YFS
Tranent Juniors hosted Broomhill Sports Club on Saturday for what turned out to be an exciting Scottish cup tie in East Lothian. The game was played on Tranent’s impressive Foresters Park pitch, although not in ideal conditions for football with strong winds affecting the way the game played out significantly.
From the start, Tranent looked more comfortable in possession and created the first couple of real chances to score. The best goal-scoring opportunity of the first half came for Broomhill however when Marco Roper’s long-range shot hit the bar. The ball bounce dangerously on the line but Danyal Walthew did well to pounce on the ball.
The opening goal of the game came after twenty minutes and it was the visitors who took the lead. Broomhill’s Callum McKenzie hit a free-kick from distance which Tranent’s keeper Walthew managed to tip onto the post. As the ball bounced back across the goal-line however, Frazer Gray was there to head in from a few yards out. Broomhill had taken the lead, perhaps somewhat against the run of play.
It did not take Tranent long to equalise however, when just three minutes later Johnny Malcolm hit the back of the net. The goal came from a good run up the left wing from Ryan Smith, who managed to beat a defender and get a cross in. Malcolm duly knocked the ball over the line from yards out. Tranent now had the momentum in the game and almost completed a quick-fire double but a scramble on Broomhill’s goal-line was quickly cleared.
The home side continued to press though and their efforts paid off just before half-time through a goal from Alex Borthwick. Johnny Malcolm must be credited for the perfectly weighted ball that split the defence and found Borthwick, who had made a great run from midfield. Borthwick had no trouble in beating the keeper and as his right-footed strike crossed the line, Tranent now had a valuable lead at a great time in the game.
What followed however was a bizarre equaliser for Broomhill. Frazer Gray delivered a cross into the box from the left wing, hoping to pick out a team mate. As the ball dipped towards the back post, a mix-up and perhaps a lack of communication between the goalkeeper and his defenders led to the ball being left to sail into the net. It was a poor goal to concede from Tranent’s point of view but it was just what Broomhill needed before the break. As the referee blew his whistle to signal half-time, the scores were tied at two apiece; a fair reflection of how the game had played out so far.