The Shipyard had to come from behind as they progressed to the second round of the King Cup beating Edinburgh United 3-1 at a windswept Recreation Park on Saturday. The elements had a huge bearing on the match as both teams struggled to make any headway against the strong westerly wind which was blowing straight down the pitch. Lewis Ross and Kris Murphy were unavailable due to illness and Kearyn Hicks joined the injury list following last weeks match against Easthouses. There was a debut for Evan Stanfield who signed for the Club midweek and he would have been delighted to get a goal on his first appearance.
The visitors took the lead in the 8th minute when Jordan Keenan headed home a Kieran Richmond corner though the Shipyard would be disappointed at the marking for the set piece. Shippy were getting forward but were making very little in the way of chances, however, an excellent low cross from Sam Glancy may have produced something had anyone been able to get on the end of it. Despite United having plenty of the ball and possession their main threat came from set pieces, however, the Shippy defence had learned their lesson after conceding the goal and they marked more tightly. Dan Thomson broke away from the visitor’s defence in the 42nd minute but could not get his shot away and the danger was cleared.
The Shipyard got the perfect start to the second period as they drew level within two minutes of kick-off. Stanfield picked up the ball some twenty yards from goal and his powerful strike found the bottom corner with United keeper Andrew Smith only able to look on. Shippy had their tails up now and never looked back as they set about winning the tie. Shaun Keatings tried his luck with an audacious lob that narrowly missed the target and in the 58th minute the United defenders threw their bodies in the way the Shippy tried to force the ball home. Keatings and D. Thomson both saw efforts blocked, however, United were unable to stem the flow and Keatings dinked the ball home following a good move down the righthand side. It soon became 3-1 as Glancy drove forward and smashed a left foot dive into the corner to give his team what turned out to be an unassailable advantage. Much like the first half it was more or less one way traffic with Mikey Couser having very little to do in the Shipyard goal while at the other end despite creating opportunities Shippy were unable to add to their tally.
Manager Lee Richardson was very pleased after the match when he said “It was always going to be difficult against the wind but other than the goal I don’t think we were unduly troubled as we defended very well. We were able to get on the front foot in the second half where we played some decent stuff, creating chances and taking three of them. I’m delighted for Evan to get a goal on his debut and be involved in a lot of the good things we did. I thought that everyone played their part today and we can be pleased with ourselves as we now look ahead to facing Stoneyburn next week.”
As the manager said we are at home to Stoneyburn in the 2nd round of the King Cup next week (10/02/2024) with the match kicking off at 2.30pm.
Burntisland Shipyard: M. Couser; E. Bauld; M. Robertson (R. Watt); I. Millar; M. James; S. Keatings (S. Costello); M. Gibb; CJ. Thomson; D. Thomson (H. Kay); E. Stanfield (C. Lewis); S. Glancy.
Edinburgh United: A. Smith; J. Wilson (N. Drummond); J. Keenan; C. Young; D. Waugh (E. Donaldson); M. Murray; K. Richardson; J. Adams (D. Paterson); T. Gill (J. Egan); L. O’Brien; H. Mackintosh.
The Shipyard came out on top in this five goal thriller against Easthouses Lily at Recreation Park on Saturday. Both teams attacked from the outset and the action never relented until the final blast of George MacDonald’s whistle. Neither team have seen that much action in the last few weeks due to postponements, however, every player gave their all in an at times heated but competitive match. Shipyard were still without the influential pair of Ben Anthony and Craig Watt due to injury though manager Lee Richardson still had a full compliment of players at his disposal.
Both teams started the game brightly making incursions into the final third but there were no clear cut chances in the opening ten minutes. Shippy had a chance in the 12th minute when Kearyn Hicks got on the end of a Shaun Keatings corner but he could not direct his header on target. Dan Thomson then shot over from the edge of the area. Mikey Couser had to be on his toes as he saved well twice as the visitors gained momentum. Shipyard were having to defend well as Easthouses pressed for the opener, however, it was the Shipyard who took the lead in the 28th minute. D. Thomson found space in the box and his driven shot took a slight deflected leaving Lily keeper Steven Hay helpless as the ball hit the back of the net. Easthouses drew level in the 43rd minute in controversial circumstances as Shaun Hill drove the ball in off the far post. Shipyard appealed for offside insisting that an Easthouses player had flicked the ball on rendering Hill offside but the ref was having none of it. The visitors thought they had taken the lead a minute later and they were extremely aggrieved that the goal was chalked off, for hand ball apparently.
Hay made a good save and Murphy headed wide as Shippy made a fast start to the second half. The pressure paid off as Shippy were awarded a penalty in the 54th minute as Keatings was fouled in the box by Ryan McQueenie. The visitor’s protests were loud and long but once the dust had settled Murphy coolly converted the spot kick. The lead was quickly doubled as a deep cross to the back post was headed in from a tight angle by Matty Robertson for his first Shipyard goal. The game continued to ebb and flow and Couser got down low to save a driven shot while at the other end Murphy hit the outside of the post with a left foot strike. Easthouses reduced the deficit with ten minutes remaining when substitute Logan Imrie drove the ball into the net from around twelve yards out. As the game entered added time Couser had to be brave as he dived at the feet of the Easthouses forward to clear the danger and in doing so ensured his team got all three points.
Richardson was happy after the match when he said “I thought we played some decent stuff today and created a few good chances. Big Kris was a handful for their defence and he was unlucky to hit the post.”
Next week (03/02/2024) we welcome Edinburgh United to Recreation Park for a King Cup 1st Round tie. Kick-off is at 2.30pm.
Burntisland Shipyard: M. Couser; E. Bauld; M. Robertson; I. Millar; K. Hicks (R. Watt); S. Keatings (M. James); M. Gibb; CJ. Thomson; D. Thomson; K. Murphy; S. Glancy. Unused Subs: S. Costello; H. Kay; C. Lewis; B. Dickson; L. Ross.
Easthouses Lily: S. Hay; L. Smith; C. McBeth; R. McQueenie; T. Rogan; A. Anderson; D. Leslie; N. Janczyk; C. Dyet; S. Hill; S. Barrie. Subs: D. Simpson; M. Hunter; J. Murray; J. Neilson; C. Mason; L. Imrie.
The Shipyard and Kennoway played out an uninspiring goalless draw at a cold Treaton Park on Saturday. Chances were at a premium with both defences repelling nearly everything that was thrown at them and when a golden chance fell to Kennoway they were unable to capitalise as Dylan Walker smashed a penalty off the bar. The Shippy starting eleven showed no fewer than five changes from last week’s horror show against Thornton with Mikey Couser, Michael Gibb, Matty Robertson, Harris Kay and Boyd Dickson all coming in.
Shippy had a chance after five minutes, however, Kris Murphy couldn’t find the target with his left foot strike and at the other end Walker also failed to hit the target from a good position. Couser tipped a cross over the bar rather than attempting to gather it with Kennoway players waiting to pounce. Murphy and Dan Thomson both saw attempts blocked when the hosts defence got in a bit of a tangle at the edge of their area with 27 minutes on the clock. Kennoway then had a spell of pressure as they forced several corners and kept the Shippy pinned back the visitor’s rear-guard stood firm and indeed almost caught Kennoway on the counter as Sam Glancy burst forward but his shot across the keeper drifted wide of the far post. Kennoway’s Sean Johnstone might have done better with a headed effort from a corner and Couser tipped over a Liam Gartshore shot as half-time approached.
A clean sheet for Mikey.
There was a lot less goalmouth action in the second half with it taking until the 66th minute for a chance, as Shaun Keatings wriggling free but he also failed to hit the target. A minute later Kennoway were awarded a penalty when the referee penalised Kearyn Kicks for his challenge on Walker. Despite Hicks’ protestations it was probably the correct decision. Walker stepped up and crashed his strike off the crossbar and when he was next to touch the ball the referee correctly blew his whistle and awarded an indirect free kick to the Shipyard. The Kennoway forward seemed to be frustrated with his miss as his challenge soon after on Kay merited more than the yellow card he was shown. A red card was shown to the Shippy trialist substitute for something he said to the referee as he disputed a decision. Keatings had a late chance to win it for the Shippy, however, a slight deflection took his shot away from goal at the expense of a corner.
There was a first Shippy start for young Boyd.
Manager Lee Richardson said after the match “We defended a whole lot better than we did last week, which wasn’t too difficult to be honest but, I have to be pleased with that. We didn’t create too much going forward, though we might have done better with the opportunities that came our way.”
Next Saturday (20/01/2024) we welcome Edinburgh United to Recreation Park for a King Cup 1st Round tie with the match kicking off at 2.30pm and played to a finish.
Kennoway Star Hearts: K. Moran; D. Meldrum; M. Wilson; G. Allan; L. Young; A. Higgins; L. Black; L. Gartshore; D. Walker; S. Johnstone; E. Wilson. Subs: J. McLelland; R. McGill; D. Nugent; L. Bryce; E. Stanfield.
Burntisland Shipyard: M. Couser; M. Gibb; M. Robertson (I. Millar); E. Bauld; K. Hicks; H. Kay; B. Dickson (L. Ross); S. Glancy; K. Murphy; S. Keatings; D. Thomson. Unused Subs: S. Costello; C. Lewis; A. Trialist.
Ten goals and two sets off “ultras” drumming and signing their hearts out certainly kept the very healthy crowd royally entertained in this first fixture of 2024. Sadly, for the Shipyard, it seemed like they were still in a festive mood as they gifted Thornton goal after goal after goal. Some of the defending could only be described as horrific, because as well as Thornton played, they did not have to work hard for the majority of their goals although Andrew Adam’s 20th minute strike was out of the top drawer. Manager Lee Richardson would have been happy that his team scored three goals, however, the concession of seven will have given him major headache.
Shipyard were more or less at full strength with only talisman striker Ben Anthony missing due to the injury he picked up against Edinburgh South last month. There was a home debut for Kris Murphy who started up front with Shaun Keatings. The morning frost has thawed out making the pitch playable, however, it was very soft underfoot with the pitch cutting up as the match progressed. Shippy got off to a dream start as they opened the scoring in the first minute when Dan Thomson scored from close range after being set up by Murphy. It was big Dan’s first goal for the Shipyard. Andrew McCallion equalised in the 16th minute with a low shot into the corner before Adam’s strike gave the visitors the lead. McCallion scored his second in the 42nd minute despite looking suspiciously offside, albeit the ball should have been cleared long before it got to him.
Hibs scored their fourth in the 53rd minute when the ball from a corner was allowed to find Jamie McNeish unmarked at the edge of the box and his volleyed effort beat Scott Costello in the Shippy goals. Keatings pulled one back two minutes later when he latched onto a through ball, dummied the keeper and rolled the ball into the net. Any hope of a Shipyard comeback was extinguished immediately following some calamitous defending, gifting the ball to Harris Duffy who netted. The goals kept flowing and Murphy pulled the Shippy back into it again when he rolled the ball into an empty net. With 29 minutes remaining there was plenty of time for more goals but a flurry of substitutions seemed to take the momentum out of the match and it was not until the 87th minute Lee Horsburgh was gifted Thornton’s sixth and a minute later it was seven when Garry Thomson lobbed Costello following another horrendous mistake.
Next week (13/01/2024) it’s another Fife derby as we head to Treaton Park to face Kennoway Star Hearts with the kick off at 2pm.
Burntisland Shipyard: S. Costello; L. Ross (M. Gibb); I. Millar (M. Robertson); E. Bauld; K. Hicks; C. Watt; D. Thomson (R. Watt); M. James; K. Murphy; S. Keatings (C. Lewis); S. Glancy (CJ. Thomson). Unused Subs: H. Kay & B. Dickson.
Thornton Hibs: C. Sutherland; N. Laird; D. McMillan; S. Drummond; S. Cunningham; K. Allan; M. Black; A. Adam; A. McCallion; G. Thomson; J. McNeish. Subs: C. Doctor; M. Coleman; H. Duffy; J. Soutar; R. Hain; L. Horsburgh; R. Crichton.
The Shipyard let two points slip out of their hands as a sloppy second half defensive performance saw them concede three goals in a ten minute spell. All this coming after a dominant first half that had saw them comfortably establish a two goal lead, indeed if it hadn’t been for some contentious offside decisions the Shippy would have been out of sight before the half-time whistle blew. Add in a missed penalty, albeit a very soft award, at the start of the second period then you can get a measure of the visitor’s frustrations. Shipyard players felt that they had a stronger penalty claim turned down when Shaun Keatings was hauled down as he tried to get on the end of a Ben Anthony cross and Anthony himself looked on in anguish as his late strike took a deflection, hit the post and bounced to safety. There was a lot to be positive about especially in an attacking sense but once again lapses at the back proved to be very costly. Scott Costello, CJ Thomson, Mark James and Anthony all returned to the starting eleven following last week’s friendly against Hill of Beath.
Jamesy opened the scoring after 90 seconds.
Shippy got off to the perfect start as they took the lead inside 90 seconds when James placed the ball into the corner of the net following good work from Ryan Watt and Anthony. CJ Thomson’s shot was blocked and Anthony’s low cross was cleared as the visitors dominated. The ball was in the net again as Watt flicked on D Thomson’s cross and James outjumped home keeper Steven Kay to head home, however, the referee apparently gave offside. The Shipyard players were becoming frustrated with the continuous offside decisions, none more so than Anthony who was cautioned for complaining about it. In the 28th minute James played a delightful ball to Keatings who’s cross found Anthony but the strikers lob landed on the top of the net. Shipyard got the second goal their play merited in the 32nd minute when Keatings knocked home Anthony’s cross despite the best efforts of Kay to keep it out. Anthony and Watt had shots blocked in quick succession before Easthouses came into the match as they forced a few corners. Their best chance fell to Darren Leslie but the forward put the ball over from a very good position. On the stroke of half-time Anthony hit a speculative strike from all of forty yards and Kay had to be alert as he got back and tipped the audacious attempt over at the expense of a corner.
Kay came out for the start of the second half but was clearly unwell, therefore, he was replaced by Daniel Simpson between the sticks and Shipyard replaced D Thomson with Sandy Strang.
Simpson’s first task was to face a penalty as Lily were harshly penalised for a challenge on CJ Thomson close to the goal line. The normally proficient Keatings blazed the kick high over the bar and you could sense that the hosts got a lift from this. In the 51st minute Strang just failed to get on the end of an Anthony pass before Easthouses came storming back into the match. Lily took a quick throw on the righthand side that caught Shippy napping and when the cross came in Shaun Hill netted from close range. The hosts were level in the 62nd minute when Leslie’s looping header found the net. Shipyard were rattled now as Easthouses swarmed all over them and it was no surprise when Lily took the lead in the 68th minute when substitute Connor Dyet stole in at the back post to net. Shippy regained their composure and went searching for an equaliser and it might have come from the penalty spot, however, the referee did not react to the defender’s tug on Keatings as he went to get on the end of an Anthony pass. It was all square with ten minutes remaining as Strang headed a Keatings free kick over the stranded keeper and into the net. Anthony went agonisingly close in the 84th minute when his shot took a slight deflection leaving Simpson helpless but the ball hit the inside of the post and bounced to safety. In added time CJ Thomson head flicked the ball on to Anthony, however, Benji dithered and was closed down. Costello had to be on his toes as a free kick driven towards goal was creeping in at the post until the big keeper got down to save. Costy picked up a nasty knee injury in the closing stages after he collided with the Easthouses player who was bearing down on goal; however, he was able to continue after treatment.
Costy took a blow to the knee late on.
Next week we are on the road again as we make the long trip to the borders to face Coldstream at Home Park. Kick-off is at 2.30pm. We are running a bus which will leave Dollar Road at 11.15am. Some seats are still available and can be booked by contacting the Club through its social media platforms.
Easthouses Lily: S. Kay; L. Smith; L. Watson; R. McQueenie; T. Rogan; R. Kearney; D. Leslie (D. Simpson); N. Janczyk; J. Burrows; S. Hill; S. Barrie. Subs: L. Sives; P. McDermott; A. Anderson; C. McBeth; C. Dyet; R. Wyllie.
Burntisland Shipyard: S. Costello; L. Ross; M. Robertson; M. Gibb; I. Millar; CJ. Thomson; D. Thomson (S. Strang); M. James; B. Anthony; S. Keatings; R. Watt (B. Murray). Unused Subs: B. Dickson; H. Kay; E. Bauld.
