MATCH REPORT
Date : 2nd March 2024
Opposition : Kirkcaldy & Dysart
Venue : Home
Scorers : Craig Heath
Booked :
Sent Off : None
Attendance : 78
Referee : Sean Duff
Team Lineup :
Niall Frampton
Rhys Dixon
Craig Heath
Evan Smith
Christian Temple
Riley Lightfoot
Ross Aitchison
Griffin Sabatini
Craig Bell
Sam Straughan
Rhys Bloomfield (c)
Subs :
Ryan Dunn
Jake Gibson
Brad Smith
Leighton Robertson on for Rhys Bloomfield 87 mins
Robbie Turner on for Sam Straughan 74 mins
Match Report :
Tomasz Schafernaker was right. About an hour and a half before kick off, on national radio, the
meteorologist predicted a mixed bag of weather for the rest of the day with rain possible in any part of the country. Shielfield certainly got its share of the latter with a prolonged downpour in the first half and a shorter burst during the second with odd glimpses of sunshine in between.
Considering the conditions, this was an entertaining East of Scotland Cup First Round tie in which Tweedmouth took a fourth minute lead against higher division opposition. Visiting keeper Dion Gear fumbled Rhys Dixon’s corner with Craig Heath winning the resulting scrimmage for the ball to knock it into the net.
Before the heavens opened ten minutes later, Rangers’ Riley Lightfoot chased back to intercept a dangerous cross after his own attempted header had sent the ball into Kirkcaldy’s path. Then, the visitors twice fired wide.
As the rain poured, Niall Frampton was in great form in the home goal blocking Tyler McKenzie inside the goal area and next pushing away John Smith’s shot for a 28th minute corner. A few minutes later, he did misjudge a long free kick but Kieran Dall squandered the gilt edged opportunity to restore parity.
Meanwhile, Tweedmouth had already put together a piece of sparkling play which had Kirkcaldy on the back foot but held on to the ball too long instead of shooting.
In a game of attack and counter attack, the direction of play switched again with the Fifers taking the ball down the left before a pass inside set up John Smith to score in the 33rd minute. When K&D next trod the same path, Frampton pulled off another fine save, this time from Darren Ormiston.
The pace of Tweedmouth wing men Sam Straughan and Rhys Bloomfield frequently tested the First Division men and when the pair combined soon afterwards, Bloomfield struck the side netting with a shot on the run.
The Fifers may have shaded the first half but it was cruel luck on Rangers that the goal which put them in front came in the third minute of first half added time, Smith again the scorer.
At the start of the second period, Evan Smith supplied Lightfoot and the the Hungry Spot Bakery (Duns) home Man of the Match was a fraction off target, the ball spinning just outside Gear’s post. Much later, a similar strike from Kirkcaldy’s Smith ended up the same way but it was the home side which did more of the pressing in the second 45′. Again, some well constructed play brought nothing and their claims for a penalty went unheeded when Craig Bell appeared to have been clipped inside the away box.
Twice Frampton came well out of his patch to beat Kirkcaldy men to the ball as the direction of play quickly changed once more. Craig Brand shot over the bar before John Smith killed the tie with his third goal with three minutes of normal time remaining. Tweedmouth did come close again before time up. Ross Aitchison spotted Leighton Robertson in the clear, Robbie Turner taking his pass from the left but Gear held on to the debutant’s shot leaving Rangers once again to contemplate that the winners’ margin gave a false impression of the game.