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NEWBATTLE EDGE
OUT FIRRHILL IN SHIELD THRILLER
Firrhill HS U15
Easthouses was the venue for the re-scheduled U15s Scottish shield
tie between Newbattle and Firrhill, and a beautiful morning and a
good playing surface produced ideal conditions for a classic cup
tie. The first goal was scored early in the game by Firrhill after
Newbattle’s defence switched off – Stuart Ogilvie being first to
take advantage of a mistake at the back by Newbattle. Firrhill
continued to dominate for much of the first half but were caught
napping when Ewan Wilson managed to open up the Firrhill defence and
score an equaliser right before time.
Both sides showed great
determination after the re-start, with some careless challenges put
in by players of both sides. In a hectic period of the game it was
Newbattle who were first to score again, Stuart Runciman taking
advantage of confusion at the back of Firrhill’s defence to strike a
low shot into the bottom right corner. With both sides struggling to
keep their discipline Newbattle were able to snatch another goal
through Ross Waters leaving the tie seemingly over. However Firrhill
showed great character to reply within thirty seconds, a simple
string of passes ending with Kerr Rourke knocking in from close
range. With Firrhill dominating play, Rourke’s well-placed free kick
crashed off the crossbar, only for the same payer to score from a
tremendous volley just seconds later. But with the tie at 3-3 and
extra –time looming, disaster struck for Firrhill when Ali Adams
found space in the box to smash home a winning goal for NB.
The 80 minutes at Easthouses
produced a very hard-fought game – and despite many minor niggles,
and being a little scrappy in some parts, also delivered some
periods of lovely flowing football by both sides. Both sets of
players deserve great credit for taking part in such an enjoyable
game to watch, but it will be Newbattle who go on to play away to
Queensferry HS in the next round.
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