Daylight robbery as Comrie Rovers fail to shake off Napier University

Published on Tuesday 17 November 2009 08:56

COMRIE ROVERS, hailing from a small Perthshire village of around 2,000, pitched up in the Capital for their Scottish Amateur Cup Third Round replay looking to turn over Napier University before sampling some Edinburgh nightlife.

And, at 3-1 to the good with twenty minutes left, Comrie were cruising. But they proceeded to lose both the match and their wallets as thieves reportedly broke into the changing rooms at Saughton and ruined the visitors' big day out.

Napier's Paul Henderson headed an injury -time equaliser to stun the long-time leaders of the tie and take the game to extra time, where further goals from Brian Anderson, James McLean and Henderson – in the face of a consolation strike by Peter Reilly – downed crumbling Comrie by 6-4.

The sides had contested a 1-1 draw in the initial tie at the home of Rovers, a side struggling for form in the Perthshire Amateur League but performing well in cup competitions.

In the replay, Napier's fitness told in the latter stages, helping the hosts to a place in the fourth round of the national tournament.

Graham Abernethy put Comrie ahead from close range after 15 minutes when former Stirling Albion youth player Reilly nodded a corner from the left back across goal and his strike partner was on hand to convert.

In a drab opening to the match, played on the artificial pitch at a bitterly cold Saughton, few chances were forthcoming and it wasn't until the second half that Napier threatened – with a little help from their generous visitors.

Rovers' Scott Clunie, attempting to clear a corner, had the misfortune of seeing the ball spin off his head and drop into the top right-hand corner to gift the students an equaliser.

Two minutes later, Comrie were unlucky not to score at the other end. Shaun Ward skinned Napier defender Paul Floyd on the right and played in Abernethy, whose shot from an acute angle came crashing off the underside of the crossbar before being cleared.

Napier goalie Matt Bettoli was again beaten seconds later, when Comrie centre back Kieran O'Donell sneaked in at the near post to head home a corner.

With 20 minutes to go, a fairytale finish from the village team looked on the cards as Reilly beat Bettoli to the ball on the edge of the box, nipped past the goalkeeper and sidestepped backtracking defender Greg Paterson before rolling the ball into the net to make it 3-1.

Comrie is a small community geographically positioned astride the Highland Boundary Fault line and is historically beset by tremors.

And the "Shaky Village" nickname certainly rang true with its football team, who capitulated spectacularly in the final 15 minutes of regulation time.

Tom Differ pounced on a loose ball to drill into the bottom right-hand corner on 75 minutes then, with Comrie minds perhaps occupied by some celebratory post-match drinks, Henderson heroically threw himself head-first at a ball to head a close-range 94th-minute equaliser.

Napier continued their siege on Comrie's goal into extra time and their renewed confidence in front of goal reaped dividends.

Anderson rounded goalkeeper Stevenson and side-footed in from a narrow angle three minutes in.

Comrie lost their discipline – and two players for red card offences – soon after.

MacLean nutmegged defender David Sinclair on the edge of the box before firing into the right-hand corner to make it 5-3, by which time the game looked to be going only one way. Reilly bundled the ball into the net at the other end with just eight minutes remaining, but Henderson fired in past a decimated Rovers defence with seconds to go at a corner to seal a home win.

Coach Stephen Robertson felt his side were lucky to progress to the next round. He said: "Sometimes you win games that you don't deserve to. They lost their discipline and we came back into it. The joy of coaching students is that they'll listen to what you tell them."

Asked if he fancied a trip to one of the bigger amateur teams, perhaps a Glasgow-based club, in the next round, Robertson said, "There's only one glamour tie in Glasgow that I'm looking forward to, and that's the final."

Napier University: Matt Bettoli, Gregor Campbell, Darren Lester, James MacLean, Tom Differ, Malcolm Leask, Paul Henderson, Paul Floyd, Brian Anderson, Callum Wallace, Callum Howie, Orin Parkinson, Greg Paterson, Scott Tindall.

Comrie Rovers: Raymond Stevenson, David Sinclair, Alex Wylie, Kieran O'Donnell, Richard Muir, Colin Cruikshanks, Barry Ward, Scott Clunie, Peter Reilly, Brian McLean, Graham Abernethy, Zbigniew Ksiazak, Charles Anderson, Alex Murdoch, Ian Shepard, Shaun Ward.