Report

This game was arranged for last Thursday then cancelled, then arranged for the Cup Final Saturday then cancelled late on Tuesday night to be told we had to play it tonight.  Not ideal preparation for either team however we had to get on with it.

Baljaffray were on the attack from the first whistle and Lucas had the opportunity to whip the ball across goal however he elected to take an extra touch, was dispossessed and one punt up the park later Milngavie were 1 on 1 with the keeper and it was 1-0.  Two minutes later, there was no challenge in the 6 yard box and then it was two.  At this point I think we all looked back to the roasting Milngavie gave us in a friendly in January and feared the worst.  To their credit, the boys really buckled down and started finding their way back into the match.  From 15 minutes on they started to control the game and were moving the ball about really well but without testing the Milngavie goalkeeper.  James, who replaced an unwell Greg, was getting important interceptions, Lauchlan was solid and Fraser H was getting tackles in and was unlucky with more than a few through balls.  Fraser D covered his area well in unfamiliar territoty and Lewis was Lewis, perpetual motion, despite also complaining of being unwell.  Lucas recovered well from the opening minutes and was getting his tackles in, Adam was showing good touches and trickery on the right while Kyle was getting up and down the left flank helping defence and trying to get forward too.  Up front Matthew was getting important blocks in and was unfortunate when the ball did not land for him while through on goal and Rory was also putting in a shift closing down.  The 1st half finished 5 minutes early however the referee immediately realised his mistake and Adam sportingly kicked the ball back to the Milngavie keeper.  So 2-0 at half time but the ship well and truly steadied with something to play for in the second half,

No changes to start the second half and again the game was well contested with Baljaffray having more of the ball but Milngavie were always dangerous with their pace, especially in forward positions although Fraser H in particular was dealing well with their forward forays.  With Lachlann on for Kyle, the shape stayed the same however as the game wore on we had to start adopting a more positive attacking formation therefore Lachlann was sacraficed to allow Greg back on to provide a bit more dig as we opened the game up a bit.  First, Fraser D had a shot on target and then Lucas however we were leaving ourselves exposed at the back and Milngavie capitalised with a sucker punch 3rd goal which basically finished the tie off as a contest and was grossly unfair on the boys for all of their endeavours.  A 4th goal ac couple of minutes later was rubbing salt into the wound and it took a fantastic save from George to stop it from becoming a rout for Milngavie.  The heads did go down however it would be harsh to criticise the boys for that given the amount of effort put into the game from such a horrendous start, however the final whistle came as a welcome relief at the end.

Coach Comments
Tremendous effort from the boys and one the coaches were very proud of.  4-0 was the final score however I don't think there was anyone there that would try to justify that the scoreline was a fair reflection of the game. Anyone who had turned up with 5 minutes of the game gone would have thought that the game was a well contested, evenly fought match with very little between the teams.  The big difference however was that Milngavie had players with fantastic pace all over the pitch so defensively we had to be on our guard for quick breakaways and further forward we couldn't get away from players.  In fact three of Milngavie's goals were from through balls for pacy players to run onto.  Anyway, we can now look forward to a relaxing end to the season without having to worry about League titles and cups.

There were many contenders for Man of the Match and on another day, the performance from any one of 6 or 7 players would have been enough to win it.  I mentioned after the game the real top performers and have put ratings up for you to see however for someone who was not feeling great before the start, not feeling too great at half time but continued to work hard for the team throughout the game, Lewis is a worthy winner of the MoM.  Lewis and the wine gums that kept him going.  Well done.