Colts turn on style in second half of cup final to shoot down Gyle

Gyle took a first-half lead with a stunning 40-yard strike from Michael Darling, but Inch equalised 15 minutes after the restart and added two further goals against a tiring Strollers to take the cup.

Colts secretary Kenny Barclay felt his resilient side were well worth their win.

"We were by far the better football team," he said. "Gyle had some big boys and in the first-half we didn't get past them. In the second-half, though, we passed them off the park."

Inch were guilty of missing a number of gilt-edged opportunities after half-time, most notably when Barry Hogg met a cross as the ball bobbled at his feet and he skewed his effort wide.

Hogg, though, levelled for Colts a quarter of an hour after the interval, heading home from a cross by Aaron Mitchell. Inch then pulled ahead courtesy of a lethal run and shot by Brandon Cameron, and Fraser Gilder ensured that the cup would go to the South Edinburgh side with a third for Colts ten minutes from time.

"Davie Gilder (Colts' manager] told the boys at half-time to get the ball out wide and get some crosses in," revealed Barclay. "It obviously worked!

"Conor Barclay and Aaron Moffat at the back were outstanding, and our front three played well.

"We've had a great season overall, and we're sitting in mid-table in Division Two with a few games in hand. We want to win everything, including the league after being relegated from Division One."

While Colts hold aspirations of promotion, Gyle manager Mark Davidson is aiming to merely start climbing the league table after the disappointment of cup final defeat. So far, Strollers have registered just two league wins but, like Inch, they have many games in hand. "I have no qualms about the result on the night," said Davidson. "Inch were the better team in the second-half. It's just great for the boys to reach a cup final – now hopefully we can start picking up league points.

"We've had quite a few cup runs but we're now out of all of them, and we still have an awful lot of league matches to play."

The Gyle secretary identified a small squad as the reason for their second-half struggle against Inch. "We're struggling on numbers at the moment, and we've lost a couple of players to other teams.

"We were down to 12 players for Friday's cup final and the boys definitely tired.

"In the first half, we played very well and went 1-0 up, but with the late kick-off (around 8.30pm] and the big pitch, the second-half told on us, and the Inch boys appeared to be a bit stronger."

To rub salt into Gyle wounds, an unsavoury post-match "tapping up" incident did little to help squad morale or, potentially, the growth of the Strollers roster for the season.

Davidson claims that a representative of a large youth football club in the city approached one of his talented young crop of players in an attempt to sign him immediately after the final whistle.

"Unfortunately, at the end of the game, as the boys were receiving trophies, this person was speaking to the parents of one of my players – it was totally out of order," said Davidson.

"They didn't care, and basically asked the boy to hand his strip in to me that night. Losing the final was bad enough, but that put a real 'downer' on the whole thing. He said to the boy: 'Come to us – you'll be a winner'. I heard him say that. In that context, where the boy's just lost a cup final and some guy is trying to dangle a carrot in front of him, it's just not on.

"We've already lost two boys to First Division teams, and I have no qualms about that – I wouldn't hold anyone back – but I let this guy know he was out of order."

Both Gyle Strollers in West Edinburgh and Liberton-based Inch Colts are on the look out for new players born in 1996. Please call 317 7379 if interested in playing for Gyle or 663 1097 for Inch.

Prior to the cup final, Inch Colts A announced a new shirt sponsor partnership with Slimlite Double Glazing. Jimmy Hickman of the Capital-based company presented new strips to Colts ahead of kick-off.

Inch Colts A: John McDade, Liam Griffen, Aaron Flynn, Conor Barclay, Aaron Moffat, Frankie Bee, Fraser Gilder, Brandon Cameron, Jordan Baillie, Barry Hogg, Aaron Mitchell, Ryan Watson, Ryan Cockburn.

Gyle Strollers: Michael Lee, Ross Dick, Robert McKegny, Matthew Davidson, Kieren Scott, Michael Darling, Lewes Brown, Stuart Melrose, Callum MacKenzie, Tagan Brown, Calum Davidson, Joseph Posnett.