Vale win seven-goal thriller

Published 4 Sep 2009 12:13 0 Comments

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Easthouses Lily 3 v 4 Vale of Leithen

LIKE many open green spaces in residential areas, Newbattle Complex is popular with local dog walkers.

Vale were there to play football, not walk dogs - which was just as well considering the problems they had holding onto a lead.

Three times the Innerleithen side edged in front only for Easthouses to level the game.

But a goal from Gavin Tainsh on the hour mark saw Vale eventually emerge top dogs in a game which was more a dour, scrappy battle than the seven-goal thriller the scoreline might suggest.

The weather certainly didn't help, with a wind gusting diagonally over the pitch that seemed to get stronger as the game went on.

But both sides preferred to keep the ball on the ground and most goals were attributable to slack defending rather than the prevailing conditions.

Vale opened the scoring after five minutes of play, Aaron Somerville glancing a header from an Andy Martin cross into the net.

Within 60 seconds Lily equalised as a David Beattie ball found John Hunter unmarked ten yards from goal and the big striker wasted no time in dispatching the ball beyond Darren Walker.

Easthouses' Danny Watson found himself in a good position to put the home side ahead midway through the first half, but Walker came out quickly to block as he attempted to lift the ball over the goalkeeper.

At the other end, Martin and Alex Munro both had speculative efforts, before Martin called keeper Justin Hynd into serious action with a shot from distance.

In the 37th minute Vale found a second, but had some disastrous defending to thank for it. Lawrie Dunn's atttempted header back to his keeper was woefully short of its target and the alert Greig Shortreed nipped in to poke it past Hynd.

Lily's Watson picked up a loose ball and drilled it home in the first minute of the second half, and five minutes later some good work by Martin on the right ended with a cross that found Munro at the back post, who turned in.

Lily replied again with Hunter grabbing his second in the 53rd minute to make it 3-3 and a bit of niggle started to creep into the game with Easthouses' Euan Smith cautioned for chopping down Tainsh.

Tainsh certainly felt the challenge, but as Ryan McManus warmed up on the touchline with a view to replacing the defender, he popped up to notch what proved to be the winner.

A Martin cross into the goalmouth saw Shortreed challenging Hynd for the ball but Tainsh arrived on the scene, practically shoving his team mate out the way to blast the ball into the net.

It wasn't the end of the Easthouses challenge, as Walker had to tip over a Dunn free kick and stretch to catch a Stephen Slater shot.

Shortreed headed a Martin corner just wide and further yellow cards were issued to Lily's Watson and Vale's Geri Rossi and Scott Moffat for fouls in what was a bit of a rough and ready closing spell.

Easthouses Lily MW: J. Hynd; G. Chadwick, E. Smith, L. Dunn, W. Kidd, S. Love (D. Edgar 63), C. Stupart, D. Watson, D. Beattie, R. Gaylor (S. Slater 29), J. Hunter.

Vale of Leithen: D. Walker; G. Tainsh, P. Lee, M. Stewart, John Hall, P. Greenhill, A. Martin, A. Munro, G. Rossi (S. Moffat 67), G. Shortreed (Ryan McManus 77), A. Somerville.

This article appeared in Peeblesshire News 04 Sep 09

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