Rampant Shippy cruise to comfortable win.
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.
Referee: S. Adair.