A day to forget for off colour Shipyard.
The 2-1 scoreline was not a true reflection of the match as unfortunately, for those of a Shipyard persuasion at least, it could have been a lot worse. It was only Iain Millar’s late goal that offered some form of consolation for Shippy. Manager lee Richardson summed it up perfectly after the match when he simply said, “That’s the worst we have played all season.” It is hard to disagree with his sentiments as individual errors proved to be costly as his team struggled to put two passes together, win a challenge or trouble Jamie Newman in the Thistle goals. It was only when big Millzy was pushed up front in the closing stages that the home defence came under any real pressure, however, it was too little too late for Shipyard to get anything out of the game.
The only change to the starting eleven from the last match against Harthill saw Darrell Anthony return from suspension as he took the place of the unavailable Mark James. The playing surface was in extremely poor condition prior to kick-off and as the match progressed, unsurprisingly, it became very difficult to play on. Incredibly, Shippy might have been ahead with barely twenty seconds on the clock when Mikey Gibb won possession on the left-hand side, cut inside, and fired a shot just over the bar. From the restart Dalkeith took the lead when Cameron Leslie controlled a long ball on his chest, held off his marker, turned and shot. His effort really should have been dealt with, but Kacper Okupnik was caught unawares, and the ball rolled into the back of the net. Okupnik pulled off a good save in the 22nd minute when he leapt high to push away a close-range header. Dan McBay saw his shot held by Newman, though most of the action was at the other end as Millzy dealt with another dangerous attack. His central defensive partner Matty Robertson was also called upon as he bravely blocked an attempt at the back post.
Jordan Galloway replaced Cammy Bell and Ethan Bauld replaced the injured Daniel Brockie at the interval. In the 47th minute Dylan Greig shot straight at Okupnik before the big keeper had a moment he will want to forget. He produced a fine stop to deny Dalkeith from close range, however, as he got up, he fumbled the ball and it crossed the line, much to the astonishment of everyone inside the ground. It really was an unfortunate moment for the young keeper. Jordan Hunter curled a shot over in the 66th minute and at the other end Greig headed wide from a good position. Greig was involved again in the closing stages, however, this time he shot over. Millar saw a chipped attempt go just over the bar in the 93rd minute, but the big man was not to be denied as he fired the ball home from six yards a minute later. Alas, there was no time for Shippy to search for an unlikely equaliser, as the referee blew for full-time moments later.
Next Saturday (15/02/2025) we return to Recreation Park with Edinburgh College the visitors for another league match. Kick-off is at 2.30pm. This will be the first of three games in a row at the Shippy.
Dalkeith Thistle: J. Newman; R. Aitchison; R. Clelland; M. Lennie; J. Mackie; L. Russell (S. Moffat 76’); D. Greig; C. Leslie (J. Clark 59’); C. Cameron (M. Gould 76’); A. McNeill; E. Grieve. Unused Subs: K. Brockie; A. Faulds; R. Forsyth; C. Malcolm.
Burntisland Shipyard: K. Okupnik; D. Brockie (E. Bauld 46’); E. Jowitt; M. Robertson (C. McBay 60’); I. Millar; D. McBay (K. Beard 69’); C. Bell (J. Galloway 46’); T. McAndrew (B. Kerr 69’); J. Hunter; D. Anthony; M. Gibb. Unused Subs: K. Ritchie & K. Crielly.
Referee: S. Gilchrist.