Gutsy performance seals another win
A goal in added time from substitute Gordon Grieve, with the Shipyard having eight men on the field at the time, secured a deserved victory in a hard fought match at Ballast Bank. With Inverkeithing down to ten men having received one red card and the Shipyard having two sent off and Lee Small off injured with all subs used, Grieve raced onto a through ball, rounded the keeper and rolled the ball into the corner of the net from a tight angle, sending the Shipyard sideline wild with delight. The joy was subdued though with Small looking to be seriously injured again, in only his second game back.
The Shipyard started off on the front foot and were denied what looked like a stonewall penalty in the 4th minute when Ferrier was felled in the box, however, to both teams surprise the referee waved play on. Andy Martin saw his first action in the 8th minute when he held a shot at the second attempt. A Hamilton free-kick in the 12th minute almost caught out Mushet in the Inverkeithing goal when his floated ball into the box hit the top of the bar. Three times in as many minutes crosses into the Inverkeithing box were headed wide by Cook, McCue and Ferrier respectively. McCue was then presented with a great opportunity in the 23rd minute but, Mushet was off his line quickly to avert the danger. Hamilton found space in the Inverkeithing box but dragged his left foot shot wide from 15 yards. Ferrier was keeping the Inverkeithing defence on their toes and he surged away from them in the 34th minute, but his shot was just off target. Inverkeithing had a rare chance when Slimmings headed into the side netting after getting on the end of a free-kick from wide on the left. Inverkeithing were reduced to ten men in the 38th minute when Strang received his second yellow card after the referee deemed he had dived. Ferrier burst through the Swifts defence again, this time the keeper done well to get a hand to his shot and Ferrier’s headed second attempt fell wide. The last chance of the first half saw Ferrier again in the thick of the action, this time his powerful shot from the edge of box was well over the bar.
The second half continued to follow the same pattern with the Shipyard on top but struggling to make the breakthrough. Ferrier got to the by-line only to see his low cross cut out by the keeper. However, in the 54th minute when Ferrier got to the goal line again his cut back was knocked into the net by Craig Russell to put the Shippy one up. Cook headed wide from the centre of the goals from a Dow corner before the referee gave Ferrier a second yellow card when he adjudged he had committed a foul on Stewart. The Shipyard still kept up the pressure on the Swifts goal with both Dow and Small passing up reasonable chances. In the 75th minute Hamilton shot wide from the edge of the box after good work from Russell. Mark Brough rattled the post from all of 25 yards from a free-kick with Mushet well beaten. Lee Small then had to be helped off in the 80th minute after being on the end of a strong tackle in the midfield. The early diagnosis looks like he has ruptured his ankle ligaments and will be out for the rest of the season. Inverkeithing were now having a spell on top and one effort was headed wide from a good position. Miller tried his luck with a shot from distance that was not too far wide. A minute into added time saw McAndrew felled in the Inverkeithing box and again the claims were waved away by the ref. He then stopped play as the action moved to the other end of the park and gave McAndrew his second yellow card, accusing him of simulation. Although Inverkeithing held a two man advantage it was the Shipyard who had the last word as Gordon Grieve secured the win with his late strike.
Billy Whitehead was happy with the win and said “We were the better team throughout the match and I was confident we would score. I thought all the red cards were harsh, but we did very well when down to eight and Gogs capped it off with a great goal. Obviously the injury to Smally has put a dampener on things and hopefully he will recover quickly”.
Teams: Inverkeithing Hillfield Swifts: Mushet; Morris; Jamieson; L. Slimmings; Dundas; Wilson; Miller; S. Slimmings; Strang; Stewart; Rennie. Subs: Briggs; Brechin; Stephens; Duddy; Fraser.
Burntisland Shipyard: Martin; McAndrew; Brough; Williams; Whyte; McCue (Small); Hamilton; Cook; Russell (Wilson); Ferrier; Dow (Grieve).
Referee: S. Rosner.