The Shipyard continued their pre-season build up with a visit from Jeanfield Swifts to Recreation Park on Saturday. The Perth outfit ran out 5-2 winners, however, Shippy manager Lee Richardson was far from despondent when he spoke after the match as he said “We competed very well for 55 minutes against a team that finished at the top end of the Premier League table, but I felt that a combination of their experience and us tiring a bit allowed them to take control of the match, ultimately pulling away from us. That being said, one of their goals was an unfortunate O.G. and Benji could have put us 3-1 ahead in the first half, however, in the grand scheme of things that was irrelevant as the boys got more minutes in their legs and I took more positives than negatives from the game.”
The Shippy took the lead in the 10th minute when a trialist shot home from inside the box. The visitors equalised in the 24th minute through Christopher Dodd but they were level for only a few seconds as Cammy Lewis gathered the ball, rounded the keeper and knocked the ball home. Ben Anthony then missed a great chance to score when the striker headed over from a good position. Gary Fergus made it 2-2 in the 37th minute.
Cammy Lewis scored a fine goal.
Further goals in the second half from Dodd, an Iain Millar own goal and Paul Simpson saw Jeanfield win 5-2 in the end. The Club would like to thank Jeanfield for coming down and wish them all the best for the coming season. Our attention now turns to next Saturday (15/7/23) as we welcome local rivals Dundonald Bluebell to Recreation Park with kick-off at 2.30pm.
Pre season starts well for new manager Lee Richardson.
The Shipyard kicked off their pre-season campaign with a fine 5-2 win over Lochee Harp at Recreation Park on Tuesday night. There were a few new faces in the Shippy squad and one in particular made his mark straight away, as Ryan Watt scored with his first touch in a Shipyard strip, when he opened the scoring in the first couple of minutes. Shaun Keatings quickly added a second as Lee Richardson’s team started well. With new man Harris Kay pulling the strings in midfield the Shipyard were creating chances and it was no surprise that Ben Anthony helped himself to a second half hat-trick. Richardson made full use of his squad as all the players got much needed minutes in their legs, though there was a slight concern as Keatings picked up a knock in the first half and had to be replaced. Lochee pulled a couple of goals back at 4-0 but the Shippy were well worth their margin of victory.
Ryan Watt (left) was quick off the mark for the Shipyard.
On Saturday (8/7/23) we welcome Jeanfield Swifts to Burntisland with the match kicking off at 2.30pm. Admission to the match is £4 for Adults and £2 for Concessions with under 16’s free.
Everyone at the Club was deeply saddened to learn of the passing of our dear friend Neil McLeod. A well known and popular character at the Shippy, where Neil both played and coached for the Club in a fine football career. Neil became a regular attendee at matches both home and away, and indeed he helped organise the travel arrangements for the supporters when the Club took a coach to away matches. He will be sadly missed by all and our thoughts and prayers are with Carol and all his family and friends at this very sad time. R.I.P Neil.
Neil is with the squad at the start of the 2018/19 season.
There has been quite a bit of comings and goings at the Shippy this summer, with the main news being that Lee Richardson has taken over from Dave Costello as team manager, though Costy is remaining at the Club in a coaching role. Lee will be assisted by Fergus Lockhart who has replaced Dean Ewing, with Deano leaving the Club. Welcome Lee and Fergus. The Club would like to thank Costy for all his time and hard work in the role as manager. We would also like to wish Deano all the best too as he moves on from the Club.
Lee Richardson.Fergus Lockhart.
On the playing front we are delighted so far, to welcome Harris Kay and Ryan Watt to the Club with the manager confirming others are certain to follow. Harris is joining us from Kennoway Star Hearts when his contract with them expires and Ryan joins his brother Craig at the Club with “Rooney” recently signing a contract extension. Jordan Galloway, Scott Orrock and Jack Wilson have left the Club and again we wish those boys all the best in their future endeavours.
Harris Kay.
Rooney welcomes his brother Ryan to the Shippy.
Our pre season fixtures have been confirmed.
Our final warm up match will see us face local rivals Burntisland United. Our neighbours are celebrating their 50th anniversary this year and all proceeds from the gate will be donated to United in these very difficult times. Hopefully we can get a good crowd in and give United a much welcome boost.
First of all, a huge thanks to the 235 spectators who turned up to watch the match on Saturday. A great turn out, but sadly most left bitterly disappointed following the Shipyard’s 4-1 defeat which condemned them to relegation. The Shippy looked tense and nervous whereas Rosyth, who had nothing to play for, were relaxed and played with a freedom and style the Shippy couldn’t match. Given how well the Shipyard had played last week in an equally vital match, it was disappointing that they could not reach these levels again. Scott Costello returned from suspension in what was the only change to the starting eleven and while Sam Glancy returned to the squad, Sandy Strang dropped out.
The Shipyard fell behind in disastrous circumstances after fourteen minutes when Costello and Iain Millar got in each other way the ball ended up in the net as it appeared to come off the big centre half. Things looked decidedly grim for the Shippy when the visitors doubled their lead in the twentieth minute. Following an indirect free kick inside the area, that was deflected off the top of the bar, Rosyth won corner. When the set piece was played into the box Darren Ormiston was on hand the knock the ball into the net. It was soon three nil and the Shippy were staring into the abyss. A good move from inside their own half resulted in Callum Strang being released into the box and he slotted the ball beyond Costello to realistically put the game out of the Shippy’s reach. A Rhys Wardlaw cross come shot hit the top of the bar and the big striker was unlucky to see his header go just wide after he had won an aerial challenge with keeper Macauley Jarrett at the edge of the area.
The Shipyard really should have pulled one back in the 64th minute when Wardlaw burst into the box only to be denied by the keeper. It looked certain that Cammy Lewis would prod the loose ball into the net, however, a Rosyth defender beat him to the ball and cleared the danger. Costello pulled off a smart save from Thomas Hampson as the game drifted towards its conclusion, though there was time for another couple of goals. The Shipyard defence struggled to clear the ball and eventually it fell to Ryan McDonald who netted from the centre of the goals. The Shipyard immediately pulled one back with a fine strike from sub Robbie MacAulay when he floated the ball over Jarrett and into the top corner.
Burntisland Shipyard: S. Costello; M. James (A. Brown); J. Wilson; L. Ross; I. Millar; S. Orrock; D. Thomson; D. Anthony (R. MacAulay); R. Wardlaw; J. Galloway (S. Glancy); C. Lewis. Unused Subs: R. Connor; R. Crichton; S. Keatings; D. Pierce.
Rosyth: M. Jarrett; J. Denham; G. Leighton; R. McDonald; J. Penman; C. Strang; T. Hampson; M. Sludden; A. McAvoy; D. Ormiston; G. Nutt. Subs: J. Tapping; C. Aikamhenze; M. Ness; Z. Mooney; F. Binnie; C. Cattanach.
Big win for the Shippy as it gets tight at the bottom of the league.
The Shipyard secured the victory required to keep their season alive and did so in fine fashion with a deserved 2-0 win over Lochore Welfare at Central Park on Saturday. A fantastic long-range strike from Jordan Galloway and a penalty from Jack Wilson was the difference between the teams, though in all honesty the Shippy could and should have had another couple given the good chances they created. There was a spirited determination and fight about the Shippy to win the battle first, and they did that, allowing them to produce the quality to get the three points needed. Scott Costello and Ben Anthony were suspended, Craig Watt and Raymond Crichton were injured while Sam Glancy and Ryan O’Donnell were unavailable.
Jordan’s long range shot finds the back of the net.
There was a rare start for Cammy Lewis and he almost made his presence felt within five minutes as his shot was blocked following a good turn in the box. Ewan Sutherland shot wide from the edge of the area as the Welfare had their first attempt in the 13th minute. Lochore keeper Dale Wotherspoon did well to block a Rhys Wardlaw shot at the expense of a corner, however, there was nothing he could do to stop the Shippy taking the lead in the 24th minute. Galloway gathered the ball in the centre of the field and drove forward before driving the ball in off the post to send the large Shipyard support into raptures. The hosts enjoyed a decent spell of pressure around the half hour mark though Mikey Couser in the Shippy goals was not seriously troubled. More good work from Lewis created another chance for the Shipyard but Dan Thomson’s shot was blocked by Wotherspoon. Just on the half-time whistle the visitors struggled to clear the ball out their area and on the back of that a Lochore penalty claim was waved away by the referee after a coming together in the box.
Robbie is brought down for the penalty.
Lewis and Wardlaw had been linking well and they combined again on the hour mark but a combination of the keeper and a defender denied Wardlaw. Lochore appealed for a penalty again, this time for handball, with twenty minutes remaining but once again the referee wasn’t interested. A deep cross had Couser back pedalling and he was relieved to see the ball drift over his crossbar. The Shipyard were awarded a penalty with seven minutes remaining when Wotherspoon upended substitute Robbie MacAulay just inside the box. Although a Welfare defender seemed to dispossess the Shippy man the keeper clearly took him out as he threw himself at the ball. Wilson stepped up and smashed the ball home to give his team an important two goal advantage. A Joe Kirby free kick that flew wide was Lochore’s last opportunity as the Shippy comfortably saw out the final few minutes to secure the vital three points. We now have the Shippy, Lochore and Coldstream all locked on 28 points with the Shipyard having the best goal difference and currently out of the relegation zone by virtue of that. However, Lochore have a game in hand against title contenders Kinnoull, in Perth, on Tuesday night and a win for the Welfare could change everything once again.
On Saturday we welcome Rosyth Juniors to Burntisland while Coldstream and Lochore face off in the borders at the same time. It promises to be a nail biting climax to the season with two of the three teams mentioned joining Kennoway in the second division. Kick-off on Saturday is at 2.30pm.
Lochore Welfare: D. Wotherspoon, C. Bell (S. Cusick); E. Anderson; M. Christie; P. Thomson; L. Donaldson; J. Dawson; E. Sutherland; J. Kirby; L. Thomson; G. Page (C. Murray). Unused Subs: S. Warrender & J. Crowe.
Burntisland Shipyard: M. Couser; M. James; J. Wilson; L. Ross; I. Millar; S. Orrock (S. Strang); D. Thomson; D. Anthony; R. Wardlaw (R. MacAuley); C. Lewis; J. Galloway (S. Keatings). Unused Subs: A. Brown & D. Pierce.
The Shipyard eventually secured the points in this must win contest after coming from behind to beat Coldstream 3-1 at Recreation Park. Things looked bleak for the Shippy as the game approached half-time with the visitors well worth their one goal lead and the Shipyard showing no signs of posing a threat as they seemed to be suffering from a hangover following last week’s horror show. Within a couple of minutes, late in the first half, the Shippy lost the influential Shaun Keating to injury and then manager Dave Costello was shown a red card following a comment made by a spectator towards the referee. The official obviously thought the remark was made by a member of the technical area but he was guessing and found an easy scapegoat. This seemed to galvanise the Shippy and they were soon level and with a bit of luck could have been at least one ahead as the whistle blew for the break. There were several changes to the starting eleven as long term injured captain Iain Millar returned to lead the side with Keatings and Scott Orrock also recovering from injury. Darrell Anthony was promoted from the bench and Mikey Couser replaced the suspended Scott Costello in goals. The euphoria of the win was dampened with what looks to be a serious injury picked up by the tenacious Craig Watt. “Rooney” seemed to land awkwardly following an aerial challenge and was immediately replaced as his ankle swelled up.
Coldstream started the game on the front foot and dominated possession without creating much in the way of goalscoring opportunities, however, the pressure told and they took the lead midway through the half. Couser made an outstanding save at the expense of the corner and when the set piece was delivered Miguel Freire headed home, unmarked, from around six yards. The hosts were level in the 41st minute when Rhys Wardlaw gathered the ball at the corner of the box and his deflected shot left Coldstream keeper Elliott Turnbull helpless and lifted the spirits around the ground. Turnbull produced a great save to deny substitute Robbie MacAuley though the youngster would be disappointed not to find the net and another chance created saw the ball bounce back off the post as the match swung dramatically. Suddenly it was the visitors who were delighted to hear the half time whistle.
Rhys Wardlaw’s shot finds the net as Robbie MacAulay watches on.
In the 52nd minute Wardlaw engineered some space at the edge of the area and smashed a thunderous drive off the underside of the bar with the ball then being cleared to safety. Couser had to tip a dangerous cross away as Coldstream were far from out of it at this stage. Visitors sub Stuart Briggs headed wide from a good position before the Shippy hit the front. With nine minutes remaining a forceful run by Wardlaw saw him burst clear of the visitor’s defence and he calmy dispatched the ball beyond Turnbull to give his team the lead. All the pressure was now on Coldstream to get back into the match but any hopes of a comeback were dashed when Cammy Lewis reacted to a mistake by Kieran Ingram, rounded the keeper and rolled the ball into the empty net to the delight of the Recreation Park crowd. The visitors didn’t give up and Ross Aitchison should have done better when a chance fell his way and deep into added time Couser was on hand to deny Briggs with a decent save.
Rhys scores number 2 to the delight of Mr Shipyard in the background.
Manager Costello said after the game “All that mattered was that we picked up the three points so I’m happy with that. We weren’t great for most of the first half but Rhys’ first goal seemed to settle us down. It looks like I will lose Rooney for the rest of the season, which is a big blow, however, we just have to keep going and move on to next week.”
Crosshill is the destination next Saturday as we face Lochore Welfare in what is another massive match. Kick-off at Central Park is 2.30pm.
Burntisland Shipyard: M. Couser; M. James; J. Wilson; L. Ross; I. Millar; C. Watt (R. Crichton); S. Keatings (R. MacAuley); D. Anthony; R. Wardlaw; S. Orrock (C. Lewis); D. Thomson. Unused Subs: R. Connor; A. Brown.
Coldstream: E. Turnbull; M. Freire; I. Gay; K. Ingram; C. Heugh; K. Bullen; G. Windram; B. Wright; R. Aitchison; T. Hume (S. Bonnington); T. Grey (S. Briggs); Unused Subs: M. Hall; K. Ainslie.
