MATCH REPORT : BLUE v Oxgangs 20th March

Blue 2 - 0 Oxgangs

Another strong performance from the Blues on a cool but clear morning, Keith takes up the story...

The initial BLUE line up was Joseph (GK), Murdo & Robert (DF) Hamish, Jude & Alex (M-F) and Sam as striker with Joet & Roddy on the bench. We came up against a keeper in incredible form and this was a game that could have been won by a much greater margin.

The Sciennes passing was much improved and a string of good moves were put together before half time. Joseph didn't have a huge amount to do in goal but dealt well with any danger. Alex hit the post twice in the first half and the Oxgangs keeper made 6 or 7 excellent saves from Hamish, Alex, Jude and Sam. The keeper defended corners well and we also had a few shots off target and some deflected for corners.

Remarkably the first half ended 0-0.For the second half Roddy took over in goal and he had a save to make early in the half which he got down well to. We then went back on the attack and had 2 corners in quick succession but the danger was cleared.

Shortly afterwards the keeper was beaten by Jude but the ball was cleared off the line by a defender. Oxgangs then had a brief spell of pressure and won a corner but Robert made a good clearance finding Murdo in midfield.

For a spell the game got bogged down in midfield as Oxgangs tried to get a foothold. Midway through the half there was great play by Joseph showing a lot of strength to beat 2 men and find Alex with a nice pass. Alex' snapshot was touched onto the crossbar by the keeper.

In the end the keeper was unlucky to be beaten by an own goal. The clearance was picked up by Jude and his shot was parried by the keeper but went in off a defender. 1-0 BLUE.


A few minutes later another good shot by Jude was parried with Murdo unlucky to see his follow up go wide. There was then good play from Sam who recovered to win the ball back after being tackled and made a good run before finding Hamish who shot just wide.

There was then another shot by Murdo turned round the post by the keeper. Following the corner a shot from Alex was saved and the rebound from Hamish was deflected wide for another corner. The pressure was mounting and the Oxgangs frustration was highlighted by a slightly cynical trip on Alex which led to a red card (a bit harsh, but their ref was sure!).

With Oxgangs down to 6 men we piled on the pressure to seal the victory. A great run by Hamish out of defence released Alex in the centre and he carried the ball into the Oxgangs half on the left before making a cross-field pass to Murdo on the right. Murdo centered for Hamish, who'd continued his run forward, to shoot and it was touched wide. The corner was cleared but was picked up by Robert who slipped a pass to Alex who unleashed an unstoppable shot in the top right corner. 2-0 BLUE.

The 2-0 scoreline put a fairer reflection on the result but the Oxgangs goalie deserved the Man of the Match award.