YOUNGSTARS EDGE PAST DUNBAR

MYS Black Stripes 4 - 3 Dunbar Colts Black (16May09)

It was a grey, cloudy morning with more than a hint of rain in the air as the goals went up at Wallyford at 8:30 in the morning. But by kick off time at 9:30 the cloud was breaking up and the sun starting to appear and the stage was set for what turned out to be a great game of football!

Dunbar kicked off the first quarter and went on the attack. A sustained period of pressure led to a Dunbar goal as the Youngstars failed to clear their lines. Further attacking from Dunbar led to a corner which Musselburgh could only clear by conceding another corner. This time the kids cleared their lines well and went on their first raid upfield with Josh making a good run and cross towards the box which Lewis controlled getting a good shot on goal, only for the Dunbar keeper to make the first of what turned out to be many very good saves. The Youngstars started to get into their stride and the play flowed backwards and forwards with both sides competing for the ball well and playing some nice passing football, but the defences on both sides were doing well and keeping the attacks contained. Calum won the ball well in midfield, worked a good pass out to the right to Josh who ran past his man out wide, drove on towards the Dunbar line and crossed the ball into the box. Lewis was running in on the back post and did a great header giving the keeper no chance and levelling the score at 1-1.

The game continued to ebb and flow with Innes making some good saves, Jason working hard in midfield and Sam and Mark defending well at the back. Dunbar went close with a shot which just went over the bar; Josh drove in from the right and shot but the keeper saved well again; Calum got through on goal only for the keeper to come quickly off his line and save; a good Youngstars move down the right with a cross into the box found Lewis at the back of the box who passed it back inside to Calum who shot, but again the Dunbar keeper made a great save.
Dunbar went on the attack as the quarter came to a close, the ball was crossed in, there was a scramble in the Youngstars' box, followed by a shot - Innes pulled off a good save but could do nothing as the ball rebounded out to a Dunbar player who drove home to make it 2-1 to Dunbar.

The Youngstars kicked off the second quarter and immediately went onto the attack, setting the pattern for the quarter. Jason battled for the ball in midfield, passing out to Lewis on the right. His cross was punched clear from the keeper only to fall to Jason whose shot slid to the left of the goal for a goal kick. Dunbar were struggling to get the ball clear of their own half and Sam picked it up on the left of midfield, passed it on to Jason up front whose shot brought another good save from the Dunbar keeper. Pressure continued with the Dunbar defence working hard and the keeper making more good saves. It was 6 minutes into the quarter before Dunbar had their first meaningful attack and managed to get in through Mark and Morgan at the back, but Innes was quickly off his line and made a good save to keep Dunbar out. Mark took the ball from defence and played a good pass upfield to Calum in central midfield to put the Youngstars back on the attack. A ball through the middle found Lewis whose ambitious volley slid to the right of the goal. The game continued with the Youngstars making most of the attacking play and Mark and Morgan at the back dealing with the few Dunbar threats. As the quarter came to a close the Youngstars were again on the attack, winning a corner which the keeper parried only for the ball to fall to Morgan whose firmly hit shot struck a defender and went up over the bar for another corner.

As the third quarter started, the Youngstars were down to 7 available players - not having a replacement, Josh with an injury to his foot, went in goal but struggling to get the gloves on had only just about made it onto his line as the kick off was taken by Dunbar, and with a sharp piece of thinking the Dunbar attacker took a great shot straight from the kick off hoping to catch Josh out with his gloves still not quite on. He saw it coming and managed to push the ball up over the bar for a corner which was then cleared upfield. For the next couple of minutes the game flowed backwards and forwards with neither side dominating, Mark and Morgan defending well containing the Dunbar attacks. Three minutes into the quarter a Musselburgh attack down the right with Jason led to a shot from distance which the Dunbar keeper saved, pushing the ball past the post for a corner. Jason delivered a great corner into the box which found Lewis unmarked and another fine header beat the keeper to level the score at 2-2. Soon afterwards, a Dunbar corner was driven in low and hard, went right through a group of players in the box and had just enough inswing on it to creep in at the back post. It was a great corner and put Dunbar back ahead at 3-2. Dunbar continued to press forwards but the Musselburgh defence held strong. A clearance from Morgan finally relieved the pressure and a good 1-2 from Jason and Lewis in midfield set up an attack down the right but Calum couldn’t quite meet the cross into the box and the Dunbar keeper safely took the ball.

The final quarter started off with the Youngstars on the attack, pressing forwards looking for the equaliser. But the Dunbar defence was looking strong, and Dunbar gradually got into the game with the play flowing backwards and forwards. Sam and Mark at the back held strong for their team and Calum looked secure in goal. The kids pressed forwards again, winning a corner. Dunbar cleared the ball but only to the edge of their box where Lewis hit a great volley back in across the goal - but the Dunbar keeper made a superb save to deny what looked like a certain goal. Another corner followed which was cleared but as Morgan pushed forwards a Dunbar foul gave Musselburgh a free kick in a good position. The free kick was cleared but only as far as Jason who crossed the ball back into the box. Lewis controlled the ball well on his chest and this time his volley left the keeper with no chance and the ball flew into the top back corner of the net for the equaliser, 3-3.

Josh was struggling with an injury on his heel and as Lewis fired in a shot his ankle was caught by the defender’s boot leaving him hobbling for the rest of the quarter. But Musselburgh went back on the attack and it was all Musselburgh pressure forcing the Dunbar team to work hard in defence. A good shot from Josh brought another great save from the Dunbar keeper and the ball was finally cleared away for a kick-in. The kick-in was taken quickly and the ball passed in to Lewis who fired in another shot which went just wide. Later, a Musselburgh goal kick was played up the left side of the field, and collected well by Morgan. He ran forwards and, with a nice pass, picked out Jason who was half way into the Dunbar half. Jason had eyes for one thing, the goal, and set off on a weaving run up the left and then back infield into the Dunbar box, beating several players before placing a nice finish past the keeper to make it 4-3 to Musselburgh with three minutes to play.

The final minutes of the game saw both teams looking for another goal but the defences held firm and as the final whistle went, a well contested match ended with Musselburgh ahead at 4-3.

Man of the match – the Dunbar keeper who was outstanding.

Teamsheet: Innes, Mark, Sam, Morgan, Josh, Jason, Lewis, Calum

Goal scorers: Lewis (3), Jason