x1Kenny Giles   
 x2Blair Bateman (u20)   
 x3Ryan Milne (u20)   
Off72x4Danny McAlistair (u20)   
 x5Fraser Sheridan Yellow Card 
Off80x6Michael McGaraghan (u20) Yellow Card 
 x7Dylan O’Hagan (u20)   
 x8Jeff FergusScorerx2  
 x9Jordan PirrieScorer  
Off68x10Conor McAteer (u20)   
 x11Cammy McKay (u20) Yellow Card 
On80 12Mark Anthony Byrne (u20)   
  13   
On72 14Robbie Sneddon (u20)   
On68 15Adam Beirne (u20)   
  16   
  17   
  18   
 

06/11/2015  |  League

Cumbernauld Colts   3  v  0  Edinburgh City

Scottish Lowland U20 Development League
6th November 2015 KO 7.45pm
Broadwood Stadium

Colts welcomed Edinburgh City to Broadwood on Friday night full of confidence after their Scottish Cup success at Deveronvale. City were in fact the youngsters first opponents at this level, meeting in the first round of the Scottish Cup back in August. On that occasions the Cumbernauld youngsters came away from Edinburgh 3-1 winners in an excellent and exciting match.

Colts showed only one change from the Deveronvale tie, with Pirrie replacing Struthers who was unavailable through work commitments. The Colts also welcomed back Marc Anthony Byrne to the bench after injury and it was also encouraging to see young Ben Punter as a substitute. Young Ben is the regular goalkeeper for our under 17 side.

The game kicked off and the Colts youngsters moved quickly into gear and pushed the boys from the capital back. Although the game was very competitive in the midfield area, the Colts defence were well in control and rarely troubled. Sheridan was heavily involved in a series of good moves on the right side and Colts gradually began to create a number of good openings. Firstly, Pirrie found himself free in the box and should have down better with his effort that the keeper managed to tip onto the post and out for a corner. Then McAteer failed to score when through on the keeper and McGaraghan should have done better with a free header after a corner kick. Despite this the Colts youngsters maintained a good industry and passed the ball well, threatening the City defence on numerous occasions. Despite their superiority, the Colts could not turned this pressure into goals and the game went into the break goalless.

Half time 1 - 0

The young Colts came out and continued to press City back. After a few near misses, the opening goal finally came. Some good inter play on the left created an opening for Pirrie and from just outside the box the midfielder fired a shot which the goalkeeper could only parry. Fergus was quickest to react and slotted the rebound home much to the relief of the Colts players, coaches and supporters.

Keen to push their advantage forward, the youngsters continued to pressure the City defence and the second duly came and a fine goal it was. A series of one touch passing saw the Colts cut through their opponents and release Pirrie into the box. Unlike the first half when he snatched at a shot, the skillfull midfielder showed the composure to drop a shoulder and sell the keeper a beautiful dummy and walk the ball into the open net. No more than the Colts deserved at this point in the game.

The youngsters went onto score a third when a corner from the left was met Fergus who powered a header goalwards and a slight deflection so the ball nestle comfortably in the City net.

The Colts had some other opportunities to extend their lead, most notably a free kick that crashed off the bar. However a combination of good goalkeeping, bad luck and poor finishing saw no further change to the scoreboard.

Full Time 3 - 0

A good steady performance by the Colts that saw them control the game for long periods of time. They continue to improve but face a number of tough games in the coming weeks.