HUNDREDS of thrilled football fans at the under-19 Royal Edinburgh Cup final between Star A and Leith Athletic were treated to an astonishing finale with Athletic winning 4-3 after a quite wonderful clincher from Jamie Stewart in the last five minutes.
Star A looked virtually home and dry when they went in at the half-time break leading 3-0. But the totally out-of-sorts Leith squad stunned their coaches with an amazing comeback after being given a roasting at the break in full view and within ea
rshot of spectators on the sidelines.
Star A bossed the game in the opening 45 minutes and their two quick front runners, Calum Hall and Michael Campbell, ran the Leith defence ragged with their blistering pace and aggressive running.
It was no surprise when Campbell notched the first Star A goal when he rammed the ball past Leith goalie Paul Tansey following a great ball in from the left, delivered by Hall.
Leith were under great pressure and the instructions from their coach of "you have to work harder" fell on deaf ears as they were so busy defending.
There was no respite and Star A deservedly went 2-0 up with their second goal coming from a neat Kevin Golder free-kick.
Tansey was helpless as the ball crashed into the back of the net in the 27th minute.
The Leith defence were all over the place as they fought to stem the attacks on their goal and they went 3-0 behind in the 42nd minute with a lovely-worked goal.
Campbell got on to the end of a great lofted pass up the left and the talented Star A No.15 then delivered a great ball in for Hall to score.
However, Leith ripped into their opponents after the break with sheer determination and commitment from every player.
In the 55th minute, Peter Gowans kicked off the fightback with a goal following a corner on the right. That goal did not just inspire Leith, it positively galvanised them into even more effort and they survived a scare of a possible penalty against them to make it 3-2 in the 75th minute with a stunning free-kick from Johnny Herd that gave Star A keeper Mark Moyes no chance of saving.
Seven minutes later the teams were square at 3-3, Herd winning the race for a great through ball against Moyes, then managing to get enough on the ball to guide it past the advancing keeper into the net before crashing to the ground in the resultant clash of bodies.
It would be fair to say that goal resulted in all hell breaking loose among the Leith players on the pitch and their coaches and fans on the touchlines!
But these scenes of celebration were nothing compared to what was to follow a few minutes later when Stewart produced a fantastic lofted pile-driver of a shot from fully 30 yards out that crashed over the stranded Moyes and into the back of the net for the winner.
That was not the end of the action, however, and Star A piled forward in what was the last chance for them in a bid to get themselves an equaliser.
How hard the Star players tried, too, but they had been well and truly mugged in the second-half surge by Leith.
It was not a case of "assault and battery" however, it was brilliant football that won the game.
A beaming under-19 league secretary John Robinson said: "I congratulate both teams on a making the Royal Edinburgh Cup such a magnificent final."
And so said all of us who were there. This final was also graced by a good young referee in James Campbell.
Star A: Mark Moyes, Kevin Golder, Greg Thomson, Jolon Docherty, Dean Dillon, Euan Skene, James Grubb, John Ray, Calum Hall, James Glodek, Barrie Dillon, Steven McArthur, David Duncanson, Michael Campbell, Dale Syme, Marytyn Murray.
Leith Athletic: Paul Tansey, Michael Grant, James Main, Craig Thomson, Michael Garrie, Jamie Stewart, Craig Nisbet, Shawn Wood, Greg Dodds, Peter Gowans, Lachlan Thom, Jonathan Herd, Steven Handley, Thomas Sharp, Ian Murray, Scott Robinson.
Referee: James Campbell.
The full article contains 704 words and appears in Edinburgh Evening News newspaper.
