Top two still neck and neck after wins
WHITEDALE, Scalloway and Thistle secured their semi-final berths in senior football’s Fraser Cup with victories on Monday. The match between Spurs and Delting was postponed due to a bereave-ment. Last Friday’s league action saw victories for joint leaders Whalsay and Delting, while Celtic also picked up a win and Scalloway and Thistle battled out a high-scoring draw.
G&S Flooring Premier League
Scalloway 5, Thistle 5
The visitors were first to create an opportunity and Scalloway had keeper Bryan Johnson to thank for keeping the scores level with a great reaction save.
The opening goal soon arrived when Robert Garrick’s driven free kick was turned into the net by Gary Burns to give Scalloway the lead.
Garrick was next on the score sheet from the penalty spot after Burns was brought down.
Thistle responded well and reduced the deficit when Craig Gerty latched on to a through ball before coolly placing the ball into the corner of the net.
Poor defending by Thistle was punished when Alan Davidson scored from the edge of the penalty area and Burns added his second of the night from close range to make it 4-1.
Straight from the restart Thistle caught the Scalloway defence sleeping and Gerty bundled the ball home.
Early in the second half the match settled into a midfield battle with neither team creating many chances.
Thistle began to take the upper hand but could find no way past Johnson who made a number of fine saves.
John Brian Adamson and Keith Henderson were introduced to the tiring Scalloway midfield and combined for Scalloway’s fifth when Henderson headed an excellent Adamson cross into the net.
With nothing to lose Thistle gambled by introducing another forward and quickly pulled a goal back with Gerty completing his hat-trick. With minutes remaining Neil Riddell scored with a fine volley and the comeback was completed when Kevin Teale headed home a corner kick in the last minute.
Best on the night for Scalloway were Burns, Marcus Pitt and Johnson while Gerty was a constant threat for the visitors.
Unst 1, Celtic 3
Celtic recorded a fairly comfortable win against an Unst side that failed to take enough of the chances they made.
Celtic started the better of the two with Liam Spence pulling off a couple of good saves to keep Unst in the game. Joe Leask’s pace on the right helped him make some dangerous runs but the defence held firm until Celtic took the lead after 40 minutes when Bruce Crossan scrambled the ball home from a corner.
David MacMillan will be disappointed not to have put Unst on the score sheet as he shot wide when he raced clean through on goal.
In the second half Unst started brightly and their best chance fell to David Thomson when he was in the clear 10 yards out. It was a great chance to equalise but he miscued his shot to spare the Celtic defence’s blushes.
Joe Leask doubled Celtic’s lead with a neat chip after a quick through ball. The crowd was outraged as referee Dave Ferrier chose to ignore the lineman’s flag when it appeared Leask was clearly offside.
Unst pulled a goal back when Gary Harrison tucked the ball home from six yards after an Erik Thomson cut back. They threatened to equalise with a few more attacks but failed to find the net.
Celtic killed off the game in the final quarter when Ross Moncrieff drove down the left with purpose and cut inside before his driven cross was deflected into the net.
Delting 9, Yell 0
Yell took to the pitch knowing that they were the only team to take a point off the champions last season, when they secured a memorable 2-2 draw in Brae. However, there was not to be any repeat, as Delting’s fine form of late continued.
Delting played some flowing football in the first half with youngster Craig Sneddon and Brian Duncan standing out in midfield. Despite Yell’s best efforts, Ross MacDougal and Ross Jamieson (2) were not long in putting the home side 3-0 up and it remained that way until half-time.
The lead allowed stand-in manager Stuart Hay to make a few changes to the line-up. As the second half wore on, the home side found more and more space down the wings and crosses were flying in thick and fast. It was therefore no surprise when a further six goals were added. Ross Jamieson completed his hat-trick while Robert Balfour, Fraser Hall, Leighton Flaws, Peter Peterson and a header from Merv Jamieson completed the rout.
Whitedale 3, Whalsay 6
After a fairly even opening 10 minutes, Whalsay opened the scoring when a free kick that seemed to be controlled by a hand on the blind side of the referee ended up in the back of the net through Laurence Pearson.
Whalsay’s second came through Allister Johnson when he beat the offside trap and slotted the ball behind both defender and goal keeper.
Whitedale were still in the game and made chances of their own without testing the Whalsay keeper. It was difficult to see how Whitedale finished the half three down but when Connor Muchmore was waved onside he made no mistake and slotted the ball past the keeper.
In the second half Whitedale pushed forward and battled throughout but it was Whalsay who netted again through Muchmore to make it 4-0. Before long it was five, with Johnson getting his second.
Whitedale were forced to change things around as an injury to their keeper meant he couldn’t continue, and Whalsay piled on the misery with their sixth when Pearson beat the makeshift keeper.
You would think at this point it was one-way traffic and goals would continue for Whalsay but Whitedale fought back and Brian Thompson headed in from a corner to give his team something for their hard work.
Whitedale soon got a second, again following a corner, when Whalsay failed to clear their lines and George Richie hammered home from close range.
With 10 minutes to go Whitedale added a third when Paul Molloy beat the offside trap and slotted it past the oncoming keeper.
Whalsay won the game with a lesson in finishing and pace but Whitedale gave them a decent game and if decisions had gone their way in the first half it could have turned out differently.
Fraser Cup
(quarter-finals)
Whitedale 5, Celtic 2
Whitedale started the brightest against the wind and a free kick outside the box found the head of Brian Thompson who scored after only five minutes.
Within a minute Whitedale were forced to make changes with Thompson suffering ankle ligament damage and as they started to readjust Celtic were awarded a corner. Ryan Grant swung it high into the air and at this point mother nature took over, holding the ball up nicely and levelling the score.
The game was fairly even with Whitedale controlling the midfield and Celtic always looking dangerous up front. Whitedale got their noses in front when after a goalmouth scramble the ball was turned into the back of the net by Peter Farquhar.
With half time looming Whitedale got their third when a Paul Molloy ran on to a through ball and calmly slotted it past the keeper.
With the wind in their backs Whitedale started the second half well. After 10 minutes they were rewarded a free kick 25 yards out which Martin Clark curled into the top corner to make it 4-1.
Celtic changed things around and began to get more into the game and it wasn’t long before they got their reward. Bruce Crossan scrambled the ball in from the edge of the six yard box to give his side a lifeline.
With minutes to go Whitedale made the game safe, Molloy weaving his way through the defence and finishing well.
Unst 1, Scalloway 4
Unst fancied their chances but in the end were well beaten by a Scalloway side who rode their luck in the first half.
The good weather of Saturday was replaced by wind and rain on Monday as both teams battled for a place in the semi-final.
Unst started positively with Neil Smith playing up front. He closed down a clearance and the keeper’s kick flew back past him into the net to put Unst in front after 15 minutes.
Unst played a lot of good football but crucially failed to capitalise. They failed to find the target on several occasions when they created some good chances.
Playing with the wind, Scalloway had a few chances themselves. They got right back in the tie when Ross Duncan climbed highest to nod home a free kick from the right just before half time.
Smith nearly put Unst ahead again in the last few seconds after a late foray forward, but this time keeper Bryan Johnson was up to the task as he tipped the ball wide.
Scalloway got off to a great start in the second half when a strong run and cross from Dave Sjoberg on the right was scrambled home by Alan Davidson.
Unst came back with long spells of pressure and possession but no goals to show for it. Gary Harrison and Erik Thomson will both be disappointed not to have found the net.
As is often the case, Scalloway played on the break and got the crucial goal through Gary Burns, turning in the box and firing in a shot. Liam Spence got a solid hand to it but couldn’t stop it crawling over the line in the wet conditions.
In the final few minutes Scalloway nicked a fourth. Darren Thomson appeared to handle in the box but Davidson played the advantage and tucked the ball past Spence.
Scalloway will be delighted to come away with a win on their sodden trip to Unst, while the home side will be left to rue the chances they failed to convert.
Thistle 9, Yell 2
On a blustery night Thistle had what wind advantage there was and they were quickly into their stride. They had a goal disallowed for a debatable offside decision before Neil Riddell smacked a half clearance from a corner into the net from 20 yards. Riddell then released Scott Morrison and he finished clinically in the corner.
Riddell latched on to another clearance from a corner to make it three from just outside the penalty area.
Yell came more into the game towards half time and their best chance fell to Brian Spence who shot just over the bar from 25 yards.
Yell started the second half brightly and got their reward when a slick passing movement released Lee Jamieson and he finished coolly in the corner after 55 minutes.
It appeared a fightback was on the cards but a minute later Morrison cut in from the left and placed his shot inside the post to restore Thistle’s three-goal cushion.
Yell lost their influential midfielder Neil Petrie to injury and their defence missed his covering talents as Thistle went on to score another five goals. Riddell began by completing his hat-trick from a Thomson cross, then Richard Manson headed home.
Adam Thomson latched on to a flick through and rounded the keeper to score, young Maurice Williamson notched his first senior goal from a tight angle and Colin Bragg knocked in a cross to make it nine.
Yell were not out of it as an attacking force with Steven Henry in regular action on a difficult night for keepers. With better finishing they could have had a couple more goals before a Lee Jamieson corner from the right was converted by a Thistle defender for an own goal.
Spurs v Delting
This match was postponed due to a sudden death.
