THE skill and will of Tynecastle was sufficient to see them triumph over Bonnyrigg Rose in the under-14 John Crawford Cup final at Saughton Enclosure.
An industrious Rose showed strength in abundance, but it was the tenacity of their maroon-clad adversaries and a hat-trick from the lethal Jamie Forsyth that saw the Midlothian outfit suffer a 5-1 loss.
After slender 1-0 victories against Leith
Athletic and Edinburgh City respectively in the earlier stages of the competition, Tynie and Rose had experienced mixed fortunes in the tournament's semi-finals, the former putting eight goals past Salvesen 94, while Bonnyrigg required extra time to overcome Hutchison Vale.
The two teams could barely have been further removed from each other in terms of appearance and footballing aesthetics, Bonnyrigg adopting a more forceful, agricultural approach with Tynecastle's players making up for in composure and fleet- footedness what they lacked in stature.
After a tight opening 20 minutes, Tynecastle drew first blood. Callum Paterson stole the ball from Nicholas Munro on the left flank, the full-back then skipping into the box where he hurdled the challenge of Matthew Hay before striking the ball low past goalkeeper Paul Robertson and inside the near post.
Robertson was faultless for the first but could have shown quicker reflexes a couple of minutes later as Tynie were allowed to double their lead.
Twenty-five minutes had elapsed as Robbie McIntyre showed grit to win the ball in midfield. McIntyre's lofted forward ball was flicked on by the head of Afghan midfielder Momad Ahmad into the path of Forsyth and, as the ball dropped between striker and goalkeeper, Forsyth was quickest and bravest and lobbed the ball over Robertson into the net.
Two down at half-time, Bonnyrigg were still very much in the game, especially as they boasted a formidable frontline of Ryan Somerville and Jamie Knox.
However, Rose's chances were dealt a firm and final blow ten minutes into the second half. Scott Dunlop played a crazy clearance directly across the penalty area, inviting, of all players, Forsyth to pounce and beat the goalkeeper with ease.
Despite trailing 3-0 during what may be written off as merely a bad day at the office, Bonnyrigg showed the positive aspect of their capabilities on 55 minutes with a stunning goal to reduce the deficit to two.
Christopher McCartney's rasping drive from the left-hand side of the box whistled past Tynie No.1 Michael Ross and into the middle right-hand corner of the goal.
With just a few minutes remaining and all hope lost, Bonnyrigg bones began to ache.
Tynie were quick to capitalise, hammering the nail in Rose's cup coffin with a couple of strikes at the death.
Forsyth deservedly completed his hat-trick with a run and spectacular shot into the top corner on 67 minutes, before Frazer Galloway's cross from the right was met by Fergus Lockhart and he netted at the second attempt. Raymond Wales, the Tynecastle coach, said: "To be fair to Bonnyrigg, they were very good. Both teams tried to play football and, for the neutrals, it must have been a good game to watch.
"We played Bonnyrigg a few weeks ago in a league game – they were one-nil up but then we scored three in the last four minutes. The early goal helped us relax a bit more, and I thought we won quite comfortably in the end."
Tynecastle: Michael Ross, Callum Paterson, Dale Finnie, Josh Riddell, Momad Ahmad, Neil Gibson, Frazer Galloway, Fergus Lockhart, Jamie Forsyth, Euan Rodgers, Ross MacNaughton, Taylor Aitchison, Lewis Hawkins, Robbie McIntyre, Gary Paton.
Bonnyrigg Rose: Paul Robertson, Ryan Scott, Nicholas Munro, Matthew Hay, Jamie Knox, Lee Brown, Craig Bonar, Ryan Somerville, Christopher Kane, Christopher McCartney, Scott Dunlop, Stephen Hay, Christopher Black, Harry Tranent.
The full article contains 649 words and appears in Edinburgh Evening News newspaper.
