1

5

The  goal seemed to encourage Gillespie’s to forget about the unfortunate first half and in fact, they started well in the second half and had a couple of good scoring chances. Thomson smashed the home team’s hopes of a comeback. Once again, Thomson jumped highest after a corner kick from the left in the 48^th minute and netted his fifth goal of the day.

Immediately after that, Thomson's match came to an end when he was substituted. A well earned rest.

In the following minutes, the match cooled down considerably and there were not a lot of chances anymore. Steven Nicolson could have scored another goal for Tynecastle after a through ball delivered from midfield in the 71th minute but goalkeeper Laurie Donaldson’s brilliant save prevented further damage.

Gillespie’s, too, had some more chances but the home team either missed their attempts or the drives were saved by Tynecastle’s goalkeeper Western.

In the end, Tynecastle’s victory was deserved but perhaps victory by a smaller margin would have been a fairer reflection. In a fairly balanced match, Benn Thomson’s made the difference and it won't be a match he will forget anytime soon.

Gillespie's now look forward to a baseement battle with Forrester, with neither team having registered a point to date. Tynecastle's next fixture is against Queensferry.

Full Time: James Gillespie's HS 1-5 Tynecastle HS

2

1

Author: Michael O'Brien

 

The second round of the SYFA Challenge Cup drew together Easthouses and Hutchison Vale, two teams separated by a single point in the league. It is also to be a narrow margin that separated the sides on the day, with Easthouses defeating their visitors by two goals to one. The game looked like it could go either way for most of the ninety minutes. However, a spirited comeback by the home side in the second half was enough to see them progress to the next stage of the tournament.

It was Easthouses who looked the more likely of the two teams to open the scoring in the early stages. James Burns had the first shot on target when his speculative volleyed effort was caught well by Hutcison Vale keeper Chris Burt. Burt also did well to rush out and stop William Hutchison getting on the end of a Louis Norris ball for Easthouses not long after. Hutchison was to have another battle with the keeper however after picking up on a short Hutchison Vale pass back. Burt again came off his line to tackle well but with the ball falling to Robbie Carter on the edge of the box and the keeper off his line, Easthouses were presented with another chance to open the scoring. Carter’s shot however went over the bar.

Despite Easthouses having a number of goal scoring opportunities early on, it was Hutchison Vale who were playing the better football on the whole. Keeping the ball on the ground and making full use of the pitch, Vale continued to plug away and their efforts paid off on thirty-five minutes when Kieran Chalmers opened the scoring. Declanh Heron had a part to play in the goal as he skipped past an Easthouses defender on the left wing and delivered a cross deep into the box. Houses’ keeper MacFarlane managed to get a hand to the ball, only to set Chalmers up to score from six yards.

Hutchison Vale enjoyed a spell of possession after the opening goal and continued to press for another. Chances for Easthouses were few and far between towards the end of the first half due largely to a solid performance by Vale’s centre half pairing of Nick Tonner and Cameron Deal.

The last action of the opening fourty-five minutes was however to be a scoring opportunity for Easthouses. Louis Norris hit a free-kick which dipped over the wall and fell awkwardly for Vale’s keeper Chris Thomson, who had replaced Chris Burt early in the match. Thomson did well to recover the save as he pounced on the ball to keep Houses’ Robbie Carter from reaching it.

The scoreline at the end of the first half was perhaps fair, as Hutchison Vale had provided more of an attacking threat than their opponents so far. However, the home side were far from out of the game and caused Vale some problems of their own.

Half Time: Easthouses FC 0 – 1  Hutchison Vale

Easthouses started the second half much more positively than they began the match. The home side looked rather hesitant in attack for much of the first half, opting for a long ball approach as opposed to Hutchison Vale’s passing style. However, going a goal behind forced the team to take the game to Hutchie and they did so excellently.

Spreading the ball wide, Easthouses created a number of chances to draw level early into the second half and it was not long before they did so. Louis Norris’ did well with a run up the right wing before offloading the ball to Robbie Carter. Carter then attempted a cross which deflected off an Easthouses defender before falling at the feet of William Hutchison who did well to steer his shot round Vale’s keeper Thomson. Easthouses were right back in the game just five minutes after the restart and looked a much more confident side from then on.

Hutchison Vale however continued to threaten in attack and always looked dangerous on the break. Not long after Houses’ equaliser, the away side had a couple of golden opportunities to take the lead again, the first of which came for Connor Campbell. Brannon Bunce’s ball over the defence fell kindly for Campbell at the back post but he couldn’t manage to keep his shot down. Minutes later Owen Forrest had a glorious chance to head in from yards out but again saw his effort fly over the crossbar.

The match was finely poised and it made for an interesting spectacle as both sides searched for a goal that would put them ahead in the cup tie. That goal was to come on sixty-five minutes and it came for the home side who were now playing good football, keeping the ball on the deck and making good use of the wings. Hutchison Vale however were caught out in defence as a through ball bounced awkwardly on the edge of the box. Chris Thomson rushed out to deal with the danger but given how close the ball was to the eighteen-yard line, he opted to head the ball away as opposed to risking the catch. The attempted clearance found its way to Easthouses’ Carter who reacted well and powered his header into the back of the net.

Given the importance of the match, Easthouses could be forgiven for sitting back slightly and holding on to their lead for the last twenty minutes. However, they were in no mood to take their foot off the gas and continued to pile pressure on the Hutchison Vale defence. In particular, Hutchison had a chance to bury the game with a few minutes remaining but narrowly missed out on grabbing his second goal of the game. Substitute Lucas Mason’s ball from the left was well controlled by Hutchison initially but when presented with the chance to put the game to bed by beating the Vale keeper at his near post, he instead opted for power in his shot which ultimately saw the ball fly over the crossbar. After setting up Hutchison, Mason then had a chance of his own when he found himself one on one with Vale’s Burt. Choosing to poke the ball past the oncoming keeper instead of dribble round him, Mason’s shot went agonizingly wide of the goal.

Hutchison Vale twice almost made Easthouses pay for their missed chances but the away side couldn’t find the goal they needed to edge their way back into the match. Chalmer’s glanced a header just wide of the post and blasted a shot over the bar in the final few minutes, the latter of which chances turned out to be just about the last kick of the ball before the referee blew his whistle to signal full-time.

It is Easthouses then who progress to the next round of the SYFA Challenge Cup after a spirited second half comeback. Credit must be given to Hutchison Vale who played some good passing football throughout the game and also to the way in which the Easthouses defence managed to shut out the away side in the latter stages of the match.

Full Time: Easthouses FC 2 – 1  Hutchison Vale