Shippy push Cupar all the way
The Shipyard suffered a narrow defeat to league leaders Cupar Hearts at Duffus Park, going down to the only goal of the game, scored by Iain Boylan after 53 minutes. James Whyte returned from holiday to strengthen the Shippy defence, Steven McAndrew also returned to the starting line up and Steven Dow started up front.
The Shipyard almost opened the scoring in the 2nd minute when the Cupar defence could only partially clear the ball and McCue saw his driven effort deflected away for a corner. In the 9th minute a T. Williams header from a corner narrowly missed the goals. Cupar pushed forward in the 19th minute and Marshall had to make a timely interception to clear the danger. McCue then tried his luck from distance after the ball broke to him, but his effort drifted wide. Gilfillan headed over from a Cupar corner as both teams pushed for the opener. Good work from Grieve in the 29th minute carved out a chance for McAndrew but his shot drifted across the face of goal. In the 35th minute Sibanda blazed a shot over from a good position just inside the box.
The second half started in the same vain as both teams attacked and when Russell head flicked the ball on to Dow the pressure of the challenge from the defender was enough to put Dow off. In the 50th minute a mix-up at the back allowed Cupar possession in a dangerous area but they could not make the most of the opportunity. Cupar took the lead in the 53rd minute when a speculative shot from Boylan squirmed through Martin’s grasp and found the corner of the net. The Shipyard had a chance to draw level when a mix-up in the Cupar defence allowed Russell a sight of goal. Rather than shooting straight away he delayed his shot and the chance was lost. Andy Martin then made up for his mistake when he tipped over a point blank header. The play swung back to the other end and McEwan held a powerful T. Williams header from a Whyte free kick. Back came Cupar in the 70th minute and O’Leary shot wide from the angle. Cupar were enjoying a spell of pressure and Whyte got a good block in and Little shot over after a cross was deflected to him. In the 77th minute keeper McEwan parried a Dow shot to safety, then three minutes later he produced the save of the match to turn away a fierce Dow drive from 16 yards after Dow had worked himself into a great position. Little had a chance with 5 minutes to go when he lobbed the ball over Martin at the edge of the box, with his shot drifting wide Martin was able to win the race for the ball and kick it away for a corner. From the corner a headed effort was straight into Martin’s gloves. The last chance of the match fell to the Shipyard but Grieve’s shot drifted wide of the far post. Manager Whitehead said after the game “I was pleased with the performance today and we matched them all game. It was a disappointing goal to lose, however, we need to start putting the ball in the net at the other end”.
Teams: Cupar Hearts: McEwan; Gilfillan; Sharp; McInroy; Nicoll; Sibanda; Boylan; Little; O’Leary; Crawford; Beveridge. Subs: Gutierrez; Simpson; Reilly; McShane; Kane.
Burntisland Shipyard: Martin; Marshall; Grieve; T. Williams; Whyte; McAndrew; Hamilton; Cook (Brough); Russell (Wilson); Dow; McCue. Unused Subs: Doyle; Tasker; Chalmers.
Referee: G. MacDonald.