Whalsay put five past Scalloway in pre-season football knockout
The first outdoor senior football tournament, for the pre-season Shetland Football Association Highland Fuels Cup, is underway. The first round matches went as follows.
Whalsay 5, Scalloway 0
This game was played in very windy conditions accompanied by rain and hail. Whalsay were well on top for long periods of the match. With both sides missing several key players it was Whalsay whose squad size was the telling factor.
Whalsay started well and a defence splitting pass from Stuart Shearer played in Laurence Pearson who rounded the keeper to score. A second goal followed again from Pearson who reacted first to a scramble in the six yard box following a corner.
Scalloway came back into the game for a short period and almost clawed a goal back from a free kick on the edge of the box that Steven Umphray saw pushed wide by the keeper.
Whalsay then scored a third goal, with Ian Simpson doing good work in the box to square for Geordie Irvine who controlled well and drove the ball into the corner of the net. Geordie Irvine then scored his second of the game, heading in a cross from close range.
The second half saw Scalloway with the wind at their backs but they failed to use it to their advantage and Whalsay extended their lead further. This time Irvine completed his hat-trick, producing a great turn and neat skill at the edge of the box, beating his marker and flashing the ball past the Scalloway keeper Bryan Johnson.
Whalsay tried to extend their lead and but for the efforts of Bryan Johnson in the Scalloway goal it could have been more. Marcus Pitt was booked for dissent. Scorers for Whalsay were Geordie Irvine (3) and Laurence Pearson (2).
Spurs 1, Delting 2
Delting squeezed past Spurs in a keenly contested match in Whalsay last Tuesday night. There was nothing to choose between the teams but Spurs may have felt they went behind against the run of play.
With Spurs camped in the Delting half, the current champions broke clear and a long diagonal ball from right to left found Peter Peterson whose shot was saved by the feet of Kyle Duncan. From the corner that followed, Lewis Kay headed the ball clear but from 30 yards out in a central position, Peterson struck the ball on the bounce and it flew in to the top corner.
Connel Gresham was causing all sorts of problems running in the channels for Spurs. However, just as a chance to shoot appeared he was first injured by the goalkeeper and then concussed with a bloody eye after a challenge from Merv Jamieson.
There wasn’t much goal mouth action as the first half ended. Spurs again started best and scored after 10 minutes. Gresham picked up the ball near the touchline and played a square pass to James Johnston, who spun inside and curled an inch perfect shot in to the top corner. He nearly made it two a minute later after linking up with Gresham again to send a left foot drive just wide.
Josie Kay came close on two occasions with free kicks form the edge of the box as did Leighton Flaws who hit a cracking left foot drive from 20 yards which Duncan spilled but then made a brave block at the feet of Ross MacDougal.
Alan Page created a chance for himself to win the game with 15 minutes to go but the goalkeeper saved well, the ball spinning under his body before being cleared off the line by Alister Williamson.
The only real danger Spurs faced came from the long throw-ins of Flaws. Clearly a tactic of the Delting side, the ball was repeatedly hit long in to Spurs’ left back area where throw-ins were sought and delivered with deadly accuracy. Spurs had scrambled a few clear but Delting got the break when the ball floated in to the box, bounced wickedly over Danny Finnie at the front post and was hooked in by Robert Balfour to make the final score Delting 2, Spurs 1.
Scorer for Spurs was James Johnston, scorers for Delting were Peter Peterson and Robert Balfour.
Celtic 3, Thistle 5
No report received.
Ness United 0, Yell 0 – Ness win on penalties
Ness started brightly and five minutes in a good move saw John Robert Burgess burst through on goal but he shot just past the near post. Ness then forced a series of corners but were unable to convert the pressure into goals. The rest of the half was fairly even with neither keeper having to make any notable saves. Ness again started well after the break using the wind to keep Yell pinned back but despite frequent corners and a few goalmouth scrambles the score remained 0-0.
Tomas Smith was a constant threat and when JRB threaded a great ball through to him he was hauled down just outside the box. Craig Leslie fired the free kick low and hard but again the Yell defence cleared. With 20 minutes gone Yell now had there best period of the match and following an attack down the left they were awarded a free kick which Erik Peterson had to tip over the bar to deny Neil Petrie.
Yell forced two or three corners before a long ball held up in the wind to present them with their best opportunity of the night. A defender misjudged the flight of the ball and the Yell forward got to the ball just before the out-rushing Peterson only to clip the ball wide of the goal. This spurred Ness on again and Kyle Malcolmson had a good chance but fired wide.
Some minor alterations saw Tomas Smith move up front and before long he was played in on goal. He nicked the ball past the keeper, taking a knock on the way, but to his credit young Smith tried to stay on his feet although he was unable to prevent the ball running away from him in the high winds.
The ever deteriorating conditions made passing football hard but Ness continued to push and created one or two more half chances before the final whistle sending the game to penalties. Ness won 4-3 on penalties when Martin Henderson capped a fine performance after coming on as a sub by hammering in the winning penalty.
