Date: 01-May-10
Competition: League
Scorers: David McKean (2), Robert Roy
Man of the Match: Alex Dick
Match Reports:

Hamilton Harvest took on Avendale at Kirklandpark on Saturday and again the squad was depleted and only 12 players were available. Harvest lined up in a 4-5-1 formation with Shug in goals, right to left in defence was William, Steph, Hawky & Aiky, right to left in midfield was Yos wide right, Alex, Omar & Davy in the middle with Scott wide left and Paul lead the line in attack, Rab just made it prior to kick off so he started on the bench.

 

The game started with both teams looking for an early lead but it was Avendale who took the game to Harvest with their right winger causing problems with his runs down the line and crosses in the box but the Harvest defence coped well. Avendale were doing a lot of the early running and took a deserved lead in the 15^th minute when a deep cross went all the way to the back post and the big defender who had came forward for the corner rose to head the ball in to the net to make it 1-0. Harvest were trying to get back in to the game and Paul up front on his own done well to hold the ball up at times but by the time the supporting players arrived the Avendale defence got back and managed to clear any danger. Avendale were then presented with an opportunity to increase their lead further when the ball was played up to Alex Blair, he flicked the ball away from Hawky and when faced with a shot at goal it was fortunate for Harvest that he hadn’t set himself properly and the shot went high over the bar. Harvest did have a chance to get an equalizer just before half time when the ball was played in to the Avendale box and a bit of head tennis ensued with Alex getting the last header that looped over the keeper but bounced off the top of the bar. There first half was a wee bit scrappy with not much goal mouth action and the score remained 1-0 to Avendale at half time.

 

10 minutes in to the second half and Avendale increased their lead, good play down the Harvest right saw a great ball whipped in to the box, the Avendale striker Alex Blair got across the front of Steph and directed his header at goal, Shug dived full length to his left but the ball cannoned back of the post and back across goal and straight to the feet of Blair Carson who side footed the ball in to the empty net to make it 2-0. Harvest didn’t let their heads go down and continued to press forward looking to get back in to the game but the Avendale defence was strong and there was no way through. Avendale then had a great chance to put the game out of reach when a ball from midfield found Alex Blair, he turned in the box and found space and tried to curl the ball in to the bottom right hand corner but Shug was at full stretch again getting a hand to the ball to turn it on to the post and this time the Harvest defence was alert and the rebound was cleared. Harvest were then forced in to a change when Paul who had worked tirelessly all morning up front on his own went off injured to be replaced by Rab, Rab slotted in to midfield next to Omar and Davy & Alex went up front and the formation changed to 4-4-2. This change had an immediate effect when a long ball from Shug found the head of Alex who flicked the ball on to Davy, the bounce of the ball allowed Davy to chest the ball down and when the keeper advance from his line Davy lifted the ball over the keeper and in to the net to make it 2-1. The game was now very open with Harvest looking for an equalizer and Avendale looking for the killer goal and some good football was on display from both teams. Avendale were then presented with an opportunity to kill the game off when they were awarded a penalty, the Avendale midfielder made a run in to the box Aiky tried to clear the ball but it broke back to the midfielder and he advanced in to the box, Steph went across to try and clear the danger at the same time Shug came out, the midfielder touch was heavy and in and attempt to get the ball he clashed with Shug and went down and the referee awarded the penalty, Blair Carson stepped up and fired the penalty straight down the middle but Shug was equal to it and blocked with his legs then was quick to pounce on the loose ball to keep the score at 2-1. Harvest were now lifted by this and got the equalizer a minute later, a long ball out of defence by William found Alex, he done well to hold the ball up and then laid it in to the path of Davy on the edge of the penalty area and Davy fired an unstoppable shot past the keeper in to the bottom corner to make it 2-2. Harvest now had the momentum and almost grabbed the lead when good work down the Harvest left saw the ball break to Rab in the box but the Avendale keeper done well to block the shot for a corner. Harvest kept pressing forward looking for a winner and Davy & Alex were causing the Avendale defence problems. With 10 minutes remaining Harvest took the lead, Rab picked the ball up in midfield and played the ball forward to Alex who had made a great run behind the defender, the defender jumped to header the ball away but instead handled it and the referee awarded Harvest a penalty and had no choice to send the Avendale defender off as he denied Alex what would have been a goal scoring opportunity. Rab stepped up and dispatched the penalty to make it 3-2 Harvest. Avendale even with their 10 men pressed forward in the last 10 minutes but the Harvest defence was solid, Harvest almost scored a fourth when Alex picked up the ball, beat a couple of players and made it to the bye line, he cut the ball back to Davy whose snap shot bobbled just past the post. Harvest saw out the remainder of the game to pick up another 3 points.

 

Well done today guys another hard fought win which everyone deserves credit for, well done to Davy & Rab who got their names on the score sheet and to Alex who picked up the man of the match award, however once again anyone of the guys out there could have been awarded the man of the match. Well done to Shug who made a couple of good saves most notably the penalty which ended up being a significant turning point on the game. Once again we dug in and fought hard for each other and we got our reward. Let’s take this performance in to the next game. God Bless.