Masson hat-trick as Hawick are hit for six.
Kev Masson (hidden on right of picture) scores the first of his hat-trick v Hawick
The Shipyard put a poor first half performance behind them as they hit Hawick with six unanswered goals in the second to wrap up an eventual 6-1 victory at Recreation Park. The Shippy have now scored 14 goals in the last two matches with an incredible 13 of them coming in the second half’s of the matches. Alex selected the same starting eleven as last week at Duns, with Brendan Napier and Andy MacDonald returning to the squad and finding places on the bench.
The match started in similar fashion to the previous encounter between the teams a couple of weeks back with Hawick starting the better and looking the most likely in the early stages. The first real threat came in the 12th minute when Craig Lowe headed the ball past the out rushing Jordan Mushet but luckily for the Shipyard the ball was wide of the target and resulted in a corner. The visitors almost took the lead from the corner when Liam Henderson poked a loose ball narrowly wide of the post. Ewan Henderson had the ball in the back of the Hawick net in the 16th minute but the referee deemed he had used a hand to control the ball. Ethan Anderson had a couple of angled drives that were off target and in between that a Shaun Keatings strike was parried away by Albert keeper Campbell McLellan. The visitors took the lead in the 40th minute when a long ball into the Shipyard area found Michael Smith all alone some 10 yards out and he had time to control the ball before firing his strike beyond Mushet. On the stroke of half-time Mushet had to be on his toes at the corner of his six yard box to block an Andrew Noble attempt with his legs.
The home team were almost level within a minute of the re-start when Kevin Masson got clear of the Hawick defence but McLellan was able to divert his strike to safety, while at the other end Mushet held an angled drive at the second attempt. The Shippy were level in the 56th minute after a great piece of close control from Masson. He got to the Hawick bye-line before weaving past a couple of defenders and tucked the ball in from a tight angle. Within a minute the Shippy had taken the lead when Keatings received the ball wide on the right and fired in a first time cross that was expertly tucked away by Dale Robertson. A quick throw in from Anderson found Masson and he set up Robertson just inside the box but his well struck effort was blocked by the Albert defence. The Shipyard scored their third goal in the 71st minute when good work from Robertson set up Masson and with time and space he calmly slotted the ball beyond McLellan. The Shipyard were in total command at this stage and looked like scoring every time they went forward as first Henderson poked the ball just wide and sub Ryan Kelly did not get enough on the ball as he tried to head home from a Robertson free-kick. There was a light hearted moment when Masson fed Henderson at the edge of the box but the big striker seemed to fall over his own feet and the chance was lost. The Shippy scored a fourth in the 86th minute when sub Andy MacDonald fired in a ferocious strike from distance that McLellan saved brilliantly by tipping the ball on to the bar, however, unluckily for him Masson was on hand to nod in from close range to complete his hat-trick. Henderson made up for his earlier mishap when he collected a throw from Masson and lobbed the ball over the keeper for his sides fifth of the afternoon. In added time the scoring was completed by the man who had opened the scoring but unfortunately for Hawick’s Smith he headed a Masson cross cum shot into his own net from around six yards. Although Masson was trying to claim the goal both after it had been scored and on social media later, it was hardly a deflection and from the distance out the Hawick player was, it did not appear to be on target either. But typical striker, try and claim anything you can!!!
Kev celebrates the completion of his hat-trick
After the game manager Alex Lowe praised his team but only for their second half display when he said “After a disappointing first half the boys put in an excellent performance in the second half scoring six goals without reply. Hawick were the better team in the first half going in deservedly a goal up at half time. We pressed a lot higher up the park in the second half and scored some good goals. Everyone stepped up their game second half but a special mention must go to Kevin Masson who scored a fine hat-trick. Hopefully we can keep this good run going until the end of the season”.
Next week see’s the fixture reversed with the Shipyard travelling south to Albert Park to play Hawick for the third time in four weeks. The match kicks off at 2pm.
Burntisland Shipyard: J. Mushet; C. Lowe; J. Bouhaddou (R. Kelly); T. Arthur; G. Haywood; S. Keatings (A. Doig); B. Smart (A. MacDonald); D. Robertson; K. Masson; E. Anderson; E. Henderson. Unused Sub: B. Napier.
Hawick Royal Albert: C. McLellan; J. Laidlaw; J. Paterek; K. Fettes; S. McKenzie; N. Cairns; A. Noble; D. McCowatt; M. Smith; N. Ramsay; L. Henderson. Sub: M. Stewart.
Referee: C. Ferguson.