Late goal secures vital win.
An absolute screamer from Shaun Keatings in the 93rd minute sparked wild scenes of joy amongst the Shippy contingent as the goal secured a vital three points for the visitors. Having twice been behind and levelled on both occasions the Shippy hit the front for the first time with barely a minute of added time left to play, leaving the hosts no time to recover. Although there were five goals in the match there was only one save of note from either keeper, that was when Scott Costello tipped a shot over the bar in the 7th minute. In fairness Uni keeper Alex McMahon didn’t have much more to do other than pick the ball out of the net three times. After the match manager Dave Costello was naturally delighted and he said “Full credit to the players for battling to the end and getting a vital three points. Keatsy took both his goals superbly and what a ball from Dan Thomson to set up his first. I thought Rooney and Big Millzy were outstanding at the back, dealing with almost everything that was thrown at them.” He went on to add “We are going to have a lot of away games in the next few weeks so it was great to start that run with a good win at a very difficult venue.”
Thankfully there was no snow this time following the late postponement of the previously scheduled fixture; however, it was still bitterly cold on the west side of the capital. The Shippy were a goal behind before the crowd had settled into their seats as a ball through the inside left channel was gathered by Alex Chingwalu and he fired the ball low into the corner giving Costello no chance. The Shipyard were awarded a penalty when a shot from the edge of the box hit the arm of a Heriot Watt defender and big Jack Wilson made no mistake from the spot, sending McMahon the wrong way. Costello then tipped that previously mentioned effort over the bar and on the quarter hour mark the students hit the woodwork as they enjoyed a period of dominance. Neither team created anything of note in the remainder of the first half.
Wilson shot over at the start of the second half for the visitors and Alasdair Shrive drove wide for the hosts. Costello held a shot from Russell Cairns in the 62nd minute before the Shippy were dealt a double blow in the 68th minute. Mark James pulled up with a calf injury as he chased back to stop a cross and from the resultant delivery the students regained the lead when Justin Hogg shot home from inside the box. James was replaced by Luke Mahady with Wilson dropping back into defence. The Shippy had it all to do again and they went close when Millar headed a Sam Glancy cross wide. The equaliser came in the 77th minute when substitute D. Thomson fired a great ball across the box to Keatings who drove the ball home. With the game heading towards a draw as full time loomed, Keatings produced a sublime finish as he cut in from the left and struck a dipping shot over McMahon and into the back of the net. Keatsy was off and running as his teammates chased him all over the pitch as they tried to celebrate with him. Once things had calmed down, the match continued for around another minute before the ref blew for full-time.
Next week we travel down to the borders to face Peebles Rovers at Whitestone Park with the match kicking off at 2pm.
Heriot Watt University: A. McMahon; J. Hogg; E. Kerr; J. Thomson; J. Wishart; A. Shrive; I. Mackie; C. Smith; R. Cairns; G. MacDonald; A. Chingwalu. Subs: C. Stewart; S. Peggie; J. Kennedy; K. Richmond; L. Morton; A. McCreadie; K. Real de Asua de Azua.
Burntisland Shipyard: S. Costello; M. Millar (D. Thomson); M. James (L. Mahady); S. Orrock (S. Strang); I. Millar; C. Watt; S. Keatings; D. Anthony; B. Anthony; J. Wilson; S. Glancy. Unused Subs: F. Anderson; R. O’Donnell; J. Thomson.
Referee: R. Lee.