Late goal denies Shippy all three points.
The Shipyard had to settle for a share of the spoils as Glenrothes scored a last minute equaliser to deny the hosts all three vital points. The Glens will probably say they deserved at least a draw and it would be hard to argue with that, however, the fact that the Shippy played out the last few minutes with ten men was certainly pivotal in them getting their goal. Manager Dave Costello was denied the services of several players with Lewis Ross, Craig Watt, Scott Orrock, Darrell Anthony and Jordan Galloway all unavailable and Jack Wilson was only fit enough to take a place on the bench. That being said those that came in showed the depth of squad Costy now has at his disposal as they all acquitted themselves very well.
The visitors took the lead in the fourth minute when a cross from the righthand side was headed home by Lea Schiavone. The Shippy responded well to this setback and Glens keeper Adam Shaw could only look on as a left wing cross hit the top of his crossbar. The Shipyard were level after twelve minutes with a very similar goal to the opener as Sandy Strang headed home a crossed ball. The game settled after the frantic opening with neither keeper being unduly tested other than Shaw saving a Dan Thomson strike. The visitors went close three minutes before half-time as Conor Schiavone saw his fierce drive smash back off the post.
The Shippy were awarded a penalty in the 54th minute when Shaw came out to challenge Ben Anthony. The Shippy man clearly got to the ball first and Shaw’s challenge left the referee with no option but to point to the spot. The only issue was what colour of card the referee would show and he was lenient in showing a yellow. Anthony smashed the spot kick home to give his side the lead. On the hour mark Shaun Keatings saw his effort go just wide. Glenrothes were pushing hard for an equaliser given their need to get the points and keep up with Oakley and Preston at the top of the league, however, the Shipyard were defending resolutely with Scott Costello in fine form. There was a let off for the Shippy with ten minutes remaining as a header from a corner hit the bar and Costello produced a great save to block the follow up. The Shipyard were dealt a major blow in the 83rd minute when Keatings saw red as he picked up a second yellow card leaving his team to play out the final minutes a man light. It almost didn’t matter as Benji had an opportunity for a third as he found himself in a similar position to the penalty award. This time Shaw didn’t lunge in and Anthony was pushed wide and when he got his shot away there was a defender in place to block his shot. In hindsight he maybe should have tried his luck and taken the shot early. Glenrothes equalised on the 90-minute mark when substitute Reece Brown’s shot beat Costello with the aid of a deflection. There was a final scare for the Shippy in the fourth minute of added time when Costello had to punch Brown’s free-kick over the bar.
Manager Dave Costello had mixed feelings after the match when he said “It is what it is. Would we have held on to the lead if we still had 11 men? Possibly! We played well and showed good character to come from behind and take the lead. We were then resilient at the back and I felt we were ok other than an odd scare and it took a deflected shot to beat Big Scott.”
Next Saturday (23/04/2022) we travel to Easthouses for another important league match as the season heads towards a conclusion with vital points at stake. Kick-off at Newbattle Complex is at 2.30pm.
Burntisland Shipyard: S. Costello; M. Miller; R. O’Donnell; M. James; I. Millar; S. Walton (L. Henderson); S. Keatings; D. Thomson; B. Anthony; S. Glancy; S. Strang (R. Crichton). Unused Subs: J. Wilson & R. Connor.
Glenrothes: A. Shaw; C. Kinnes; C. Lumsden; S. King; R. McInnes; D. Honeyman; L. Schiavone; K. Bell; C. Schiavone; S. Cargill; J. Collins. Subs: J. Crowe; A. McCallion; D. Blyth; R. Brown; I. McManus; F. Kay.
Referee: W. McAleese.