City whizz kids' quick takeover

Edinburgh City ran out convincing winners despite the efforts of a strong Arniston Rangers side in the first round of the South East Region under-16 Steve Maskrey Cup. The Division 1 side were given a tough test by their lower league visitors, but won the right to face Craigroyston BC in the next round.

Early on, Arniston goalkeeper Adam Asif did well to deny Mark Osbourne after just five minutes. Ntando Ntshangase was also thwarted by Asif, but the striker took his second chance to give City the lead on 13 minutes. A long-range shot scuffled towards the goal and Ntshangase was quickest to react and slot the ball past the keeper.

Edinburgh City were left to rue missed opportunities as Midlothian side Arniston equalised on 16 minutes. From far out, Andrew Ferrier chipped his shot over Jaxon Wishart and into the net. It was the first real Arniston attack and showed they could be clinical.However, it didn't take Edinburgh long to retake the lead. A corner in from the right wasn't dealt with at the front post and Keiran McGraw found himself with an easy finish.

City should have scored again before half-time, but Ntshangase was denied cleverly by Asif. The ball across from Osbourne wasn't finished by Ntshangase but he looked guaranteed to score at the second attempt. Yet, Asif managed to scoop the ball away from the lingering striker.

Arniston had managed to keep Edinburgh City at bay in the first half and 2-1 seemed to be a fair reflection of proceedings. In the second half, though, City were outstanding and hit eight goals without reply. Firstly, substitute Lewis Turkington placed his shot into the bottom left-hand corner with then Kern Hutchison secured his first goal on 50 minutes after a darting run forward.

Ten minutes later, Edinburgh City scored a further two goals in quick succession. Ntshangase scored on the hour after a good turn of pace and Hutchison headed in a minute later. It was an impressive header after a great ball in by Peter Carvel.

On 67 minutes substitute Lewis Cockburn scored. His header was on target and met with conviction, but Asif saved well. However, Cockburn remained forward and found himself in a perfect position to receive the cut back and smash the ball into the net.

Cockburn then bagged his brace only three minutes later. He broke through the Arniston defence and finished off with confidence. Mark McCracken also got in on the scoring action as he struck a sweet shot to leave the keeper with no chance.

Towards the end of the game things began to turn farcical as the scoreline continued to escalate. Turkington was sent off for two bookable offences, which was remarkable to say the least. The referee listened to calls to book the player for delaying the restart of play, which seriously undermined his performance, despite the fact he had not booked two City players earlier for the same offence.

He then proceeded to book the player for dissent, resulting in Turkington's dismissal.

Just before the final whistle, Hutchison added the final goal when he tucked the ball away to seal what was, on paper, an emphatic win but, in the event, a well-fought contest.

Edinburgh City coach Stewart McGraw said: "Give Arniston their due, they carried on battling until the end."

Edinburgh City: Jaxon Wishart, Daniel Brigain, Declan Moffat, Kieran McGraw, Ruairidh Waddell, Rory McIver, Mark McCracken, Mark Osbourne, Ntando Ntshangase, Kern Hutchison, Stuart Donaldson, Ali Chrisp, Peter Carvel, Lewis Turkington, Lewis Cockburn, Greg Lobban.

Arniston Rangers YFC: Adam Asif, Craig Heeps, Garry Milne, Thomas Thomson, Daniel Curran, Callum Haining, Andrew Ferrier, Jack Morrison, Kyle Anderson, Hagin Steele, Steven Fleming, Neil Mackinnon, Dale Golder, David Rory Cairns, Daniel Cranston.