Crawford double keeps good run going.
The Shipyard extended their unbeaten league run to five games with a 2-1 victory over Kinnoull in Perth on Saturday thanks to a double from Robbie Crawford. The win was more convincing than the scoreline suggests as the Shippy were the better team throughout and had what looked like a perfectly good goal disallowed for offside. The concession of a needless penalty to give Kinnoull a lifeline with eight minutes remaining was a mere consolation for the hosts who finished the match with nine men as they lost their discipline along with their 100% home league record. Michael Gibb and Benn Hutchison were unavailable for the match and their places were taken by Ryan Connor and Sam Glancy.
After an uneventful first ten minutes the game burst into life with Kinnoull keeper Lukasz Osinski parrying Jonny Galloway’s free-kick to the side. Crawford gathered the loose ball and saw his shot blocked at the expense of a corner. Jonny saw another free-kick clear the bar as the Shipyard enjoyed the better of the exchanges. The hosts came into the match midway through the half and Dean Hunter cleared a dangerous cross over his own crossbar. Gordon Norrie dragged a shot across the face of Connor’s goal, however, the play quickly switched to the other end as Osinski held a Crawford strike. Dale Smart tried a speculative effort from around 40 yards that didn’t trouble Connor just before the Shippy took the lead with 33 minutes on the clock. Crawford showed good control at the edge of the box before cutting inside and drilling the ball low into the bottom corner from 16 yards. The game was then held up for a couple of minutes as a dog invaded the pitch with its owner fighting a losing battle in trying to capture it.
The hosts were reduced to 10 men in the 55th minute when Patrick Brown lashed out at Dean Hunter leaving the referee no option but to show him a red card. Kinnoull’s claim for a penalty on the sixty-minute mark was turned down and seconds later they were even more disappointed as they fell two behind. The Shipyard broke quickly through Crawford and the youngster easily beat his man before planting the ball behind Osinski. The Shippy had a scare when a Norrie shot from distance beat Connor but to the veteran keeper’s relief the ball bounced down off the bar and was booted clear. The visitors thought the game was done and dusted after Glancy and Crawford combined well with the latter setting up Reece Brown for a tap in but the celebrations were cut short as the referee adjudged Brown to be offside. It looked harsh but thankfully it didn’t affect the result. As the game moved into the final ten minutes Kinnoull forward Smart picked up two yellow cards in as many minutes, both for poor challenges, and left his team with nine men. Kinnoull threw caution to the wind and were rewarded when Connor brought down the Kinnoull player somewhat needlessly and Norrie made no mistake from the spot to make the last seven minutes more uncomfortable for the Shipyard than they should have been. Those nerves should have been settled a minute later when Crawford, who had tormented the Kinnoull defence all afternoon, unselfishly set up Glancy inside the box but the midfielder blasted over with only Osinski to beat. Kinnoull were launching the ball forward, however it was food and drink to the Shipyard back four who again impressed and were unlucky not to keep another clean sheet. Deep in added time Brown set up substitute Grant Skinner but he failed to convert at the front post though it looked like a corner from the sidelines.
Manager Stuart Innes said after the match “Another good performance on the road and an important three points as we look to climb the table. We face another tough away match at league leaders Leith next week, however, we know what to expect and will prepare accordingly.”
The match against Leith next Saturday will be played at Peffermill 3G with the kick-off being slightly later at 3pm.
Kinnoull: L. Osinski, K. Woolley, G. Donald, B. Blyth, J. Ross, P. Brown, T. Nyass, S. Simpson, D. Smart, G. Norrie, F. Morrison. Subs: A. Cunningham, B. English, C. McCaffrey, D. Newlands, B. Ragan, C. Robertson, S. Townsley.
Burntisland Shipyard: R. Connor, R. O’Donnell, I. Millar, D. Hunter, G. Ross, S. Glancy, Jor. Galloway (G. Skinner), Jon. Galloway, R. Brown, S. Strang, R. Crawford. Unused Subs: N. Harley, A. Trialist, A. Cooper, G. Dolan, A. Watt.
Referee: A. Budd.