Masson hits twentieth goal as Shippy win thriller.
Kev Masson scored his twentieth goal of the season as the Shipyard edged out Ormiston in a seven goal thriller at Recreation Park last night. With both teams keen to attack the match swung from end to end and the result was still in doubt until the final whistle. With injuries and suspensions taking their toll Raymond Drury had to shuffle his pack again but those who came did not let him down as at the end of the day the Shippy deserved their victory.
The Shippy got off to a dream start when they took the lead with only five minutes on the clock. Masson received a pass on the left hand side of the box and steadied himself before rifling the ball into the net and although Ormiston keeper Gavin McQuillan got a hand to the ball he was never going to keep it out. It was 2-0 before there were ten minutes played as Mark James was on hand to knock the ball home after McQuillan failed to deal with a Craig Lowe shot. It was almost three a couple of minutes later but Ewan Henderson was unlucky to see his attempt come back off the post. The visitors began to settle and after finding their feet they shocked the Shippy by scoring two goals in as many minutes with Sean Martin grabbing both of them. His first came when he burst clear of the Shipyard defence and coolly slotted the ball in at Mark Rowbotham’s near post. The second came about as he received the ball in the box and evaded some half-hearted challenges before placing the ball in the far corner of the net with a left foot strike. The game was being played at a furious pace and within a minute Masson could have restored the Shipyard’s lead but his lobbed effort from the edge of the box beat McQuillan but also cleared the bar. After this Ormiston had a strong spell in the match and looked the more likely but it was the hosts who regained the lead when Lowe controlled a pass beat his marker easily, burst into the box and picked his spot for a classy finish. A minute later Big Hendo burst through but he could not keep his strike from the edge of the box down and the chance was lost. George Cunningham passed up a great opportunity to draw his side level but he knocked the ball over the bar from close range.
The Shippy restored their two goal lead in the 53rd minute as Masson claimed his twentieth goal of the season hitting the back of the net with a bicycle kick from around six yards. Within seconds of the Shipyard almost going 5-2 ahead it was suddenly 4-3, as after a Masson shot was blocked it fell to Henderson and his deflected shot came back off the post. Ormiston launched the ball up the park and Martin completed his hat-trick when he got clear of the Shipyard defence and beat Rowbotham with another good finish. Henderson had another good chance for the Shippy but he drove the ball narrowly wide after being set up by Masson. Ormiston pushed hard for a leveller and Pete Bell was in the right place to head a Dean Woods effort off the line following a corner.
After the match the gaffer was happy when he said “It was a hard fought match and it was a real battle but we managed to hold on for the three points which I think we deserved. If we had converted that great chance to make it 5-2, the game was over; however, we then conceded and had to fight to hold on for the win. Now we will get ready for our final match of the season next Saturday and try to reach the thirty point mark”.
The season draws to a conclusion next week, Saturday 28th May, when the Shipyard host Eyemouth United at Recreation Park, kick off 2.30pm.
Burntisland Shipyard: M. Rowbotham; G. McCann; P. Bell; I. Millar; B. Couper; N. Smart; S. Devaney (R. McCann); M. James; E. Henderson; K. Masson; C. Lowe.
Ormiston: G. McQuillan; C. Milne; A. Jones; S. Devlin; G. Cunningham; M. Smith (A. Dimitrov); M. Osborne; A. Morgan; D. Woods; S. Martin; D. Burdett (M. Hamilton).
Referee: J. Stewart.