Hard fought win sees Shipyard progress
The Shipyard deservedly won this keenly contested Fife Cup tie in very blustery conditions at Windmill Park against Dysart. Gordon Grieve and Shaun Lamont were added to the injury list, though Chris Martin made his debut as a late substitute.
Dysart started the better side and Martin had to get down low to his right to save a well struck shot from the edge of the box. In the 6th minute Martin was back in the thick of the action, this time saving at the feet of the striker as he bore down on goal. The Shipyard had their first effort a minute later, though it did not trouble Kerr too much as he held Russell’s header from close range. The Shipyard took the lead in the 13th minute when Paul Ferrier poked the ball in at the near post after his initial effort had rebounded back to him. The Shipyard took a grip of the match for the next few minutes with McAndrew lashing a shot just wide in the 19th minute. Russell passed up a great chance to double the lead but, he somewhat sklaffed his shot from in front of goal after good work from Wilson. Dow found himself inside the box but he could not get the ball out of his feet as the Dysart defence closed in. Dysart came back into the game and Martin again did well to gather the ball inside the 6yard box at the second attempt. McCue had a drive that was touched round the post for a corner before Dysart equalised in the 42nd minute. Lewis McKenzie received a good pass from Hyland and placed a fine shot behind Martin. Ferrier then came into the thick of the action twice just before half-time. Firstly, he engineered himself a good shooting opportunity that was blocked, then, after receiving a through ball, he rounded the keeper only to be dragged to the ground by the shirt as he was about to put the ball in the net. To everyone in Windmill Park’s astonishment the referee waved away the penalty claim.
The second half saw the Shipyard start in the ascendency and McCue’s shot from 18yards was not too far away. The Shipyard regained the lead in the 54th minute when the ball fell to Paul Wilson at the corner of the box and his well struck shot found its way into the net at the far post. Good link up play between Ferrier and Wilson created a chance for Russell who saw his shot take a slight deflection which then hit the outside of the post and went behind for a corner. Hamilton was next to have a go with a left foot shot from the edge of the box just clearing the crossbar. The Shipyard forced a series of corners that were fruitless before Dysart almost equalised. A shot from inside the box beat Martin but Dow was on hand to clear off the line. Ferrier almost scored a fantastic goal when he latched onto a long clearance close to the right touchline. He volleyed the ball beyond the advancing keeper, however, his shot did not have enough power and a defender was able to get back and clear the ball away. Dysart pushed hard in the last 10 minutes in search of a leveller and Hyland went close when he flicked on a corner at the front post that flew over the bar. Although Dysart had most of the possession in the closing stages the Shipyard defence were able to cope and it will be the Shipyard that faces St Monans Swallows in the next round at Recreation Park.
After the game Billy Whitehead said “I am delighted to be in the next round. We did not play as well as we could today and the strong wind caused a few problems. Dysart fought hard and caused us some problems, but I thought we deserved it”.
Dysart: Kerr; Partridge; Aitken; Dick; Thomson; Sellers; Napier; McKenzie; Hyland; Walker; Anderson. Subs: Christie; Hatton; Murray; Dickson.
Burntisland Shipyard: A. Martin; McAndrew; Brough; Williams; Whyte; Wilson (Doyle); Hamilton; McCue; Russell; Ferrier; Dow (C. Martin). Unused Sub: Chalmers.
Referee: K. Robertson.