Byrne red hot as hat-trick lands David Temple Cup for Boca Snrs

Boca SENIORS comfortably claimed the Edinburgh & District FA David Temple Memorial Cup with a 4-1 victory over Riverside United at Saughton Enclosure, helped by a hat-trick from Nick Byrne.

A dominant first half performance was enough to see Premier Division runners-up Boca clinch silverware as they took advantage of the gusty conditions, while Riverside struggled to capitalise on having the wind urging them forward in the second half.

After only four minutes, Boca Seniors' Nick Byrne latched on to a long ball and bore down on goal but struck his shot wide of the left post.

Riverside began the stronger of the two sides, applying a lot of pressure down the flanks in particular, and it seemed Byrne and Boca would go on to rue their early missed opportunity.

Just three minutes later, though, Byrne made up for his miss. A high ball narrowly evaded the head of a defender and Byrne ran in on goal and knocked the ball past Kevin White. It was a great finish to open the scoring, entirely against the run of play.

Riverside carried on taking the game to the leaders and could have equalised on ten minutes when Liam Frost's attempt from long range went only inches wide of the right hand post. On 16 minutes, Callum Smith really should have levelled for Riverside. Smith timed his run perfectly and evaded the offside trap to leave him one-on-one with Boca goalkeeper Jaroslaw Staszewski, but he only forced a save from the Pole, and a reasonably comfortable one at that.

The game began to swing both ways but on the half-hour mark Byrne doubled his, and Boca's, tally. Another long ball over the top seemed to have no imminent threat but Byrne's pace allowed him to seize possession and chip the ball over the oncoming White. .

Just before half time Boca Seniors made it 3-0 with man of the match Byrne scoring his hat-trick. In similar fashion to his second, Byrne received the high ball and chipped the ball over White. .

In the second half, Riverside United would have hoped to use the wind direction to their advantage but it was Boca who had the first real chance after the break. Marcin Kosakowski countered down the left hand side and found Iain Wood unmarked in the centre. Wood chose to head the ball when he really could have taken a touch, and the effort did not trouble Riverside's backline.

From that point, Riverside resumed their dominance of the match but although they created chances none were clear cut and Boca No.?1 Staszewski was behind the few efforts they did manage. That all changed on 76 minutes when Staszewski could only watch as a Grahame Mills free kick flashed past him and into the net to make it 3-1.

The goal sparked hope among the Riverside ranks but thereafter Boca looked more likely to score. With Riverside throwing caution to the wind, their opponents were able to counter effectively. Byrne could have added another two goals to his name if he had finished off after some great play. But just when it looked like the game was over, Willie Wright put the seal on a greater margin of victory, sliding in to beat White to the ball and slotting in to make it 4-1 to Boca. Lifting the David Temple Memorial Cup offered consolation to a Boca team that only missed out on the top tier title by one point and reached the last 16 of the Scottish Cup.

Their manager Glyn Bullen felt the wind favoured his side but that his men performed admirably to withstand the considerable challenge of Riverside. He said, "It is a game of two halves and we did well in the second half to defend that lead."

Riverside United will not have to wait long for the opportunity to exact revenge for their defeat after they secured promotion to the Premier League this season by winning the First Division.by a point over Sporting Chesser.

Boca Seniors AFC: Jaroslaw Staszewski, Jonathan Taylor, Lorenzo Magnani, Greg McGhee, Mark Scott, Willie Wright, Joel Dickie, Nick Byrne, Steven Jackson, Marcin Kosakowski, Martin Duff, Neil Robertson, Iain Wood, Gary McArthur, John Roddie, Paul Skeggs.

Riverside United: Kevin White, Ross Clyde, Liam Frost, Darren Bowie, Stephen Davidson, Kris Montgomery, Darren Philp, Grahame Mills, Callum Smith, Scott Waterson, Daryl Mills, Stuart Chambers, Stephen Gray, Stuart McKenzie, Peter Gorrie.