CRAIGMOUNT High School under-13s carried out
football's equivalent of the 'big steal' when they beat home
side Currie High 1-0 in a top-of-the-table clash in the
Edinburgh Secondary School FA.
It took an incredible display from the
Craigmount defence and a great keeper keeper in Jamie Cleland to
keep their goal intact. They also had more than their fair share
on luck on their side in this smash-and-grab raid on the Currie
school. But it was the home side's own fault that they lost
their first game of the season as their strikers had a nightmare
in front of goal. On any other day, David Aitken could have
scored a hat-trick but on this occasion he was firing blanks,
time after time, from good positions.
But it was brilliant to watch this game,
particularly so after Mark Keegan fired Craigmount in front in
the first half when he followed up in a goalmouth scramble to
knock the ball past Currie keeper Scott Taylor to make it 1-0. I
don't think anyone on the touchlines thought that would be the
only goal of the game at this stage! But it was and Keegan's
strike proved to be enough to secure all three points for the
unbeaten Craigmount combine.
To say Currie did everything but score in the
second would be an understatement. The Craigmount defence was
all over the place at times but they somehow managed to prevent
Currie scoring the goal they so richly deserved. But the young
home players found to their cost in this game that there is,
indeed, no justice in football. Shots rained in on Cleland, some
hitting the posts and the crossbar, but Craigmount survived and
their jubilation at the finish was a sign of their pleasure at
virtually 'getting out of jail'!
How did they manage to beat Currie? Hard
work, good organisation, massive luck and good goalkeeping, all
played a part in a very sporting game of football between two
good young football sides. And Currie, well they should just put
it down to another curve in the education cycle of learning the
game. There are some games that they will never win, such as
this one! It was, however, a very sore defeat for them and their
terrific young coach, Scott Ferrier. You win some . . . and you
lose some and there is nothing that anyone can do about that!
