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.
I think first of all we have to thank the 109 hardy souls who braved the elements last night to come and watch the match. It was certainly eventful and most of the crowd would probably have gone home happy, if a little bit wet. It goes without saying that manager Lee Richardson was pleased after the game as he said, “I thought we played very well tonight and created a whole host of chances, indeed we could have been a couple of goals ahead within the first quarter of an hour, but we kept at it and got our rewards in the end.” He added “We defended well tonight as we never gave them too many chances and when they did get a sight of goal, Ryan was in fine form and deserved his clean sheet.”
Shipyard came flying out of the traps and might have been ahead in the 7th minute when Michael Gibb broke clear, however, Dalkeith keeper Jamie Newman saved with his legs. Gibby was constantly in the thick of the action as he saw his shot saved in the 10th minute and just a few minutes later should have done better when he shot wide from a very good position. Jordan Galloway then shot wide as Shipyard dominated the first quarter. Ryan Couser was called into action in the 23rd minute as he saved well then minutes later produced another fine stop as he dived low to his left to save. Darren McTernan dragged his shot just wide of the post and that was about as good as it got for the visitors with only a loud shout for handball causing any consternation for the Shippy. The hosts were awarded a penalty in the 44th minute when Galloway was brought down in the box by Christopher Jack. Ben Anthony stepped up and fired the ball into the corner of the net.
Shipyard got off to a wonderful start in the second half, however, it was a disaster for Thistle’s Greig Callaghan when he tried to clear an in swinging corner but his attempted clearance hit himself in the chest and bounced over the line despite the best efforts of Newman to keep it out. Shippy had their tails up now and it came as no surprise when they netted again in the 59th minute. The ball was moved quickly out to Anthony and his pinpoint cross gave Gibb the easiest of chances to score from six yards out. A poor clearance fell to Dan McBay and his audacious lob from 20 yards hit the top of the crossbar and went over. McBay had another effort in the 81st minute before Shippy scored their fourth a minute later and it was a first Shipyard goal for Cammy Bell as his controlled left foot shot found the net. The match ended on a sour note as Anthony and Dakeith’s Elliot Grieve clashed near the corner flag. Both players were shown a red card following the altercation with both sets of players getting unnecessary involved.
Next Saturday we make the long trip to Coldstream with the Club running a bus to the match. Contact the Club for details via our social media channels for booking a seat etc. Kick-off is at 2.30pm.
Burntisland Shipyard: R. Couser; K. Crielly; E. Jowitt; E. Bauld; M. James; A. McAndrew (S. Strang 78’); C. Bell; D. McBay; B. Anthony; J. Galloway (K. Ritchie 66’); M. Gibb (J. Hopton 78’). Unused Subs: C. McBay; F. Russell; K. Beard; O. Farley.
Dalkeith Thistle: J. Newman; R. Aitchison (A. Faulds 78’); E. Grieve; G. Callaghan; M. Lennie; J. Mackie; K. Brockie (M. Gould 66’); L. Russell; D. McTernan; C. Jack (D. Greig 46’); J. Clark (C. Cameron 78’). Unused Subs: M. Brown; P. Kelly; C. Malcolm.
Thirty minutes into the match and all your roving reporter had noted was that three times he had to retrieve the match ball from the trees. It was that type of game, it was dour, it lacked quality, the strong wind blowing down the park didn’t help matters and ultimately not many chances were created. It always looked like a mistake could settle the match and that’s how it turned out as the Shipyard defence missed a long high ball and Jordan Devine gathered it, bore down on goals and showed composure as he fired the ball through Ryan Couser’s legs to net the only goal of the match with 89 minutes on the clock. Ethan Bauld and Kris Murphy returned to the starting eleven replacing Mark James and Kierren Ritchie. Ben Anthony returned from holiday and Matty Robertson who had served his suspension took their places on the bench, though unfortunately, Robertson only lasted ten minutes before he had to limp off injured.
Both teams huffed and puffed as they struggled to deal with the conditions and it was not until the 33rd minute that a clear cut chance materialised. It came the way of the Shippy as Mikey Gibb controlled a long ball and burst into the area; however, the ball wouldn’t sit for him and although he got his shot away Bathgate keeper Cody Thomson was able to push the ball away and the danger was cleared. That was it for the first forty five minutes.
The second half saw a bit more action with Gibb shooting high and wide in the 52nd minute and Couser produced a fine reaction save as he blocked a close range header three minutes later. In the 77th minute Bathgate were harshly reduced to ten men with Ryan Stevenson seeing red for pulling back Gibby as he broke forward. It looked like at least one Thistle defender could have covered the run but the referee thought otherwise. The match still meandered along until that 89th minute breakthrough. Deep into added time Shipyard threw everyone up for a corner including keeper Couser and had Thomson been switched on when he caught the ball he may well have scored as when he eventually launched the ball up the park it took a brilliant goal line clearance from Daniel Brockie to keep the ball out.
After the match manager Lee Richardson could not hide his disappointment when he said “I can’t believe we lost that today. I didn’t think they troubled us much at all and ultimately one mistake has cost us dearly. We didn’t carry a lot of threat either to be fair, however, I thought we should have won it. Gibby has a couple of decent chances, particularly the one in the first half but I can’t rely on him every week. I need others to be chipping in with goals too.”
There is Friday night action this week as we welcome Dalkeith Thistle to Recreation Park. Kick-off for this one is at 7.45pm.
Burntisland Shipyard: R. Couser; D. Brockie; E. Jowitt; E. Bauld; I. Millar (M. Robertson 65’) (K. Crielly 74’); A. McAndrew (B. Anthony 65’); C. Bell (S. Forster 93’); D. McBay; K. Murphy; J. Galloway; M. Gibb. Unused Subs: E. McQuade; K. Beard; K. Ritchie.
Bathgate Thistle: C. Thomson; R. Stevenson; N. Williamson; S. McMillan; J. Macadam; L. Peddie (J. Rodger 65’); M. Campbell; F. Cormack; R. Wilson (F. McKay 65’) (J. Brown 90’); G. Thomson (K. Mooney 83’); Z. Mooney (J. Devine 65’). Unused Subs: M. Morton & R. McGill.
The Shipyard slipped to a narrow 2-1 defeat against Edinburgh College at the Oriam on Saturday. The hosts had the better of the possession and maybe slightly more chances, however, that being said, Ryan Couser was not pulling off save after save, with most of his work routine. There were no fewer than six changes to the starting eleven following last week’s disappointing result at West Calder with some enforced and some not.
College had the first chance in the 6th minute as Dylan Weldon broke clear, however, Couser saved his shot comfortably. Mikey Gibb then fired a good ball across the face of goals but there was no Shippy player able to get on the end of it. College took the lead in the 26th minute when they got the ball to the by-line and the cut back was smashed in off the underside of the bar by Blair Ramage. Shipyard responded quickly and were only behind for three minutes. New signing Cammy Bell broke down the left hand side and Gibb met his low driven cross and fired the ball into the roof of the net. Bell, himself went close when he shot just wide after getting on the end of a Tony McAndrew pass. Gibby then got sent clear by a ball from Dan McBay but his shot was well off target. Couser was then called into action again as he tipped over a Weldon drive. Jordan Galloway then had two glimpses of goal as he firstly headed a Gibb cross wide and then shot straight at keeper Brandyn Bain after good work from Bell.
In the 56th minute Ramage’s shot was held by Couser, while at the other end a Galloway corner was begging to be knocked home but no Shippy player couldn’t make contact with the ball. College regained the lead in the 69th minute when they were allowed to get down the righthand side and when the ball was played across the face of goal the unmarked Kyle Robertson was on hand to score at the back post. It was a goal that had the Shipyard management team less than impressed. Gibby drove forward in the 74th minute but his effort was comfortably gathered by Bain. Shippy were throwing caution to the wind now and had Iain Millar up front and they had a good chance with ten minutes remaining when big Millzy flicked on a free kick but from a narrow angle substitute Blair Kerr couldn’t find the net. D. McBay shot wide as Shipyard searched in vain for an equaliser and as the game moved into added time Couser was on his toes as he held an attempt just under his crossbar. Elliot Jowitt had recovered from injury and slotted in at left back then also part of a back three and could be very pleased with his man of the match performance.
After two difficult away trips we return to Recreation Park on Saturday (26/11/2024) for another tough game as we welcome Bathgate Thistle to Burntisland for a league match. Kick-off is at 2.30pm.
Edinburgh College: B. Bain; M. Snedden; L. Alexander; L. Bushnell; J. Chapman; J. Cook; O. Main (G. Balde 50’); D. Weldon (M. Delgarno 88’); B. Ramage; K. Robertson; L. Graham (B. McCamley 85’). Unused Subs: M. Robertson; C. Tress; J. Fital.
Burntisland Shipyard: R. Couser; D. Brockie (C. McBay 58’); E. Jowitt; M. James (K. Beard 78’); I. Millar; A. McAndrew (E. Bauld 65’); C. Bell; J. Galloway (J. Hopton 78’); K. Ritchie (B. Kerr 58’); D. McBay; M. Gibb. Unused Subs: E. McQuade & K. Crielly.
The Shipyard slumped to a 4-1 defeat against West Calder United at a rain lashed Hermand Park on Saturday afternoon. Shippy were masters of their own downfall as some poor finishing and equally bad defending allowed the hosts to complete a league double over Shipyard and consolidate their position in second place. A win for Shipyard would have seen the visitors take that second place, therefore, it was a very disappointing result indeed. Daniel Brockie, Ethan Bauld and Darrell Anthony all returned to the starting eleven having been unavailable last week replacing Iain Millar, Jordan Galloway and the suspended Matty Robertson.
Shippy created the first opportunity of the match when Kris Murphy headed a Stuart Forster corner off target. Ryan Couser saved well from close range before West Calder were awarded a penalty in the 7th minute following a foul by Dan McBay in the penalty area. Andrew Jackson stepped up and sent Couser the wrong way to give his side an early lead. Couser then saved smartly with his legs to thwart the West Calder forward. Forster then broke away for Shippy but despite getting into the area he couldn’t get his shot away. Shipyard were enjoying a spell of pressure with Anthony shooting straight at the keeper. In the 19th minute McBay drove inches wide from the edge of the box. A long throw from Brockie caused panic in the West Calder box and Forster missed a chance to bring Shipyard level. Couser saved an effort that was straight at him in the 29th minute as the game swung from end to end. The big keeper’s tremendous distribution then sent Mikey Gibb away, however, Gibby shot was blocked by the home defence. Gary Fallon headed over following a short corner for the hosts, while at the other end good work from Forster set up a chance for Murphy but the big striker’s shot was held by United keeper Ryan MacIndoe. Shippy got the equaliser they deserved on the stroke of half-time when a Forster cross was knocked home at the back post by Anthony.
A great flowing move in the 53rd minute almost gave the visitors the lead as Tony McAndrew and Gibb combined to cross for Murphy, however, his effort whistled just passed the post. Shipyard were made to pay for their misses when West Calder regained the lead. The defence couldn’t clear the danger and when the ball broke to Scott Hay, he volleyed the ball beyond Couser and into the roof of the net. Gibby shot wide in the 59th minute before the play quickly switched to the other end where Steven Jackson drove wide and seconds later Couser pulled off a great save from Jamie McAllister. West Calder were dominating proceedings now as Couser denied Hay and only some last ditch defending kept the score at 2-1. Shipyard conceded a poor third goal as possession was given up all to easily and McAllister drove forward and fired the ball into the corner of the net as the game entered the final fifteen minutes. Shipyard could have pulled a goal back a minute later when a corner was flicked on to Murphy at the back post, however, the big man failed to find the target. Another long ball caught out the Shippy defence and McAllister grabbed his second and, in the process, secured the three points for his team with eleven minutes remaining. Having used all their substitutes Shipyard were forced to finish the match with ten men after Anthony had to be helped off following a challenge in the centre circle.
Manager Lee Richardson didn’t mince his words after the match when he said “We were really poor today, particularly in the second half. Defensively we were all at sea and had Ryan to thank on several occasions. At the other end I thought we were good in that we created a lot of chances; however, our finishing was not up to standard as we lacked composure and never troubled their keeper often enough as too many attempts off target.”
Next week we are on the road again with Edinburgh College the opposition in the league. Kick off at the Oriam is 3.00pm.
West Calder United: R. MacIndoe; S. Jackson; G. Fallon; J. Pow (D. Robertson 54’); J. McCullagh (K. Ross 54’); S. Hay (A. Morgan 80’); J. Gregory; J. McAllister; H. Maguire (M. Wilkins 54’); A. Arthur; A. Jackson (K. Sweeney 80’). Unused Subs: M. Zata & J. Laing.
Burntisland Shipyard: R. Couser; D. Brockie (O. Farley 78’); E. McQuade (Trialist 46’); E. Bauld; K. Crielly (B. Kerr 63’); D. Anthony; A. McAndrew; D. McBay (S. Strang 63’); K. Murphy; S. Forster (k. Ritchie 63’); M. Gibb. Unused Subs: E. Jowitt & R. MacDougall.
