Date: 16-May-09
Competition: League
Scorers: Paul McDermott, Alex Dick, Davy McKean, Paul Rollo (2)
Man of the Match: Davy McKean
Match Report:
Hamilton Harvest took on Clarkston at Blantyre on Saturday, once again injuries and call off’s left Harvest with only 11 players. Harvest lined up in a 4-4-2 formation with Shug in goals, right to left in defence was Davy, Gizzy, Hammy & Aiky, right to left in midfield was Paul Rollo, Alex, Rab & Hawky with Paul McDermott and William up front. In the first half the game was a bit scrappy and Harvest struggled to get a foot hold in the game as Clarkston adjusted better to the playing surface. There wasn’t much in the way of chances and despite Clarkston having the majority of the play they failed to really threaten the Harvest goal. Harvest created a few chances of their own the clearest of which fell to Hawky inside the Clarkston area but his effort was blocked on the goal line and the danger was cleared. As the first half drew to a close it was Clarkston who took the lead, Gizzy lost the ball out on the touchline, it was then played square across the 18 yard line to an on rushing midfielder who got the ball out of his feet and fired his shot in off the base of the post. No further notable goals in the first half meant that Harvest went in 1-0 down at the break.
Harvest started the second half brightly and scored an equalizer straight from the second half kick off, Paul McDermott picked the ball up and advanced in to the Clarkston half, he played a neat give and go with Paul Rollo and when the ball was returned Paul found himself in the area and made no mistake as he fired the ball past the Clarkston keeper and in to the net to make it 1-1. Harvest were back in the game and went forward looking for the lead, however in their attempt to get that second goal they pushed players forwards and left gaps at the back and Clarkston regained the lead in the 56^th minute, a long ball over the top of the Harvest defence presented the Clarkston striker with a clear run at goal, as Shug came out the narrow the angle the striker took the ball round him and slotted it in to an empty net to make it 2-1. Harvest got a wee bit of luck as they equalized for a second time straight from the kick off, William and Paul took centre and left the ball for Alex to strike from the centre line, there looked to be no danger but as the keeper went to collect the ball it bobbled and bounced past the keeper in to the bottom corner to make it 2-2. Harvest then got a grip of the game and were dominating in all areas of the field with Alex and Rab pulling the strings in midfield and Davy doing his best to get forward from right back. Harvest were creating plenty of chances but just couldn’t get the vital goal that would give them the lead, with Harvest pressing forward Clarkston’s only option was to try and hit Harvest on the break, in doing so they won a corner and from the corner Clarkston again took the lead. The corner was played deep to the back post where it was headed goalwards, Aiky blocked the ball on the goal line and as the ball bobbled around it was knocked in to the goal from close range to make it 3-2. Despite being behind for the 3^rd time in the match Harvest showed great determination and spirit to push forward and create more chances and they got their reward in the 65^th minute with another equalizer, Hawky picked the ball up on the Harvest left mid-way in side the Clarkston half and played a delightful ball in to the Clarkston area where Davy who made it forward from right back met the ball and sent his looping header over the keeper and in to the net to make it 3-3. Harvest continued to press forward and took the lead for the first time in the match in the 70^th minute when Davy picked the ball up on the Harvest right played it forward to Paul Rollo who set himself and fired a low drive in at goal which was heading towards the bottom corner, but a deflection of a Clarkston defender resulted in the ball hitting of the underside of the crossbar and crossing the line to make it 4-3, despite the deflection we’ll credit Paul with the goal seeing as it was going in anyway. As the game drew to a close Harvest increased their lead and killed off the game, a pass from Alex split the Clarkston defence, with William coming back from an offside position he left the ball and Paul Rollo ran on to the through ball, with the Clarkston defence static expecting the ref to blow for offside Paul advanced one on one on the keeper and coolly slotted the ball past him in to the net to make it 5-3. The remaining 5 minutes were played out and Harvest picked up another 3 points.
Well done today guys, based on our second half performance I don’t think anyone could deny us the victory. Once again some defensive lapses and missed opportunities nearly cost us, but the important thing is we showed a lot of heart to come back from a goal down on 3 occasions. Well done to Paul McDermott, Alex, Davy and Paul Rollo who all scored today, and to Davy McKean who was awarded the Harvest man of the match award. There is only 1 league game remaining and on the back of this performance lets finish this season on a high.