Free-flowing Vale bring down the House in rampant display

Published on 17/11/2007 12:56

A RAMPANT Hutchison Vale swept into the next round of the Under-14 City Financial South East Region Cup with a resounding 7-0 win over West Lothian side Fauldhouse at Saughton.

Braces by Craig Newall and Dean Carse ensured an emphatic scoreline in favour of the home side, who were never truly bothered by a visiting side who were vanquished long before the final whistle.

It took Hutchie a while to move through the gears, but, having had a goal ruled out for offside on 15 minutes, they took a deserved lead shortly before the half-hour mark, Liam Fellinger crashing the ball home from close range.

The ever-busy Declan Fergus was impressive in a roving right-back role, and it was his cross which led to Vale doubling their lead a couple of minutes later.

Todd Smith struck a low shot at goal, with the ball hitting the legs of goalkeeper Michael Timmings before nestling in the net.

Hutchie's rapid attack signalled one-way traffic for most of the first half, but they were unable to add to their advantage before the break.

Craig Newall was a thorn in the Fauldhouse side throughout, and his powerful header on 41 minutes all but confirmed Vale's passage into the next round.

Fauldhouse did enter the uncharted territory of their opponents' box and almost came away with a reward for their efforts.

Cameron Miller fended off the advances of his marker during a strong run forward, but he failed to lift his attempted chip over Hutchie's Jamie Clelland and the keeper gathered gratefully. Niall Doherty's spectacular half-volley could have extended Hutchie's lead a minute later had Timmins in the Fauldhouse goal not been well positioned.

However, it didn't take long before the effervescent Newall made it four on 55 minutes with a well-executed free-kick from 20 yards, curling the ball over the wall and into Timmins' left-hand corner.

A defensive mix-up in the Fauldhouse backline allowed Hutchie to "go nap" on 68 minutes. Some fluent build-up play on the left wing was temporarily halted, but Dean Carse pounced on the loose ball as Fauldhouse attempted to clear and knocked the ball into the empty net from close range.

A tired-looking Fauldhouse defence contributed to their own downfall with no shortage of lackadaisical defending, and when full-back Lori McLean aimed a kick at goal-bound Ryan Crawford it merely summed up the frustration and resignation in the visiting ranks.

Carse took the resulting penalty kick and duly doubled his tally, notching Hutchie's sixth of the match.

With just seconds remaining, an increasingly weary Fauldhouse backline failed to track Doherty's forward run and the young Vale player was left to convert an easy opportunity.

Hutchison Vale: Jamie Clelland, Declan Fergus, Gareth Rodger, Jack Hood, Todd Smith, Liam Fellinger, Scott Gray, Jordan Glennie, Dean Carse, Callum Donnelly, Ross Brady, Ross Tipton, Callum Gilzean, Ryan Crawford, Craig Newall, Niall Doherty.

Fauldhouse: Michael Timmins, Lori McLean, Dylan Ferguson, David Allan, Alexander Dodds, Mark Townsley, Ryan Goldie, Cameron Miller, Christopher Hastie, Jordan McCallum, Craig Smith, Jordan Mackay, Callum Peace, Calum Coulter, Leigh Gibson, Christopher Greenhorn.