The Shipyard kicked off 2019 with a heavy defeat at the hands of Dundonald Bluebell at Recreation Park on Saturday. The sickness bug that had affected the squad had cleared but there were still five players missing from the squad due to injury and suspension.
The Shipyard fell behind in the 11th minute thanks to a fine finish from Chris Gay that left Shippy keeper Macaulay Jarrett with no chance. It looked like it was going to be a busy day for the big keeper as he was called into action in the 14th minute to make a decent save following a scramble in the box. Dundonald’s second arrived in the 18th minute through Calum Smith after he rounded Jarrett and scored from a tight angle. Rab Kinnaird broke free of the visitor’s defence but he was tackled as he set himself to shoot from just inside the area. The Shippy were being pinned back by the more experienced Bluebell and it was no surprise when Archie Campbell scored a third in the 27th minute. The Shipyard were passing the ball around well but they could not penetrate the well drilled Dundonald defence and they added a fourth just before half-time when Smith was given far too much time and space inside the six-yard box as he turned and shot, leaving Jarrett helpless.
The Shipyard enjoyed their best spell at the start of the second half and Trialist hit the top of the bar with a speculative effort. Charlie Simpson saw a shot held as the Shippy strove to get a foothold in the match but Dundonald were still standing firm. The Bluebell made their quality show in the final fifteen minutes as Smith helped himself to another two goals to take his tally to four for the match and Lewis McKenzie added a seventh deep into added time.
The Shipyard have a free week coming up which will hopefully see the injuries clear up, the suspensions have now been served and hopefully a couple of new faces may arrive before the Shipyard host Crossgates Primrose in another Fife derby on Saturday 19th January, kick-off is 2.00pm.
Burntisland Shipyard: M. Jarrett, P. Bell, A. Trialist, R. O’Donnell, S. Strang, C. Simpson (C. Simpson), R. Kinnaird (R. Brown), Jon. Galloway, A. Watt, S. Glancy, R. Crawford. Unused Sub: R. Connor.
Dundonald Bluebell: J. Lennox, S. Walton, R. Drummond, S. Durie, C. Wedderburn, C. Gay, B. Rogerson, L. McKenzie, C. Smith, A. Campbell, M. Ness.
Subs: D. Wallace, K. Dall, B. Sibanda.
Referee: B. Cooper.
