BATTLING Sauchie Juniors overcame a half time deficit to clinch a crucial 3-2 win away to Broughty Athletic last weekend.

The game had been in some doubt with the recent stormy weather in the area, but the match got the go ahead on Saturday morning for the game at Whitton Park, writes Alan McLaren. 

This was the first home game Broughty had played since November 7th and although the park was heavy and the grass was long, there was a game of football to be played and it proved to be a good solid game of Junior football with neither team giving much away.

Sauchie weathered the early storm with Jordan Tapping and David Morrison both having to clear their lines. 

Kevin Buchan and Brian Duell kept up the pressure, but Gary McCulloch and Ant McTaggart denied them with seperate timely tackles.

Despite this early pressure, it was Sauchie who got the opener on six minutes.

McTaggart brought Sauchie forward with a dogged ball-winning tackle allowing Brian Morgan to release McCulloch with his low pass being met by Darren Cummings who smashed home for 1-0.

Broughty drew level in 19 minutes, but in bizarre circumstances. The flag went up for offside with the Sauchie players waiting on a whistle and the ball was cleared, but the returned ball fell to Buchan, the man who had been in an offside position, who in turn fired home to level.

Three minutes later, the home side were in front.  Grant Lawson moved forward, looked up and curled the ball in at the far post from the corner of the 18 yard box with a stunning strike.

Jordan Allan then sprang into action to halt another Buchan attempt from distance as Sauchie struggled to control the ball. 

Athletic were camped in and around the Sauchie box and had a procession of corners as they tried to seize on their advantage, but the visitors held firm until the break.

Sauchie suffered a blow on 58 minutes when Cummings limped from the field to be replaced by Ryan Millar, but the enforced change did spark a change in style and a surge from midfield with Morgan and Josh Flood getting more freedom on the ball.

The match turned for the visitors when Morgan was brought down by Ryan Suttie and a free kick awarded some 30 yards from goal.  The Sauchie skipper then dusted himself down before unleashing an unstoppable drive into the net for the equaliser.

Gaffer Fraser Duncan then introduced Ian Diack for Stuart McFarlane as Sauchie altered their play to keep the pressure on the Broughty goal and it wasn't long before he got his reward. 

Jonathan Smart cleared a Flood corner with McCulloch lofting back into the box and chased by Tapping forcing the keeper into a mistake allowing Diack to stroke into the unguarded net in 75 minutes.

Sauchie were now confident in their play with Iain Syme and Flood combining on the left and linking well with Morgan and Millar.

In the closing minute, an unusually slack bye kick from Allan, was controlled by Buchan with the centre moving in on goal, but the keeper recovered to make the save and secure all three points for his team.

Sauchie: Allan, McFarlane (Diack), Syme, Morrison, Tapping, McTaggart (Dolan), Flood, McCulloch, Robertson, Cummings (Millar), Morgan.