MATCH REPORT
Date : 4th May 2024
Opposition : Edinburgh South
Venue : Away
Scorers : None
Booked : Rhys Bloomfield
Sent Off : None
Attendance : 59
Referee : Richard Macartney
Team Lineup :
Ryan Dunn
Tommy Malcolm
Rhys Dixon
Craig Heath
Evan Smith
Riley Lightfoot
Griffin Sabatini
Ross Aitchison
Cameron Howden
Craig Bell
Rhys Bloomfield (c)
Subs :
Christian Temple
Jake Gibson
Leighton Robertson
Jay Baverstock
TJ Adebayo
Sam Straughan on for Cameron Howden 71 mins
Match Report :
Tweedmouth’s winning run came to an end, sunk at Paties Road Stadium by Edinburgh South who showed their promotion credentials with a strong second half performance.
Rangers started well enough winning an early corner from a free kick awarded when Cammy Howden was sent flying as he ran towards the bouncing ball. Although this wasn’t a bad tempered affair, it would be the first of many free kicks given over the ninety minutes.
Tweedmouth maintained their early pressure, at one point keeper Lewis Whitelaw racing out of his area to thwart Rhys Bloomfield who had latched on to a long ball up the right from Tommy Malcolm.
Tweedmouth’s Ryan Dunn dealt with the first serious sign of trouble for the visitors when he intercepted and held South’s opening 28th minute corner. With the pattern of the game changing, he was soon down taking the ball in a one on one with Stuart Martin.
Just ahead of the interval, Bloomfield was unfortunate to pick up his side’s only yellow card of the afternoon when he mistook a hand signal from the referee to be permission to re-enter the fray after receiving sideline treatment following a heavy home challenge. Of more concern was a second half injury to Howden which led to his game ending early.
Tweedmouth went a goal down when Jack Blaney headed in Jordan Cropley’s free kick just three minutes into the second half. Dunn then reprised his first half action by again going low to steal the ball from Martin. It was bobbing about after Ross Brady was left free to strike the post but Craig Heath managed to head it away before it went on to cross the line. His team promptly replied by setting up Bloomfield to take on Whitelaw but the skipper’s shot lacked punch and was easily secured.
There was still more than quarter of an hour to play when Brady collected a caution for time wasting immediately after heading Kenny O’Brien’s cross wide of Dunn’s goal. He needn’t have worried as his team scored again when, from a tight angle, Martin was at last successful, potting the ball inside the far post, O’Brien again the playmaker.
Edinburgh’s big defenders Jack Blaikie and Kieran Fox proved a formidable barrier to Tweedmouth but the latter had already departed before the second, 78th minute, goal.
Sam Straughan did get down the left but when he whipped the ball inside there was no one in blue to turn it into the net. Craig Bell to Ross Aitchison saw the number 18 have a go but he fired well over the bar and Whitelaw saved Straughan’s lower level shot off Malcolm’s pass.
It was left to Blaney to round off the scoring with a second headed goal from a Cropley dead ball, this time a corner.