OWAIN NETS A HAT-TRICK

Haddington Athletic Clarets 6 - 8 MYS Blue Stripes (25Oct08)

With Ben and Keiron on holiday, we arrived at Haddington with 8 players to discover another wet and extremely windy day which bore absolutely no resemblance to the concept of summer football.

However with the wind at our back, we soon took the lead following good link up play between Jason and Cameron and when the ball was played through to Lennon, he dispatched a great shot past the keeper. Lennon was soon able to reciprocate as it was his shot which the keeper failed to clear that Cameron was able to slide home. With Brendan and Ethan at the back, we looked quite secure, however on one of Haddington’s rare attacks into the wind, we simply failed to take the opportunity to clear the ball and we allowed them back into the game with a good shot which beat Owain. However we bounced back and shortly before the end of the first period, Cameron and Jason played a serious of 1-2's from a short corner and after they had worked the ball into the box, Jamie was able to poke home Jason’s cross to extend our lead to 3-1.

The second period into the wind was ultimately our best and it is where all our good work allowed us to win the game. With Ethan now playing right midfield, he was on hand to benefit from good link up play by Lennon and Jamie down the left and he converted Jamie’s cross to make the score 4-1. Ethan was instrumental in our next goal by winning the ball in midfield and drilling an excellent long pass into Owain’s path and he made it 5-1. It was Owain’s turn to benefit from the good understanding being developed by Lennon and Jamie as he accepted Lennon’s cross and although his first shot hit the post, he showed great determination to make sure he turned in the rebound. Haddington only had a couple of chances in this period even although they had the wind at their backs, however on one such occasion they scored a dubious goal from a corner which looked from the sidelines as if the Haddington player kicked the ball from Cameron’s hands. However we accepted the ref’s decision and the score was now 6-2. This gave Haddington some renewed hope and it wasn’t long before they pulled another goal back after a long wind assisted clearance was converted with a great shot past Cameron. Just before the end of the second period, Ethan’s determination came to the fore again as he won the ball in midfield and played a great pass to Jason whose shot was turned in off Owain’s knee. An unusual way to record his hat-trick, but most welcome nevertheless.

The third period with the wind at our back was very frustrating as we had various chances through Cameron, Ethan, Brendan and Jamie, but we were denied by either good saves from the keeper or the ball just going past the posts.

Therefore we entered the final period into a wind which seemed to be strengthening as the game went on. However as with the second period we seemed to be coping really well and there was great passing between Scott, Cameron and Lennon which resulted in Jason’s shot being saved. Shortly afterwards we put together our best move of the game which saw Scott accept the ball from Jamie who was our keeper in the last period. Scott's raking pass to Cameron was controlled and passed onto to Owain who as striker cushioned the ball into Jason’s path for him to run on and score at the second attempt past the oncoming keeper. It was a fantastic flowing move into a very stiff breeze and all the participants are to be congratulated on the weight of the passes and playing the ball into space or to feet as required. Towards the end of the last period Haddington clawed a couple of goals back, both of which came about as a result of our defence being caught too far forward and on both occasions, it was unstoppable wind assisted shots past Jamie which made the score more respectable.

All in all, it was another gutsy performance in less than perfect conditions with our final goal illustrating how much we have developed as a passing team. It was also really pleasing to see the goals being spread around so many different players.

Teamsheet: Owain, Scott, Ethan, Cameron, Jason, Brendan, Jamie, & Lennon

Goal scorers: Owain (3), Lennon, Cameron, Jamie, Ethan & Jason