the visitors with a three-goal salvo in the opening 13 minutes. Firstly, Tony McAndrew and Jordan Hunter linked well to set up Michael Gibb who fired his team into the lead. Hunter then netted his first Shippy goals with a double in the 11th and 13th minutes, showing great composure on both occasions to put Shippy in total command. Blair Kerr saw his shot cleared off the line in the 18th minute as it looked like Shipyard was going to score every time they went forward. Vale, to their credit, did not let their heads go down with the rest of the half being relatively even with both teams creating opportunities, however, there was no further scoring.
Jordan netted his first Shippy goals.
Dan McBay shot just wide in the 49th minute before the visitors pulled a goal back through Yassar Sambo in the 51st minute, despite what looked like a clear foul on Cammy Bell in the build-up. Indeed, Bell had to be replaced before the match resumed due to the injury he sustained. This setback seemed to reinvigorate Shippy as they hit Vale with another quick three-goal burst. Substitute Kris Murphy had the simple task of tapping the ball home from Hunter’s pass with 57 minutes on the clock. Shipyard’s fifth goal was a thing of beauty as a great flowing move ended with Murphy rising majestically to powerfully head home Gibb’s pinpoint cross. Gibby then got his double when he lashed the ball home from the corner of the six-yard box after 68 minutes. Vale got their second goal in the 81st minute through substitute Dean Burgess and they might have had a third but for Couser tipping over a shot from the edge of the area, deep into added time.
A delighted Lee Richardson said after the match “I am really pleased with that today. We looked a real threat going forward and thoroughly deserved our six goals. Equally satisfying is that three strikers each got a couple of goals and young Jordan also had a hand in two others, in what was a great all-round performance from him. Although we conceded a couple of goals, I thought we defended very well with Matty winning everything in the air and Ryan looked solid on his comeback.”
We are at home again next week as we welcome Harthill Royal to Recreation Park with the match kicking off at 2.30pm.
Burntisland Shipyard: R. Couser; D. Brockie (C. McBay 71’); E. Jowitt; M. Robertson; I. Millar (M. James 64’); D. McBay; C. Bell (K. Murphy 54’); T. McAndrew (K. Ritchie64’) J. Hunter; B. Kerr (K. Beard 64’); M. Gibb. Unused Subs: K. Okupnik & K. Crilly.
Vale of Leithen: R. Gordon; N. Masson; B. Morris (J. Brydon 64’); C. Scott; C. Mitchell; R. Nicholson; D. McKinlay; R. Bowers (D. Burgess 64’); N. Thomson (M. Silah 64’); Y. Sambo; C. Williamson (S. Fam 46’).
Shipyard suffered a sobering defeat at the hands of a rampant Kennoway Star Hearts at Recreation Park on Saturday going down by five goals to one. It could be argued that it might have been a heavier defeat had some decisions went the visitor’s way. A red card for Darrell Anthony only added to Shippy’s woes on a day they will quickly want to forget. Manager Lee Richardson’s preparations were disrupted when Elliott Jowitt pulled out due to illness and Kris Murphy became unavailable in the build up to kick off. Ben Anthony, Tony McAndrew and Cammy Bell missed out through suspension, while Ryan Couser, Liam Taylor, Kierren Ritchie, Mark James and Jordan Galloway were all sidelined. There was a long awaited Shipyard debut for Jordan Hunter.
Shipyard started well and were ahead within three minutes when Anthony delightfully turned in Michael Gibb’s cross. Kennoway maybe should have been level in the 7th minute when Declan Nugent intercepted a poor pass back but he shot weakly at Kacper Okupnik when he had other options. It came as no surprise when Kennoway drew level in the 13th minute as Dylan Walker lashed the ball high into the net from inside the box. Shippy might have regained the lead within a minute when a raking ball found Matty Robertson inside the area, however, his effort went wide of the target with no teammate able to get on the end of it either. There was no question that a couple of offside decisions against Kennoway were harsh and they could have been in the lead before they eventually did get ahead in the 31st minute. A corner was cleared but when the ball was returned to the back post Andrew Cameron was all alone and had plenty of time to head the ball beyond Okupnik. Shipyard had a big let off minutes later when Walker found some space in the box and looked certain to score, however, Okupnik saved his shot and he was grateful to pounce on the loose ball after it broke off Ethan Bauld. The visitors were awarded a penalty in the 42nd minute after what seemed like an innocuous challenge just inside the six yard box. Walker made no mistake from the spot to make it 3-1.
Shipyard enjoyed a good spell of pressure in the opening fifteen minutes of the second half with Gibb going close with a head flick at the near post and on the 60th minute Gibby chested the ball into the path of Blair Kerr, who was unlucky to see his shot hit the top of the bar and go over. Shipyard’s hopes of getting back into the match diminished in the 65th minute when Anthony was shown a red card for a very poor challenge on Walker and no one in the Shipyard camp had any complaints. The reaction of the Kennoway cameraman charging some fifteen yards onto the pitch accusing Richardson of asking his player to “nail” Walker was ridiculous and the Shippy manager’s reaction to this, led to him seeing red too. Unfortunately, neither the referee or his observer, who was close to the incident on the stand side, seen or heard what had happened. Remarkable!! Lewis Black added a fourth just a couple of minutes later and Walker completed his hattrick when he scored Kennoway’s fifth in the 90th minute.
Next Saturday (04/01/2025) we first foot Oakley United with the match at Blairwood Park kicking off at 2.00pm.
Burntisland Shipyard: K. Okupnik; D. Brockie; K. Crielly (K. Beard 72’); E. Bauld; I. Millar; D. Anthony; M. Robertson; D. McBay; J. Hunter (O. Farley 79’); B. Kerr; M. Gibb (C. McBay79’).
Kennoway Star Hearts: O. Martin; C. Barney; A. Cameron (R. McGill 68’); L. Young; L. Black; G. Allan (B. Mair 68’); D. Walker; S. Johnstone; D. Nugent (L. Bennett 78’); D. Meldrum; J. Lawrie. Unused Subs: D. Prattis & B. Duffield.
Huge credit had to be given to all the players who took part in this enthralling contest, as they overcame the horrendous conditions and served up a cracking cup tie that wasn’t settled until after the eighteenth penalty kick was taken. The gale force wind seemed to ease slightly as the game progressed, however, the squally showers still made the conditions extremely difficult for the players. The Shipyard starting eleven showed four changes from their heroic performance last week against Tweedmouth with Daniel Brockie, Ethan Bauld, Darrell Anthony and Kris Murphy coming in for Craig McBay, Cammy Bell, Blair Kerr and Tony McAndrew. There was a home debut in goals for Kacper Okupnik.
Shipyard had the elements behind them in the first half as they looked to pin Bathgate back in their own half and they almost broke the deadlock in the 9th minute through Mikey Gibb, however, he was denied by a good save from visitor’s keeper Craig Saunders. Thistle were getting forward, passing the ball well along the ground and they went close in the 19th minute when Shippy conceded a free kick at the edge of the box. Glenn Thomson’s set piece went just wide of the post with Okupnik scrambling across his goal. Shipyard got the goal they craved in the 20th minute when Murphy drove the ball high into the net from around twelve yards following good work from Gibby. Thomson was involved in most of Bathgate’s openings and he saw a shot go wide and looked on at a similar outcome from a headed attempt. Jordan Rodger drove over from distance after Okupnik had to leave his area and did his best to avert the danger after the ball had hung up in the wind. Shipyard missed a glorious chance to double their lead just before the interval when Gibb used his pace to break clear of the visitor’s defence but looked on in anguish as his attempt cleared the crossbar.
Gibb was causing the Bathgate defence all sorts of problems and when he broke into the six yard box, he might have won a penalty kick had he gone down when he was clipped rather than stumble on. Gibb did get a strike away but Saunders was able to block. There was a remarkably brave piece of defending from Thistle’s James Macadam when he got his face in the way of a ferocious Anthony drive from all of six yards, saving a certain goal, and after a couple of minutes treatment he was good to go again. Bathgate equalised in the 72nd minute with what appeared to be a wind assisted goal. A left footed free kick from Lennon Smith wide out on the right hand side found its way into the far top corner with no one able to get near it. In the 83rd minute a Gibb cross found Murphy at the back post; however, it looked more like his hand than his head that put the ball wide in any case. Shipyard spurned a fabulous chance to win the tie when Gibb and Murphy combined again but from a similar position to which he scored his goal the big striker could only find Saunders with his effort.
As the game moved into extra time Murphy saw his shot deflected wide and at the other end the Shipyard defence stood firm as they scrambled the ball away. In the 9th minute Thomson saw his hooked attempt go off target and a minute later Anthony saw his shot saved by Saunders. As the extra time drew to a conclusion the last chance saw Thomson again involved in the action as he saw his shot deflected. So, to penalties!!
The first five for each team were expertly converted with neither keeper getting near them, indeed that pattern continued until Okupnik got a good hand to the seventh, however, the ball had enough on it to trickle over the line. The drama was not done there though! Saunders saved Kieran Crielly’s kick, Shipyard’s eighth, however, the referee deemed that the keeper was off his line and ordered a retake, much to the disgust of the Bathgate technical area. Crielly smashed the retake into the net. Finlay McKay converted Thistle’s ninth kick and when Daniel Brockie stepped up for Shippy to keep the shootout going, his attempt was wide of the target meaning Bathgate had won 9-8 on penalties.
Manager Lee Richardson said after the game “I was very pleased with the boys again today. They showed the same application as last Saturday and I can’t fault any of them. It was a game that could have gone either way, though we might have won it towards the end of the ninety minutes. When it goes to penalties it’s a lottery as someone is inevitably going to miss one and I feel for Disco and also Kacper who was very unlucky not to keep one out.”
Next Saturday it’s back to league business as we welcome Kennoway Star Hearts to Burntisland. Kick-off is a 2.30pm.
Burntisland Shipyard: K. Okupnik; D. Brockie; K. Crielly; M. Robertson; E. Jowitt (I. Millar 105’); D. Anthony; E. Bauld; D. McBay; K. Murphy; J. Galloway (C. McBay 80’); M. Gibb. Unused Sub; K. Beard.
Bathgate Thistle: C. Saunders; K. Moonie; L. Peggie (R. McGill 22’); R. Stevenson; J. Macadam; J. Tapping (F. McKay 59’); J. Rodger (M. Campbell 59’); F. Cormack; A. McInnes; G. Thomson; L. Smith. Unused Subs: C. Thomson; S. Thomson; G. Dryden.
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.
