Keatings shines in Shippy win.
The Shipyard responded in fine fashion to last week’s disappointing performance at Kelso with a 3-0 victory over Hawick Royal Albert at Recreation Park. Some of the players that were missing last week were back in the fold but manager Alex Lowe still used two trialists in his squad which enabled him the luxury of listing five substitutes.
The match got off to a controversial start as with barely a minute gone the Hawick No9 Michael Smith fired in a fierce shot that hit the underside of the bar, bounced down, before Jordan Mushet clawed the ball away. The Hawick players were claiming the ball had crossed the line but referee Stuart McAulay was not convinced and waved play on. The Shippy goal had another escape in the 6th minute when Pete Bell cleared the ball off the line denying Smith again. The visitors continued to dominate the early stages and Paul Brown shot wide after a quick Hawick break. The Shipyard slowly got themselves into the game and somewhat against the run of play they took the lead with the aid of a penalty kick. There was no doubt about the decision as Adam Doig was clearly bundled over in the box and Shaun Keatings tucked the ball beyond Bruce Callan to give his side the lead. Keatings was to play a huge role in the match as he was involved in almost all the opportunities that came his side’s way. In the 29th minute Ethan Anderson struck a thunderous drive that smashed against the face of the Hawick crossbar with Callan beaten. The game had now turned full circle and it was very much the home team that were on top and Blair Smart was next to go close as he headed wide from a corner. The Shipyard doubled their advantage in the 43rd minute when Keatings played a delightful ball into the box and Brendan Napier got to the ball just before Callan and poked the ball home.
After getting a roasting from their manager Hawick came out invigorated for the second half and Mushet had to save low at his near post. The Shipyard’s sub Ryan Kelly volleyed well wide after getting on the end of a deep cross. Both teams were getting forward but neither were creating any decent scoring chances until the Shipyard tied the game up in the 76th minute with a superb goal. A Trialist gathered the ball in the Hawick half and played the ball wide to Keatings. His fine ball across the face of the Hawick goal was lashed into the net first time by the inrushing Bell for a rare goal. The Shippy and Keatings in particular were turning on the style and a delightful flick from him saw Trialist through on goal but he was thwarted by Callan who blocked with his legs. Keatings volleyed not too far wide before a late spell of pressure from Hawick saw Mushet save well from Calvin Muttit and he then gathered a headed effort at his near post as the match drew to a close.
Alex was very happy after the match as he declared “It was good to have a decent sized squad to pick from today. After a slow start where we could have been a couple of goals down we took control of the game, created a few chances and deserved to go in at half time two goals up. The second half was a bit flat, however, Pete Bell scored a fine goal after a good flowing move to seal the game. There were good individual performances from Sean Keatings, Andy MacDonald and Pete Bell and overall I am delighted with the win and the clean sheet”.
The next two matches see’s the Shippy on their travels as on Tuesday evening they visit Heriot Watt University (ko 7.30pm) and on Saturday it is off to Duns once again, with that match kicking off at 2pm. There will be a limited number of seats available on the bus to Duns and anyone wishing to travel should contact the club using the contact form on the site.
Burntisland Shipyard: J. Mushet; C. Lowe; T. Arthur; B. Smart; P. Bell (B. Trialist); S. Keatings; A. MacDonald; B. Napier; E. Anderson (J. Bouhaddou); A. Trialist; A. Doig (R. Kelly). Unused Subs: K. Masson & B. Thomson.
Hawick Royal Albert: B. Callan; C. Muttit; R. Fleming; S. Fallan; S. McKenzie; G. Summers; P. Brown; N. Cairns; L. Henderson (N. Ramsay); A. Noble. Unused Subs: M. McKenzie, M. Stewart & D. McCowatt.
Referee: S. McAulay.