MATCH REPORT : BLUE away to Bonaly, 28th May 2011

Sciennes Blue V Bonaly Bombers 28/05/2011, Senior Match Reporter Richard brings us the latest...


After a string of good results ( 6-2 against Liberton, 9-3 against Tollcross and most recently 5-1 against South Morningside.....apologies for the lack of match reports) the Blues were in confident mood as they made their way to Paties Road to take on Bonaly Bombers. Confidence was only slightly dented by the fact that we were reduced to only seven players. Last season this fixture saw the Blues on the wrong end of a doing but the coaches were hopeful that the good recent form would continue.


Both side warmed up in slightly breezy conditions. Slight concern as we realized we were going to be playing on half of a full size pitch which was wasn't necessarily going to be to our advantage given that we had no subs. Further concern as Coach Favours recognized one of the Bonaly boys from the Hibs set-up. Game kicked off with Coll in goal, Murdo and Joe at the back, Hamish, Alex and Sam in midfield and Jude up front.


Bonaly started confidently and Blues were immediately under pressure. After a good move it looked like Bonaly were certain to score but Coll pulled off a great stop with his feet low to his left. An early let off! Bonaly were moving the ball about well and clearly had some talented players.


However, against the run of play Blues broke upfield. Jude found himself one-on-one with the goalie and buried his shot in the left hand corner to give the Blues a 0-1 lead.


Bonaly swarmed back up the field from kick-off looking for the equaliser. Coll clawed one shot round the post for a corner and then moments later was well beaten by a shot which rebounded of the post, hit him in the stomach as he turned and went just wide for the corner.


It was end to end stuff though with Blues looking dangerous on the break. Hamish was unlucky not to score with an imaginative back heel from an Alex cross which flew just wide. Jude and Sam both had good shots well saved. Then Alex had the easiest of finishes after a great move involving Hamish and Jude had pulled the Bonaly defence apart leaving Alex a tap-in from a yard. 0-2 to the Blues. Bonaly were still looking threatening but Murdo, Joe and Sam were defending brilliantly to deny them many clear cut chances. Just before half-time it could have been 3-0 when Alex looked certain to score but his shot from close range trickled wide of the post.

H.T. 0-2 BLUE

A great first half for the Blues but a feeling that we were perhaps a little fortunate to be two goals up against this team. No place for complacency as we were shooting into the wind in the 2nd half. Sam swapped with Coll in goals.


Worst fears were confirmed when right from kick off Bonaly's star ran through the Blues defence and fired a great shot past Sam who had no chance. 1-2.


Blues didn't panic though and continued to play some really good football working the the ball through the full-backs who were linking well left and right with mid-field. On one such occasion Coll at right back drew the Bonaly forward before playing a nice one-two with Hamish and then released Jude. Jude ran on to the through ball and unleashed an absolute belter which just clipped the inside of the post as it flew into the top-left hand corner. Great goal!. 1-3.


The sky then darkened and the rain came down causing the reporter to stop taking notes as his ink was running. On resumption Bonaly had pulled the score back to 2-3 with a slightly fortunate effort that had squirmed under Sam's body aided by the greasy conditions.


Could have gone either way at this point as Blues were having to deal with a lot of pressure. But the whole team worked their socks off and defended brilliantly from the forwards to the backs and limited Bonaly's goal scoring opportunities. Jude then completed his hat-trick to make the score 2-4. Bonaly manged to score one more goal after a rare blues error but the result was put beyond doubt when Hamish netted for his second of the morning. Final Score 3-5 BLUE.

What a really great performance! Probably the strongest team we've played this season I think and a team that we were beaten by last year. Everyone without exception has come on massively this year and this has made the team difficult to beat. What was really good to see was that even when we lost a goal there was no panic or finger-pointing and everybody just carried on. (Bit like Barca against Man U). Throughout this game and almost all of the others this season the team passed really well and played some great football.


Well done all and good luck next week at the Wardie Festival!