MATCH REPORT
Date : 4th February 2023
Opposition : Craigroyston
Venue : Home
Scorers : None
Booked : Craig Bell
Sent Off : None
Attendance : 39
Team Lineup :
Niall Frampton
Kieran Cromarty
Craig Heath
Evan Smith
Rhys Dixon
Rhys Bloomfield
Drew Cummings
Jack Forster
Regan Graham
Craig Bell
Michael Robinson
Subs :
Stevie Mason
Jay Atkinson on for Michael Robinson 86 mins
Joao Vieira on for Kieran Cromarty 77 mins
Craig Colquhoun on for Craig Bell 72 mins
Melvin Sebastian on for Rhys Bloomfield 72 mins
Adam Deans
Match Report :
After a two week break, Tweedmouth Rangers returned to League action but, on a heavy pitch and in windy conditions, were unable to repeat the fluency they showed in the previous week’s friendly at Preston Athletic.
Craigroyston proved to be rugged opponents and gave away a series of early free kicks. Also, after a tenth minute collision with an opponent and treatment both on and off field, home captain Regan Graham played the remainder of the game with a painful jaw injury.
The first true scoring opportunity fell to the visitors but Jason Howie wasted it with a weak shot after tricky left wing man Ross Watson had done the hard graft. Later, keeper Niall Frampton’s quick reaction prevented Watson finishing off after good work from lively no. 9 Gary Mair.
Tweedmouth front men Craig Bell and Michael Robinson were both stymied by the visitors’ offside trap and when an onside Bell collected a perfect through ball from Drew Cummings, Oskar Zieniewicz stepped in to take the ball from his feet. He would perform something similar in the second half as Craig Colquhoun prepared to shoot.
Playing downhill and with the wind behind them, the Edinburgh boys tested Rangers as soon as the second half began. Taking Benjamin Uwundu’s pass, Howie cut inside closer to goal only to curl the ball over the post. Mair had a go but the ball was always going to run across goal rather than enter it. Nor did the away men move smartly enough to cash in before Craig Heath stooped to head away a tantalisingly loose ball for a corner.
But the real drama came in the final segment of the game with each side grateful to their custodians for keeping the score blank. However, it was the far post which saved Craigroyston when home subs Colquhoun, Melvin Sebastian and Joao Vieira combined with the latter’s angled delivery from the right hitting the metalwork.
From the opposite flank, Colquhoun supplied Cummings from whom captain keeper Jamie Newman made an excellent save.
With eight minutes left, Craigie’s Cooper Duff was shown a straight red for use of the elbow on Robinson as the players prepared for a free kick which almost led to a Craigroyston winner. Only a mighty clearance from the line kept the home goal intact. It was in danger again when substitute Daniel Turnbull put Howie through but great positioning from Frampton rendered his shot ineffective.
The first half had ended with a corner to Tweedmouth. The second concluded with one to the away side. Similar parity in the final score was, in truth, a fair reflection of the match