Shippy lose heavily after poor performance in front of goal.
There was a similarity between this Shipyard performance and what Scotland produced against Holland recently, both 4-0 defeats, in that they played some nice stuff but passed up gilt edged chances and at the other end defended poorly, as Armadale did not have to work too hard for their goals. Had the Shippy taken a great early chance it might have been different; however, it was not to be as the hosts took advantage of the Shipyard’s wasteful finishing and sloppy defending to ease to victory and consolidate their position in the promotion places. The Shippy welcomed back Kearyn Hicks after a long injury lay off and Harris Kay also returned to the fold as he took a place on the bench.
It was the Shipyard who had the first opportunity of the match and what a chance it was as Michael Gibb gathered a loose pass and drove forward unopposed, however, his shot was too close to Thistle keeper Andrew Murphy who saved with his legs at the expense of a corner. Sam Glancy then drove over from the edge of the box. Mikey Couser had to be quick off his line to clear the danger as a long ball beat the Shippy defence. Armadale broke the deadlock in the 15th minute and it was a poor goal to concede as far as the Shipyard were concerned. A corner played into the six-yard box was not cleared and when the ball broke to Juwan Abubakar, he was able to put it away from close range. Ethan Bauld played a great pass to Gibb who’s cross was knocked behind for a corner and when the set piece was delivered Hicks was unlucky to see his header flash wide. Couser then saved well from a Colin Strickland close range strike. Gibb was in the thick of the action again as he received the ball in the Thistle area but the makeshift striker couldn’t get the ball out of his feet and the chance was gone. Gibb had another good opportunity when Glancy found him in the box and although he lobbed the ball over Murphy his effort didn’t have enough power to find it’s way over the line. An Evan Stanfield long range volley was well over the bar just before the Shippy suffered a sickening sucker punch. A ball played out to the left found the Armadale man in what looked like an offside position but unfortunately the referee never saw it that way and Strickland slotted the ball home when he received the pass.
The Shippy made a change at the interval with Kay coming on for the unwell CJ Thomson, however, before Kay could settle into the game his team were 3-0 down as a mistake at the back allowed Declan Wood a golden opportunity and he made no mistake as he fired the ball beyond Couser. There was a controversial moment in the 58th minute as Gibb powered forward. He was clearly tugged back as he went past his marker and was through on goal. To his credit he didn’t go down but stumbled forward and gathered the ball. The keeper parried his angled shot and recovered quickly to deny Dan Thomson as he looked to capitalise on the loose ball. Could or should the referee have brought play back, awarded a free-kick and possibly issued a red card under the circumstances? Was there a clear advantage to the Shippy as he waved play on? Gibb was involved in everything and he might have done better than head wide from a corner as the Shipyard looked for a way back into the game. Any hope of a comeback was crushed in the 63rd minute when possession was coughed up far too easily from a free-kick and Armadale quickly got the ball to Strickland who made it 4-0. D. Thomson had a free kick on target but it was never powerful enough to trouble Murphy and he also had a shot off target late in the match. Armadale fired a couple of dangerous crosses into the Shippy area that thankfully nobody could get on the end of and Couser had one more good save deep in added time as he saved with his legs from substitute Kris Kelly.
This Saturday (06/04/2024) we welcome Dalkeith Thistle to Recreation Park for another league match with the game kicking off at 2.30pm.
Armadale Thistle: A. Murphy; G. Hamilton; T. Murphy; S. Thomson; E. Herriot; J. Fairley; S. McLeod; D. Kane; D. Wood; C. Strickland; J. Abubakar. Subs: C. Baillie; J. Gillespie; K. Kelly; R. MacLennan; C. Nelson; J. Tapping; A. Uphill.
Burntisland Shipyard: M. Couser; E. Bauld; M. Robertson (E. McQuade); K. Hicks; M. James (K. Beard); CJ. Thomson (H. Kay); D. Turner; D. Thomson; E. Stanfield (S. Costello); M. Gibb; S. Glancy.
Following discussions between the two clubs and the East of Scotland League, it has been agreed that the Shipyard and Armadale Thistle will reverse the two league fixtures still to be played. The Shipyard will now visit Volunteer Park, Armadale on Saturday 30th March 2024 with the reverse fixture now taking place at Recreation Park, Burntisland on 18th May 2024, the last game of the season. Thanks to everyone for their assistance in making this happen.
Despite having a much healthier squad available on Wednesday night the Shippy still fell to defeat against Kennoway Star Hearts at Recreation Park. It was an unfortunate lose as, particularly in the second half, the Shippy created an abundance of chances, however, no-one had their shooting boots on as several golden opportunities were missed. When chances came the visitor’s way, they converted them and that was the difference on the night. Ben Anthony, Sam Glancy, Ellis McQuade, Kris Murphy, Matty Robertson, Evan Stanfield, Sandy Strang and CJ Thomson were all back in the fold with only Shaun Keatings dropping out due to suspension.
Kennoway opened the scoring in the 13th minute as a corner from the left-hand side found the unchallenged Campbell Tully and he was able to power his header beyond Mikey Couser and into the net. Dan Thomson saw a shot blocked as did Glancy when he latched onto the loose ball and in the 21st minute keeper Kyle Moran was at full stretch to tip away Michael Gibb’s strike. With the game in additional time at the end of the half both Ethan Bauld and Thomson missed the target as the Shippy sought an equaliser.
The Shipyard were on top in the second half with the introduction of the Anthony brothers at the interval changing the formation, as Darrell lined up as a trialist alongside brother Ben. Benji was playing wide on the right and his pace was allowing him to get crosses into the box but sadly none of his teammates could convert any of them. Murphy spurned a great chance in the 66th minute when he swivelled in the box but his hooked effort narrowly went wide of the post. At the other end Couser pulled off a tremendous save to deny the visitors from increasing their lead in the 72nd minute. There was an almighty stramash in the visitor’s box in the 77th minute but no Shippy player was able to force the ball home, though it looked like a Shipyard player blocked a goal bound effort. Another opportunity was passed up in the 81st minute before the Shippy suffered a sucker punch seconds later as a long ball up the park wasn’t dealt with and the Kennoway player took advantage and scored. The game became very feisty in the closing stages with Darrell seeing red for a second yellow, though how the Kennoway player went unpunished for his part in the incident was astonishing.
Manager Lee Richardson said after the match “We created plenty of chances but unfortunately couldn’t convert any of them and at the other end two mistakes cost us dearly. I was disappointed in the amount of times Ben was flagged for apparently being offside and also the amount fouls on Sam that went unpunished. The Darrell incident was embarrassing.”
Edinburgh South are the visitors on Saturday (23/03/2024) with the match kicking off at 2.30pm.
Burntisland Shipyard: M. Couser; E. Bauld (D. Anthony); M. Robertson; D. Turner; M. James; CJ. Thomson; M. Gibb (E. Stanfield); S. Glancy; D. Thomson; K. Beard (B. Anthony). Unused Subs: S. Costello; E. McQuade; M. Moodie; S. Strang.
Kennoway Star Hearts: K. Moran; R. McGill; M. Wilson; C. Tully; L. Young; G. Allan; L. Black; D. Walker; D. Nugent; S. McMeechan; E. Wilson. Subs: L. Bryce; D. Meldrum; A. Malcolm; R. Nicholson; C. Anderson.
Once again, the Shipyard travelled south with a hugely depleted squad thanks to injury, illness and unavailability. Nonetheless, all those who travelled can be pleased with their performances on the day, as a couple of mistakes that were punished and a horrendously bad offside decision resulted in the 3-1 loss to Tweedmouth Rangers at Shielfield Stadium. The pitch survived a morning inspection, though it was very soft and it cut up badly as the game progressed. There were debuts for the recently signed Declan Turner and for young trialists Ryan Sharp and George Burke.
A healthy contingent of “Shippy Ultras” all wearing their new hoodies, travelled to the match and they gave their usual vociferous backing to the team.
The Shippy fell behind in the 8th minute following an uncharacteristic mistake from Mikey Couser and Craig Bell knocked home the loose ball. The Shipyard were getting forward and had some attempts at goal, however, none of them troubled Niall Frampton in the Tweedmouth goals. In the 20th minute Dan Thomson drove forward and got into the box but the angle narrowed on him and he was unable to hit the target. Scott Costello had a shot saved while at the other end Couser had a couple of comfortable saves and catches to deal with.
Bell passed up a decent chance at the start of the second half but otherwise the Shippy defence were untroubled and as confidence grew the equaliser arrived. After good build up the ball was worked to Shaun Keatings at the edge of the area and he found the net with a fine strike. All the good work was undone by two decisions in the next few minutes. One correct and the other absolutely shocking. Rhys Bloomfield was yards offside when he ran onto a through ball and knocked it beyond Couser and into the net. Even the Tweedmouth manager was embarrassed by the decision saying his player was “Miles offside”. The next decision in the 77th minute was an easy one for the referee as he showed Keatings a second yellow card for another foul, just as the Shippy looked to get back level again. Undoubtedly, the Shipyard heads dropped and when possession was easily conceded just outside the box it gave Bell another chance and he drilled into the net. Thomson had a chance in the 90th minute, however, he was closed down before he got his shot away.
Manager Lee Richardson didn’t have much to say after the game other than “I can’t fault the boy’s effort and commitment today.”
The next match is on Wednesday night (20/03/2024) when we welcome Kennoway Star Hearts to Recreation Park for another league match. Kick-off is at 7.30pm.
Tweedmouth Rangers: N. Frampton; R. Dixon; E. Smith; C. Heath; R. Aitchison; C. Bell; S. Straughan; G. Sabitini; R. Lightfoot; C. Temple; R. Bloomfield. Subs: R. Dunn; O. Adebayo; R. Turner; J. Gibson; C. Howden; B. Smith; J. Baverstock.
Burntisland Shipyard: M. Couser; M. Gibb; M. Moodie; E. Bauld; M. James; R. Sharp; K. Beard (F. Lockhart); D. Turner; S. Keatings; S. Costello (G. Burke); D. Thomson.
The Shipyard went down 1-0 to Coldstream thanks to a Miguel Freire goal nine minutes from time at Home Park on Saturday. In truth, the home team deserved their win as they created many more chances than the Shipyard, with the Shippy struggling to put the Coldstream defence under any concerted pressure. It was a much changed team from Wednesday night with no fewer than seven players dropping out either through injury or unavailability, leaving the manager with a major selection dilemma. On a brighter note, there was a start for Cammy Lewis who has overcame his dislocated knee injury and would have benefitted from the 65 minutes he had on the pitch. Ben Anthony also continued his comeback from injury when he replaced Cammy. There was a Shipyard debut from the bench as young trialist Rian MacDougall came on for the final few minutes and he can be pleased with his contribution. Mikey Couser, Ryan O’Donnell, Ellis McQuade, Mark James, Kai Beard and Kris Murphy all joined Lewis in the starting eleven.
Thomas Hume headed against the post in the 4th minute following a Regan Graham corner and after this the Shippy began to settle and impose themselves on the game. Couser was called into action twice in a minute as he saved with his legs from Graham before pushing away a driven effort from the lefthand side of the box. The Shipyard spurned a glorious chance to take the lead when Lewis burst through, however, he attempted to round Elliot Turnbull in the Coldstream goals, rather than shoot, and he was cautioned for apparent simulation as he went past the keeper. Just before half-time Couser was in action again as he saved from Kieran Ingram.
Kyle Wood and Ingram both headed over at the start of the second half as the home team started strongly. On the hour mark Dan Thomson saw his shot deflected into the keeper’s hands as the game opened up and became a more even end to end contest. The deadlock was finally broken in the 81st minute when Freire gave his team the lead with an angled strike that seemed to bounce awkwardly for Couser and found the corner of the net.
Lee Richardson spoke after the match said “I’ve been told that the referee never awarded us a free kick until the 41st minute which I find astonishing given the challenges that my players endured. What made it worse for me was that similar challenges from us seemed to merit a yellow card, which was very frustrating to say the least.” He went on to add “To say the squad was stretched to the limit was an understatement, nonetheless, all the boys that came in done very well and can be pleased with their contributions.”
We travel south again this week (16/03/2024) as we cross the border to face Tweedmouth Rangers at Shielfield Stadium in Berwick upon Tweed, with the match kicking off at 2.30pm. The Club will be running a coach to the match with details being published on our social media channels.
Coldstream: E. Turnbull; J. Whitehead; I. Gay; M. Fox; K. Ingram; B. Wright; M. Freire; R. Graham; K. Wood; B. Paterson; T. Hume. Subs: T. Grey; K. Ross; K. Lee; J. Storm.
Burntisland Shipyard: M. Couser; R. O’Donnell; E. McQuade; M. Gibb; M. James; S. Glancy; K. Beard; CJ. Thomson (R. MacDougall); K. Murphy; C. Lewis (B. Anthony); D. Thomson. Unused Subs: O. Wardrop; C. Watson; F. Lockhart.
The Shipyard never really got started in this cup tie and they were a pale shadow of themselves following Friday nights enthralling match against Crossgates. It what was an uninspiring contest, with very few clear-cut chances, it came as no surprise that only one goal would settle the contest. When that goal came for Stoneyburn in the 23rd minute it was a calamity for the Shippy as a corner found it’s way to the back post and Joshua Sharpe was able to knock the ball in from no more than a couple of feet out. Mikey Couser, Mark James and Kris Murphy were all missing from the team that started on Friday, though there was the welcome return of Ben Anthony who had been out since December with an ankle injury. Scott Costello, Lewis Ross and Craig Watt came into the starting eleven.
Watt almost opened the scoring in the 3rd minute, however, his headed effort from a Sam Glancy corner flew just wide. Stoneyburn went close with a headed attempt in the 13th minute and in the 17th, Costello had to react quickly to gather the loose ball after it spilled from his grasp. Stoneyburn took the lead in the 23rd minute as mentioned when Sharpe took advantage of some poor defending to prod the ball home. A ball flicked into the path of Dan Thomson was cleared off the line as the Shippy looked to respond quickly, however, they were dealt a blow in the 28th minute as Costello was unable to continue after he collided with the post when pulling off as good save and after a couple of minutes treatment he was replaced by Mikey Couser.
Costy had to be subbed after colliding with the post.
The Shippy spurned a great chance in the 58th minute as Dan Thomson broke through. Rather than shoot with his right foot he cut back inside the defender and was unlucky to see his strike hit the bar and go over. Both Iain Millar and Matty Robertson were withdrawn through injury, with Millar’s looking particularly serious, and they were replaced by Sandy Strang and Ben Anthony. In the 72nd minute Strang had a chance from a corner, however, he couldn’t direct his header on target and the same man went close again with seven minutes remaining but, on this occasion, he was thwarted by keeper Jack McLean.
Big Millzy left the field with a serious ankle injury.
Manager Lee Richardson was naturally disappointed when he spoke after the match when he said “We were poor tonight, particularly in the first half, and never reached the levels required. Picking up three more injuries tonight is a huge blow, with Big Millzy looking like he could be out for a while. I don’t think Costy and Matty will be long term but it’s still a concern, nonetheless, given the other injuries we have.”
On Saturday (09/03/2024) we travel to face Coldstream in a league match at Home Park. Kick-off is at 2.30pm.
Burntisland Shipyard: S. Costello (M. Couser); E. Bauld; M. Robertson (B. Anthony); I. Millar (S. Strang); M. Gibb; C. Watt; L. Ross (E. McQuade); CJ. Thomson; E. Stanfield; D. Thomson; S. Glancy. Unused Subs: K. Beard & M. Moodie.
Stoneyburn: J. McLean; M. Brown; L. Woods; J. Sharpe; J. Williamson; B. Miller; J. Duncan; E. Watson; J. McLaughlin; G. Forrester; J. Douglas. Subs: L. Kane; B. Nolan; B. Ferris; J. Cameron; A. Gibb.
The two teams served up a thrilling cup tie that went all the way to the wire, with Crossgates eventually triumphing 4-3 on penalties after the game had finished 3-3 after extra time. The 196 in attendance were thoroughly entertained and even a brief stoppage following a floodlighting issue did spoil the evening, albeit the heavy rain that arrived late in the match did put a dampener on proceedings. The Shipyard starting eleven showed one change from last week’s win at Peebles with Kris Murphy replacing the suspended Shaun Keatings. Craig Watt returned from injury and took a place on the subs bench.
The Shippy got off to a disastrous start as they conceded a goal in the 3rd minute. A thrown in was deflected into the path of Cammy Muirhead and his shot with the aid a deflection that took the ball away from Mikey Couser in the Shipyard goals. Shippy almost responded immediately, however, Michael Gibb’s shot was well saved by Macaulay Jarrett at the expense of a corner. Archie Campbell might have done better for the visitors when he received the ball in the centre of goal but he blazed over from around the penalty spot. An error at the back proved costly for the Shippy as Craig Henderson capitalised, drilling the ball past Couser and into the corner of the net. Shipyard got back into the match four minutes before the interval when Jarrett failed to gather the ball giving Dan Thomson the opportunity to lash the ball home.
Dan Thomson netted the 1st Shippy goal.
Murphy fired an effort just wide in the 49th minute but the equaliser was only delayed three minutes. Sam Glancy gathered the ball and drove into the box and as he bore down on goal, he calmly put the ball beyond Jarrett to make it 2-2. The Shippy defence had to be on its toes when a corner was delivered into the box with Crossgates were claiming the ball was over the line, however, the assistant was well placed to indicate the ball was cleared off the line. In the 64th minute a powerfully hit Murphy free kick whistled narrowly past the post with Jarrett rooted to the spot. Crossgates regained the lead in the 70th minute from the penalty spot after Gibb had fouled his opponent he drove into the box. Campbell netted to make it 3-2 with twenty minutes remaining. Jarrett produced an outstanding save to deny the Shippy when he somehow got a hand to Watt’s header, however, from the corner the Shipyard levelled it up again as CJ Thomson fired the ball through a forest of legs and into the net. It was no more than the Shippy deserved as they took the game to extra time.
CJ lobbed over in the 94th minute and Crossgates sub Blair Paterson shot into the side netting after ninety nine, however, the main talking point in extra time was the floodlights going out. The match was delayed for nine minutes before it was discovered that a timer had kicked in and switched the lights off. Neither team could force a winner in the remainder of the extra time so it was down to penalties. D. Thomson, Murphy & Matty Robertson scored for the Shippy however, Scott Costello & Mikey Moodie failed to hit the target. Although Couser saved Crossgates’ second spot kick the other four were converted to see the visitors progress to the next round of the League Cup. Manager Lee Richardson was able to take positives from the match and he said “We more than matched a Premier League team for 120 minutes and gave as good as we got. We showed tremendous character to come back from two down to draw level and then once again after we fell behind to the penalty.” He went on to add “I thought we played some good stuff particularly in the second half; however, we were guilty of giving away avoidable goals. We have had a lot of injuries to deal with recently though it was good to see Big Kris and Rooney back in the fold.”
We are back in cup action on Wednesday night, this time the King Cup, as we welcome Stoneyburn to Recreation Park. Kick off is at the usual time of 7.30pm.
Burntisland Shipyard: M. Couser; E. Bauld (S. Costello); M. Robertson; I. Millar, M. James (M. Moodie); D. Thomson; M. Gibb; CJ. Thomson; E. Stanfield (C. Watt); K. Murphy; S. Glancy (K. Beard). Unused Sub: E. McQuade.
Crossgates Primrose: M. Jarrett; P. Brown; C. Reid; A. McDonald; L. Kellichan; C. McGuire; C. Muirhead; A. Campbell; C. Henderson; D. Smith; A. Barnett. Subs: M. Komacki; B. Paterson; J. Kinninmonth.
