The curtain finally came down on what can only be described as an extremely disappointing season for the Shipyard. A fourth bottom finish in the second division was not what everyone expected at the start of the campaign, especially given how well pre-season had been. In what was an unprecedented year for long term injuries to many players, which contrived to make consistent team selection well-nigh impossible. Mikey Couser, Scott Costello, Kearyn Hicks, Iain Millar, Cammy Lewis and Ben Anthony were all missing for months during the season while others were out for a few weeks. Player availability also played a major role in putting a team on the park. In fact, on only one occasion was the same team fielded in successive matches. With Armadale still chasing a promotion spot it came as no surprise that they ran out 3-0 winners, however, the result was in vain as Edinburgh South won their match against Kennoway Star Hearts to secure the third promotion place.
Shipyard award winners Ethan Bauld, Mark James and Shaun Keatings with their trophies.
Goals in the 17th, 45th and 53rd minutes eased Armadale to victory with keeper Cole Miller also producing a couple of very good saves to keep the score down. At the other end Armadale keeper Andrew Murphy was also in impressive form as he saved well from Michael Gibb and Shaun Keatings.
Once again there was a three figure crowd inside recreation park and the Club would like to thank all the locals for their unwavering support throughout what was a difficult season.
Burntisland Shipyard: C. Miller; E. Bauld; M. Moodie; M. Robertson; M. James; H. Kay; K. Beard; CJ. Thomson; M. Gibb; D. Perrie; S. Keatings. Subs: K. Murphy; R. MacAulay; C. Lewis; E. McQuade; E. Bell; I. Millar.
Armadale Thistle: A. Murphy; G. Hamilton; T. Murphy; J. Fairley; E. Herriot; D. Kane; S. McLeod; J. Abubakar; C. Baillie; J. Gillespie; D. Wood. Subs: J. Tapping; C. Nelson; K. Kelly; A. Ramage; K. Jackson; C. Strickland; A. Uphill.
This was a typical end of season affair that lacked any real urgency and quality and probably the only surprise was that we did get a goal, one that ultimately separated the sides. With both teams having little to play for and missing key players from their squads neither side looked like they were familiar with each other as many players were playing out of position.
It took until the 24th minute for an attempt on goal and that came from the Shippy’s Dan Thomson whose shot was well saved by keeper Matt Hall. A minute later Hall saved again from Mikey Gibb though this time it was a whole lot easier. The best chance of the half fell to Mikey Moodie but when clean through his shot was too close to Hall and the keeper was able to block the left footed strike. Coldstream’s only attempt on target in the first half was from Regan Graham and although his strike beat Cole Miller, Gibb was on hand to head the ball clear.
Coldstream broke the deadlock in the 50th minute when a ball played towards the back post was gathered by the unmarked Drew Cummings who had time to control the ball before lashing it into the net. The Shipyard rarely looked like troubling the visitors defence other than when Ethan Bauld was forward for a set piece but the Coldstream defence closed him down and his effort was blocked. The final chance fell to Coldstream in the 86th minute but the headed effort flew well over the bar. Coldstream did have to play out the last few minutes with only ten men after Bailey Paterson was shown a red card after receiving a second caution.
The Shipyard play their final game of the season against Armadale Thistle at Recreation Park on Saturday (18/05/2024) with the match kicking off at 2.30pm.
Burntisland Shipyard: C. Miller; R. O’Donnell; E. McQuade; E. Bauld; M. Robertson; H. Kay; CJ. Thomson (K. Beard); H. Milne (R. Glendinning); M. Gibb; D. Thomson; M. Moodie (R. MacAulay). Unused Subs: C. Lewis; G. Burke; T. Lynch; M. Couser.
Coldstream: M. Hall; K. Ingram; K. Bullen; D. Cummings; R. Graham; M. Johnston; K. Wood; B. Paterson; J. Storm; J. Cummings; T. Hume. Sub: K. Ross.
The Shipyard and Edinburgh South played out a goalless draw at Recreation Park on Wednesday night with the result a blow to South’s promotion hopes. The visitors had more opportunities to break the deadlock, however, the Shippy defence was resolute with keeper Cole Miller dealing comfortably with everything that came his way. At the other end CJ Thomson and Michael Gibb both went close in the first half while Gibb again and trialist substitute Nathan Feeley, twice, had opportunities in the second half, indeed Feeley might have been awarded a penalty as he was clearly being held as he tried to engineer space to get a shot away. There was a welcome return to the fold for Hamish Milne who was back from his antipodean adventure and it looked like he had never been away as he produced a solid performance. Ben Anthony was also available and he captained the side.
There was very little in the way of goalmouth action throughout the match as both defences dealt with what was thrown at them. Miller was certainly the busier of the two keepers, however, at no time did he look under pressure and showed a great deal of composure in everything he did. The three saves he made in the opening forty five minutes were all fairly routine.
Both teams continued to look for the opener with the visitors showing more urgency as the clock ticked down as they desperately tried to claim all three points. The Shipyard looked a bit more of a threat with subs Kris Murphy and Feeley linking well, with their power and strength providing a different problem for the South defence. As mentioned previously Feeley might have won a penalty in the closing minutes but the referee did not have a good enough view of the incident to penalise any wrongdoing.
On Saturday (11/05/2024) Coldstream visit Recreation Park with the match kicking off at 2.30pm.
Burntisland Shipyard: C. Miller; M. Robertson; M. Moodie (E. McQuade); E. Bauld; M. James; H. Milne; H. Kay; CJ. Thomson (K. Murphy); M. Gibb; B. Anthony (N. Feeley); D. Thomson.
It was always going to be a tough ask to beat the league leaders on their own patch and so it proved to be with Shipyard losing 5-1, however, a resilient Shippy defence stood firm for 50 minutes, allowing their team to lead 1-0 at the interval. Even although Athletic equalised five minutes into the second half it wasn’t until the 71st minute that the hosts were able to breakdown the Shipyard defence again. The Shippy felt that goals number two and four were offside, the other two were from penalties, however, there was no argument about these awards, especially the latter with Sandy Strang’s tackle more akin to Murrayfield than Newtown Park. Obviously, it was backs to the wall for much of the match with chances limited at the other end of the pitch. With the squad still beset by injury, illness and unavailability there was a start for youngster Campbell Szmitz and he can be very proud of his performance against a very good and experienced opponent.
Bo’ness were on the attack from the outset and Strang had to be on his toes to block a cross at the expense of a corner. A rare error from Cole Miller culminated with the hosts hitting the outside of the post. Both Christopher Ogilvie and Sandy Cunningham went close before the Shippy stunned Bo’ness with their first attempt at goal in the 23rd minute. A Harris Kay free kick found Strang who headed back across goal and Ethan Bauld was on hand to force the ball home. Callum MacDonald, Sean Heaver and Cunningham twice again, all missed chances to draw level before the break. Bauld also produced a vital block to deny the hosts as they threatened once more.
Bo’ness equalised five minutes after half time when Heaver cut in from the left to fire a right foot shot beyond Miller and into the corner of the net. The Shippy continued to thwart the Bo’ness attack until the game moved into the final twenty minutes when the pressure finally told. Ogilvie broke forward and when he passed to Cunningham the centre forward looked to be ahead of the ball and offside as he was played in, but he knocked the ball beyond Miller leaving any decision to the referee. It was soon 3-1 when the Shipyard were penalised for handball. With the ball on the ground the Shippy player clearly touched the ball with his hand leaving the referee with no alternative other than to point to the spot. Cunningham confidently converted the spot kick. The Shippy had a great chanced to pull a goal back when CJ Thomson drove forward to the edge of the box and although he would have hoped to hit the ball cleaner keeper Kyle Wilson didn’t hold his strike. Robbie MacAulay followed up but his shot was blocked by the retreating defence. Cunningham completed his hat-trick in the 88th minute with even the home contingent admitting he was well offside, however, the man in the middle didn’t see it. The 5th goal and Cunningham’s 4th came from the penalty spot in the 94th minute and again there was no disputing this one as Strang more or less rugby tackled Godwin Kangni-Soukpe just inside the area to concede the spot kick.
After the match manager Lee Richardson said “All the boys gave me everything and they can be pleased with their performances. Once again, I had to rely on some sixteen year olds and with the desire, attitude and ability they showed they will have good careers in the game. To come up against such an experienced and quality side will stand them in good stead.”
We return to Recreation Park for our final three games of the season starting with the visit of Edinburgh South on Wednesday night (08/05/2024) with kick off at 7.30pm.
Bo’ness Athletic: K. Wilson; J. Mitchell; R. Shanks; W. Patterson; B. Woodburn; S. Cameron; C. Ogilvie; C. Snedden; S. Cunningham; C. MacDonald; S. Heaver. Subs: J. Mackay; M. Weir; K. Connolly; G. Kangni-Soukpe; J. Sneddon.
Burntisland Shipyard: C. Miller; E. Bauld; M. Moodie (O. Wardrop); S. Strang; M. Robertson; H. Kay; C. Szmitz (L. Malone); D. Thomson; M. Gibb; C. Lewis (R. MacAulay); CJ. Thomson.
The Shipyard enjoyed a comfortable victory over Ormiston Primrose at New Recreation Park on Saturday, in no small way thanks to a whirlwind start to the match in which they were 3-0 ahead with only 23 minutes on the clock. For the next thirty minutes the hosts fought to get themselves back into the match as the Shippy seemed to get a touch complacent and sat back on their lead, subsequently, it was no surprise when Ormiston pulled a goal back on 56 minutes. The Shipyard did regain more control of the game, thereafter, scoring another goal and might have had another couple if more composure had been shown. There was mixed news on the injury front with a welcome return for Michael Gibb, however, the good news was tempered with the disappointment that Matty Robertson and Kris Murphy had not recovered from knocks they had picked up in midweek. There was also further injury woe for the Shippy as Kai Beard had to be helped off after picking up an ankle injury following a poor challenge in the middle of the park, that went unpunished by the referee who seemed keen to let the game flow. Beard was replaced by Rian MacDougall.
The Shipyard got off to a perfect start with a goal after only four minutes when Harris Kay played in Gibb and he made no mistake as he placed his shot into the corner of the net. It was 2-0 with 15 minutes gone thanks to some calamitous defending from Ormiston with the defender and the goalkeeper leaving the ball to each other which allowed Dan Thomson to take the ball and virtually walk it into the net. The Shippy got their third goal in the 23rd minute when D. Thomson played the ball through and Gibb delightfully lifted the ball over the keeper and into the net. A quite sublime finish from the makeshift striker. Ormiston finally put some pressure on the Shipyard defence and Cole Miller showed bravery as he raced from his goal to dive on the ball. Zac Scally hit the outside of the post from a tight angle but it was doubtful if the strike would have beaten Miller who was on his post. Dylan Hamilton headed well over the bar and Scally shot straight at Miller from the edge of the box three minutes before the interval.
A first half double from Gibby set the Shippy on their way.
Rumours of a bust up in the home dressing room must have galvanised Primrose as they came out all guns blazing and pinned the Shippy back from the resumption. Guy Kerr volleyed a shot just wide and Pol Adrian also went close as he tried to lob the ball into the net. In the 55th minute there was an almighty scramble in the Shippy area with shots being blocked as the defence put their bodies on the line to keep their goal intact, however, a minute later a deserved goal came for Ormiston. The ball fell to Scally at the edge of the box and he placed his shot just inside the post giving Miller no chance. Trialist Gary Nicholson tried an audacious attempt from the restart and keeper Kieran Beveridge who was well off his line was mightily relieved to see the ball clear the crossbar. Nicholson did get a goal in the 74th minute when Gibb cut the ball back to him and he netted from around the penalty spot. He had another chance two minutes later when he burst clear, however, he was thwarted by an excellent sliding tackle. Gibb and Nicholson then contrived to make a total hash of a gilt-edged opportunity. The former robbed the Ormiston defender of the ball just inside the home team’s half wide on the right. The two Shippy men only had the keeper to beat and with Gibb on a hat-trick everyone expected a shot on goal, however, he decided to square the ball to his teammate who saw his shot blocked although he was in an offside position anyway. Thankfully, it wasn’t a crucial moment. Miller held a deflected long range shot in the 90th minute before the Shippy had another great chance when young Ollie Wardrop broke clear. It looked like Ollie saw his name up in lights as he blasted the ball wide with only the keeper to beat.
Manager Lee Richardson was naturally pleased to pick up the three points when he said “We couldn’t have made a better start, getting three goals ahead and being in control of the game. We let them back into it and I have to take some responsibility for it as I made changes to the shape. Nevertheless, once we scored the fourth goal we were back in control and should have had a couple more.” He went on to say “I was delighted with Gary and the three young boys who came on in the second half. It would have been fantastic had Ollie managed to put his chance away.”
Next Saturday (04/05/2024) we travel to Newtown Park to face Bo’ness Athletic. Kick-off is at 2.30pm.
Ormiston Primrose: K. Beveridge; B. Maxwell; D. Anderson; C. Stenhouse; G. Kerr; C. Hogg; D. Hamilton; S. Bird; S. Moffat; P. Adrian; Z. Scally. Subs: D. Nichol; C. Wilson; R. Aitken; S. Ashraf; K. Marr; J. Crane; C. Hynd.
Burntisland Shipyard: C. Miller; K. Beard (R. MacDougall); E. McQuade; E. Bauld; M. James; H. Kay (L. Malone); D. Thomson; CJ. Thomson; G. Nicholson (O. Wardrop); M. Gibb; C. Lewis (M. Moodie).
The Shipyard produced one of their poorest performances of the season on Wednesday night as they fought out a 1-1 draw with Newburgh Juniors at Recreation Park. It was a lacklustre performance, particularly in the first half of the match, as despite having a very attack minded starting eleven there was very few chances created while the visitors created some decent opportunities, however, Shippy keeper Cole Miller was on top form and was only beaten by a well taken goal from Tyler Duddy in the 41st minute. Unsurprisingly, Declan Turner and Michael Gibb didn’t recover from the injuries they picked up on Saturday, therefore, it was all change at the back again and with Iain Millar and Kearyn Hicks still out injured and Mark James suspended, it was a makeshift back four that lined up.
It was the Shippy who created the first chance but Kris Murphy’s attempt was held by Newburgh keeper Jack Foster. The visitors went close in the 3rd minute when a free kick came back off the bar before the danger was cleared. The visitors didn’t look like a team that had found out they had been relegated the previous evening as they dominated possession and restricted the Shippy to very little sights of goal. Newburgh forced a series of corners but couldn’t find a way passed Miller until they broke the deadlock in the 41st minute. Duddy found himself free inside the box and the youngster produced a cool finish to find the corner of the net.
After the interval it was a surprise to everyone that it only took the Shippy 20 seconds to draw level as Ben Anthony took the ball around the keeper and rolled it into the empty net. The Shipyard were now enjoying their best spell of the game and Evan Stanfield was unlucky to see his back post header pushed away for a corner. A piece of sheer bad luck cost the Shippy the lead as a goal bound shot struck the head of Harris Kay, but despite his best efforts to get out of the way, he was unable to do so and the chance was gone. Newburgh were by no means out of it and Miller was still busy as he gathered crosses and a couple of long range attempts. Anthony saw his 25 yard drive go wide and Dan Thomson’s left foot shot was tipped over by Foster. Mitchell Sharp went close and probably should have done better when he got a clear sight of goal with 89 minutes on the clock. Sharp was presented with another couple of half chances as the game moved into added time, however, he was unable to trouble Miller.
Manager Lee Richardson was bitterly disappointed after the match when he said “The first half was so poor and disjointed. Yes, we were a bit makeshift in some areas but I expected better. We improved after the break and the early goal seemed to settle us down, however, we didn’t manage to fashion another good opportunity other than the strike that hit Harris.”
On Saturday (27/4/24) we are on the road as we travel to face Ormiston Primrose. Kick off at New Recreation Park is at 2.30pm.
Burntisland Shipyard: C. Miller; K. Beard (J. Galloway); E. McQuade (S. Strang); E. Bauld; M. Robertson; H. Kay; CJ. Thomson; D. Thomson; K. Murphy (M. Moodie); B. Anthony; E. Stanfield (C. Lewis).
Newburgh Juniors: J. Foster; A. Wilson; O. McNally; C. Taylor; E. Jowitt; H. Mitchell; T. Duddy; K. Tracey; J. Fyfe; R. McPhate; M. Sharp. Subs: J. Inglis; E. Coutts; J. Lindsay; G. Gibson; B. Todd.
The Shipyard’s injury woes continued at the Oriam as loanee Declan Turner (knee) and Mikey Gibb (hamstring) both joined the lengthening queue for the treatment table. Add in CJ. Thomson temporarily leaving the field with a bloodied nose and Kai Beard coming off after not recovering from a head knock and you get the extent of the Shippy’s woes in the 4-1 defeat to Edinburgh College. The Shipyard were the architects of their own downfall as some sloppy defending gifted the college their first three goals and an unfortunate own goal only rubbed salt into the wound.
Cole Miller was called into action early on as the dived to push a shot round the post as the hosts started the game on the front foot. The young goalie was beaten a minute later when Blair Ramage was given all the time and space he needed to head home a cross from the left-hand side. Harris Kay saw his free kick from 25 yards drift wide of the target in the 21st minute. Lee Richardson was forced to make an early change to the formation and it seemed to work as the Shippy were able to get on the ball a bit more though it was still the hosts that created the clearer chances. A ball across the face of goal was deflected out for a corner and in the 25th minute Kyle Robertson failed to control a cross when in a decent position. Kris Murphy found space in the box but the big strikers shot was straight at keeper Brandyn Bain. Edinburgh went two ahead in the 36th minute and it was calamitous as far as the Shippy were concerned when a long punt up the park was not dealt with and Ramage easily converted his second of the game. CJ. Thomson saw his low drive held before the Shipyard pulled a goal back in the 41st minute. A corner fell to Ethan Bauld and the big defender lashed the ball into the net from around 15 yards. Unfortunately for the Shippy they conceded again on the stroke of half-time when the College winger had acres of space to gather the ball and pick out his teammate in the centre of goal and Robertson made no mistake from eight yards.
Miller saved a shot from distance in the 48th minute before Beard left the field and not long after Turner had to be helped off after he was the victim of a late challenge near the halfway line as he broke forward. Young Miller was doing all he could to keep his team in it and he saved well low down from a Ramage header. Dan Thomson and Evan Stanfield linked well but the former was unable to get is powerful attempt on target from a tight angle. The Shipyard conceded a fourth with ten minutes remaining thanks to an unfortunate own goal. A cross from the right beat Miller but hit the far post, however, trialist Owen Greenlaw was unable to keep the ball out despite his valiant attempt to do so. Gibb had a couple of chances before his injury as his looping header drifted over the bar and he went even closer when his shot was parried up in the air by the keeper and looked to be heading over the line until a last ditch clearance from a defender kept the ball out.
On Wednesday evening we face Newburgh Juniors at Recreation Park with the match kicking off at 7.30pm.
Edinburgh College: B. Bain; M. Snedden; L. Alexander; K. Robertson; S. El Yamani; B. Ramage; L. Graham; G. Yau; K. McPherson; A. Sloan; S. Murray. Subs: J. Caddow; G. Balde; M. Robertson; C. Gaff.
Burntisland Shipyard: C. Miller; D. Turner (O. Greenlaw); E. McQuade; E. Bauld; M. Gibb; H. Kay; E. Stanfield (C. Palmer); K. Beard (C. Lewis); K. Murphy; CJ. Thomson; D. Thomson. Unused Sub: L. Malone.
A mad five minutes turned this game on its head. With the Shippy 1-0 ahead and looking comfortable, they conceded two highly avoidable goals and saw Mark James red carded for a challenge in the middle of the park. Being a man down, particularly in the second half, didn’t trouble the Shipyard as they dominated proceedings and created some decent opportunities, however, they couldn’t find the finish to level the match at that stage. Of more concern to the Club was the serious looking knee injury suffered by Kearyn Hicks in the closing minutes, with the big defender in obvious pain as he was helped from the pitch. There was a home debut for keeper Cole Miller in an unchanged team from Saturday’s victory over Edinburgh United. The bench was strengthened with the return of Ben Anthony, Sam Glancy, Cammy Lewis, Evan Stanfield and CJ Thomson.
A home debut for young Cole.
The Shippy took the lead in the 11th minute when Kris Murphy capitalised on some hesitancy in the visitor’s defence and the big striker calmly rolled the ball beyond Dalkeith keeper Jamie Newman. The Shipyard might have been two ahead in the 24th minute when Newman came way outside his area, however, Dan Thomson couldn’t get his long range attempt on target with the keeper breathing a huge sigh of relief at the let off. Thistle equalised in the 29th minute when a corner was not headed clear and Miller Ritchie was on hand to head the ball home from around six yards out. The Shippy were dealt a second blow as Dalkeith scored again just two minutes later. It was all too easy for the Thistle man to work his way down the right hand side and Nathan Stokes knocked the cross home to give his side the lead. It was a triple whammy for the Shippy as they were reduced to ten men. Jamesy challenged for the ball in the centre circle and certainly got something on it, however, the referee deemed that his follow through was reckless and brandished a red card. It was a tough one as many thought a sending off was harsh while some thought it was merited. The Shippy were nearly on level terms just before the interval when Michael Gibb’s snapshot went narrowly wide of the target.
Big Kris scored for successive matches.
Manager Lee Richardson put on Sam Glancy after the break to bolster the centre of midfield and the diminutive midfielder made an impression as he got to grips with things. The Dalkeith defence had to be on their toes in the 56th minute as they blocked three shots in quick succession as the Shippy pushed them back. Substitute Ben Anthony shot straight at the keeper and D. Thomson turned his marker one way then the other before watching his shot drift just off target. Shortly after this Hicks collapsed to the ground in agony after he had cleared the ball up the park. It was immediately apparent it was serious and after a few minutes he was replaced by Evan Stanfield. This seemed to knock the stuffing out of the Shipyard and they conceded two goals in the dying minutes that did not reflect how the match had panned out. Cammy Leslie cushioned a volley in at the back post and he netted again when another cross to the back post was headed back across the goals where he was on hand to bundle the ball home from close range.
Unfortunately Hicksy had to come off injured.
We are on our travels on Saturday (20/04/2024) with Riccarton the destination as we face Edinburgh College at the Oriam. Kick off for this match is at 3.00pm.
Burntisland Shipyard: C. Miller; D. Turner; M. Robertson; E. Bauld; K. Hicks (E. Stanfield); H. Kay (CJ. Thomson); K. Beard (S. Glancy); M. James; K. Murphy (B. Anthony); D. Thomson; M. Gibb.
Dalkeith Thistle: J. Newman; R. Aitchison; R. Clelland; M. Lennie; M. Ritchie; M. Brown; J. Mackie; D. McTernan; A. Faulds; E. Grieve; N. Stokes. Subs: M. Gould; C. Leslie; C. Malone; A. McNeil; C. Young.
