Own goal ends Whalsay run
DELTING ended their poor run in senior football knockout competi-tions when they put Whalsay out of the Fraser Cup on Monday. It was the Bonnie Isle side’s first defeat of the season. Scalloway also pro-gressed to the quarter-finals after opponents Ness United failed to field a team. Last Friday’s premier league action saw Thistle and Celtic both take maximum points, Thistle narrowly defeating town rivals Spurs and Celtic comfortably overcoming Scalloway.
GS Flooring Premier League
Thistle 2, Spurs 1
Both sides struggled to keep possesion early in the game. Spurs were missing several key players, notably the influential James Johnston and they seemed content to sit back and hit Thistle on the break.
Thistle, having endured another two-week break without a fixture, couldn’t get their passing going at all, particularly when they neared the Spurs goal. Their best chance came when Adam Thomson was played through and he rounded the keeper but elected to cross rather than shoot from a tight angle and the Spurs defence cleared.
Allan Leslie, deputising for junior inter-county player Ryan Duncan in the Spurs goal, showed he had lost none of his handling ability as he took several crosses to ease the pressure on his defence. The veteran keeper also dived full length to grasp a netbound attempt from Stuart Smith, making a welcome return to first team action.
Spurs came more into the game as half time approached and took the lead when Connell Gresham turned well in the penalty area and smacked the ball home from close range.
The same player could have sealed the game for Spurs early in the second half when he was clean through on two occasions. His first chance was the easier when he drove his shot just over the bar and his second saw
Steven Henry come to Thistle’s rescue with a fine blocking save at close range.
Thistle gradually got their passing and movement going and several moves down the right ended with Craig Gerty latching on to the ball beating his man and scoring low to the keeper’s right from the edge of the penalty area.
Scott Morrison almost made it two with a great strike which was deflected by a Spurs defender for a corner. Colin Bragg then had another chance but shot weakly at the keeper.
The winner came from Morrison when once again a movement down the right saw him drive into the penalty area and score low at the near post.
Spurs pressed for the equaliser but to no avail and they will feel that on the balance of play they were worth at least a share of the points.
Celtic 5, Scalloway 1
A comfortable win for Celtic saw them 2-0 up at half time with both goals coming from Jordan Webb.
They sealed the game in the second half with another double by Webb. David Sjoberg pulled a goal back for Scalloway but it was Celtic who completed the scoring through substitute Scott Anderson.
Fraser Cup
(preliminary round)
Delting 1, Whalsay 0
Whalsay started the game well and were giving Delting problems in defence but were unable to convert any of their chances.
The home side came more into the game and had a couple of chances to score but the game remained deadlocked at half time.
Delting had more drive in the second half and hit the woodwork three times before an unfortunate own goal by Richard Arthur handed them the tie.
Ness United v Scalloway
Ness failed to field a team so the tie was awarded to Scalloway.
Reserve League
Scalloway 4, Thistle 3
The home team opened the scoring through Scott Henderson but Thistle levelled with a fine Craig Gerty strike. Early in the second half Neil Riddell gave Thistle the lead only for Rhydian Reynolds to equalise with a looping header.
Another excellent goal from Riddell was once again cancelled out by a David Bisset penalty.
In the last minute Scalloway claimed all three points when Brydon Goodlad headed in a corner kick.
Delting 3, Whalsay 4
Delting got off to an ideal start when Alistair Williamson headed home from a corner in the first minute of the game. Whalsay equalised a few minutes later when ex Delt Philip Mowat finished well.
Another header from Williamson and a well-taken penalty from Danny Peterson gave Delting a deserved 3-1 lead.
With the home side pushing forward to increase their lead it was Whalsay who came back when Richard Hutchison scored in the last minute of the half to make it 3-2 at the break.
Halfway through the second period a mix up in the Delting defence allowed Hutchison to prod the ball home to to level the score at 3-3.
With Delting pushing forward trying to win it was Michael Williamson who broke clear of his marker to slot home the winner.
Spurs 5, Celtic 1
After being heavily under pressure from Celtic in the first half Spurs held out through rugged defending and three fine stops from debut keeper Rory Gibson to keep the score goal-less at half time.
Spurs came out of the traps far the quicker and took a 3-0 lead through a quickfire hat trick from debutant Adam Sharp.
Another debutant Laurence Robertson increased the lead to four with a tap in before Lowrie Simpson got a consolation goal for Celtic.
But Spurs then rounded off a good night making it 5-1 with a good strike from Connell Gresham.
Scalloway 5, Ness United 1
The home team continued their recent winning streak in a match that was much closer than the score suggests with both sides playing some good football.
The scoring was opened by Noel Johnson, in his last game for Scalloway, and was added to by a Shane Groat strike and a David Bisset penalty.
In the second half Rhydian Reynolds and Scott Henderson added to Scalloway’s tally while Grant Redfern netted for the visitors.
Thistle 5, Whitedale 3
The home side took the lead through Craig Gerty and the lead was then trebled through Sean Sinclair and Dale Henry.
Whitedale pulled one back through striker Jamie Wilson, only for Thistle to extend their lead through Gerty’s second.
The second half saw Whitedale come out firing and Jack Johnson and Vinny Walterson scored to make it 4-3.
However, Thistle had the last word when they restored the two-goal cushion.
