Whalsay win B Cup Final and Celtic see off Scalloway

Celtic did just enough to see off Scalloway in the Fraser Cup. In the G&S Flooring Premier League Scalloway were held to a 4-4 draw by Unst, there were wins for Delting and Whalsay and Thistle and Whitedale drew 0-0.

Fraser Cup Preliminary Round

Scalloway 2, Celtic 3

The first opportunity fell to the home side as an Alan Davidson cut back resulted in Jamie Allan firing a shot marginally over the bar. Magnus Henry was next to try his luck but his net bound header from a corner was cleared off the line.

The visitors opened the scoring when Jordan Webb picked up a loose ball and curled a shot into the corner of the net.

Celtic continued to create chances in the second half although a combination of poor finishing and good defending prevented them from adding to their lead. Scalloway almost levelled the game when Aaron Leask threaded an inch perfect pass through a crowded penalty area only for Steven Umphray to shoot narrowly wide.

Scalloway did find an equaliser when Robert Garrick stepped up to launch an un-savable looping free kick into the top corner from 25 yards. The goal seemed to breathe confidence into the home team, however they were severely punish­ed when a defensive error allowed Joe Leask to tap in from close range. Late in the game Scalloway forced another equaliser when Magnus Henry connected with a front post corner for the defender’s “first” goal of the season.

With extra time looming Celtic delivered a killer blow when a bad bounce deceived keeper Johnson and James Aitken pounced to net the winner. On the night Scalloway produced one of their better performances of the season and had a number of standout performers with Brian Johnson the pick of the bunch. Celtic were uncharacter­istically wasteful in front of goal but did enough to secure a place in the next round.

G&S Flooring Premier League

Scalloway 4, Unst 4

The Fraser Park witnessed another high scoring encounter that sparked into life when Bruce Johnson unselfishly cut the ball back for Simon Robin to score for Unst from close range.

The home team did manage a deserved equaliser just before the half time whistle when Blair Mackay flicked a free kick into the path of Aaron Leask who passed the ball into the net.

Scalloway started the second half well and went into the lead when Gary Burns turned and volleyed the ball into the corner of the net. Slack defending allowed Simon Robin to tap in his second of the night for Unst. Scalloway were then caught flat footed at a corner and the ball broke to Darren Thompson who fired the ball into the net to give Unst the lead.

Scalloway saw Gary Burns and Steven Umphray crash shots off the Unst crossbar. The introduction of John Bryan Adamson gave Scallo­way some much needed drive and he had an immediate impact as his front post corner gave Gary Burns the opportunity to score his second of the night.

With the game in the balance it looked like Unst had stolen the points when Eric Thompson curled a superb shot into the far corner of the net from distance. With minutes remaining a determined solo run by Adamson resulted in a Scalloway free kick and Gary Burns stepped up to complete his hat trick in spectacular style as his driven free kick found the far top corner.

On the night Unst deserved to take at least a point with a number of fine performances. Scalloway will consider this a missed oppor­tunity for a win, however in truth it would have been scarcely deserved after a disjointed perfor­mance.

Ness United 2, Delting 4

Both teams started well but it was the visitors who were one nil up inside 15 minutes when Ross MacDougal turned his marker after picking up a pass from midfield and shot past Erik Peterson.

Ness came close when Kevin Smith went through on goal but Craig Dinwoodie managed to deal with the threat. The game settled down with Delting at their most dangerous when MacDougal was on the ball. Ness looked to do more down the left-wing. The half ended 1-0 to the visitors.

Ness came out looking to steady the helm but were two nil down within 45 seconds of the restart when Leighton Flaws played the ball long to Peter Peterson on the left and his cross was met with deadly accuracy by MacDougal for his second of the night.

Ness got right back in the mix as Craig Leslie ghosted into the Delting six-yard box totally unmarked and nodded in. Delting restored their two-goal cushion when Bruce Bennet drifted off his marker and his speculative cross deceived Peterson to dip in at the back post. Ness refused to lie down though and came back through a Kyle Malcolmson goal after some good hard grating by Kevin Smith. Delting got their fourth through substitute Stuart Lavender as he took a shot from a hopeful through ball. It ended 4-2 to the visitors as they continue to hold on to their two point lead in the run into the league title.

Thistle 0, Whitedale 0

The many onlookers who turned up at a sunny Seafield on Monday night saw no goals but nonetheless were treated to an entertaining encounter.

Overall, Whitedale, who were seeking revenge for an earlier 3-0 league defeat by the Jags at Strom, had the greater percentage of pressure and created more chances but were let down by a combination of poor finishing and the fine form of Thistle custodian Steven Henry. On the other hand, Thistle were looking to maintain their recent spate of good form in the league, and while creating fewer chances, those that they did create were more clear cut.

First half highlights included a fine Thistle move down their left flank involving Calvin Leask, Craig Gerty and Neil Riddell which re­sult­ed in the latter shooting nar­rowly over from around 20 yards. At the other end following the pro­verbial stramash in the six yard box Henry was relieved to flop on the ball as it was about to cross the line.

In the second half a Scott Morrison cross-come-shot saw the Whitedale keeper stranded but it clipped the top of the bar and over. In another Whitedale attack, Henry saved a certain goal with a terrific point blank block. Minutes later a dreadful mix up in the centre of the home defence allowed Jamie Wilson in on goal but the Whitedale striker blazed wildly over with only Henry to beat. On balance, a draw was probably a fair result but both sides will feel they could have grabbed all three points.

Whalsay 2, Celtic 1

On a perfect night for football Celtic arguably started the brighter of the two teams with the trickery of Joe Leask proving a handful for the home defence. Leask combined well down the left side with James Aitken on more than one occasion and fired in dangerous balls that gave the home defence serious problems.

Whalsay came more into the game and started to get a bit more joy in the middle of the park. A free kick for Whalsay about 45 yards out was looped goal-wards by Anthony Shearer and Stuart Good­lad appeared unmarked running into a central position to nod past Paul Grant and put Whalsay 1-0 ahead.

This lead was almost doubled five minutes later when Brian Irvine was pulled back when running through on goal, Mark Goodhand in no doubt as to the penalty award.

Keith Pearson took the kick, however the in-form Grant guessed right and blocked his effort to keep his side within touching distance. This let-off appeared to jolt Celtic back on the offensive and the town side were rewarded for their efforts with just a few minutes left of the first half when a corner was headed back across the six yard box by Justin Watson and young James Aitken controlled the ball before directing it goal-wards where it took a wicked deflection and ended up nestling in the back of the net.

The second half saw Celtic attempt to put the home side under pressure but after only five minutes play a quick throw to Whalsay was speared forward and Brian Irvine sprinted past the defence and produced a great finish into the far corner of the net to put Whalsay 2-1 ahead.

Celtic continued to push but the game generally degenerated into a tough midfield battle with neither side allowing the other much time on the ball. Whalsay had a couple of penalty decisions waved aside by Goodhand, Irvine being the main threat on the Celtic defence.

Meanwhile Celtic were aggrie­ved when Joe Leask ran clear of the defence to nod past the Whalsay keeper, Goodhand this time award­ing the home side a free kick as Leask had strayed into an offside position. The referee was having his work cut out and produced several yellow cards in order to keep control.

Yell 1, Spurs 5

The match started off at a quick pace, both teams getting a lot of the ball and forcing a couple of corners each.

Yell were dealt a blow when Jack Jamieson was injured in the first five minutes and had to be subbed. Josie Kay was getting plenty of space in the midfield and was playing passes over the Yell defence for Connell Gresham to chase, but for some poor finishing the deadlock could have been broken.

Spurs took the lead just before half time when a cut back from the byline found Stuart Hall and he finished easily into the corner.

Spurs started the second half lively with Josie Kay playing the same pass as in the first but with little effect. Spurs got a controversial second when Stephen Saunders was sandwiched between two Spurs players but the referee said play on and the ball fell again to Hall who hit a strike from outside the box into the corner.

Connell Gresham got the third after Saunders parried a shot out wide and he managed to squeeze the ball in from a tight angle.

Alan Page got the fourth and Hall finished off the scoring for Spurs to get his hat trick.

Yell got a consolation goal from a move which consisted of only three touches when Matthew Saun­ders took a free kick and Lee Jamie­son controlled and hit a wonder strike from 30 yards over the Spurs keeper and into the top corner.

Best for Yell were Saunders, Guthrie, Peterson and a solid per­formance from the returning Jason Jamieson. For Spurs, Gresham, Hall and Kay.

Reserve League Knockout Cup final

Whalsay 1, Whitedale 0

The bad forecast and early kick-off didn’t put off the travelling fans from both sides in a well supported reserve final. The game started with both teams playing some excellent football and both defences looking solid.

Whalsay got a lot of balls down the left to Gary Sandison who was having an excellent first half and it was he, Geordie Irvine and James Shearer who linked superbly to set up Irvine whose shot whistled by the junction.

Whitedale’s John Moncrieff was pulling the strings in the middle of the park and his running and passing was causing all sorts of problems for the islanders but the target just could not be hit by Whitedale.

James Shearer got the only goal of the game after some excellent work down the right and he finished well into the bottom corner from 18 yards. The hard fought and feisty game was well marshalled by Steven Goodlad and his assistants throughout.

Best for Whitedale was John Moncrieff who played well in the midfield and for Whalsay Sandison, Philip Mowat and Martyn Steven­son all played well in an excellent team performance from both sides.

In the Shetland Chiropractic Reserve League, Whalsay and Whitedale drew 3-3 and Thistle and Ness drew 2-2.

Fixtures (Kick-offs 6.45pm unless otherwise stated.)

Tonight – Bloomfield Cup Group One: Ness United v Spurs at Boddam, ref M Goodhand. Shetland Chiropractic Reserve League: Scalloway v Delting at Fraser Park, ref S. Goodlad.

Tomorrow – Milne Cup: Shetland v Orkney at Gilbertson Park. 6pm kick-off, ref R Goudie, assistants M Grant, I Sinclair.

Monday – Shetland Chiropractic Reserve League: Celtic v Scalloway at Seafield, ref TBC; Spurs v Ness United at Clickimin South, ref TBC. Bloomfield Cup Group: Whalsay v Delting at Harbison Park, ref R Goudie.

Wednesday – G&S Flooring Premier League: Delting V Unst at Brae 6.30pm, ref TBC; Spurs v Ness United at Seafield, ref TBC; Thistle v Scalloway at Gilbertson Park, ref TBC; Whitedale v Whalsay at Strom, ref TBC; Yell v Celtic at Mid-Yell, ref TBC.