Cup holders Dyce roll on as Windsor lose their fluency

MUSSELBURGH WINDSOR, carrying the hopes of Lothians under-15 football in the latter stages of Scottish Youth FA Challenge Cup, were denied a semi-final place by crack Aberdeen outfit Dyce Boys' Club.

Dyce, current holders of the showpiece national tournament, travelled to Pinkie playing fields in the hope of inflicting a second defeat on Windsor in two years after beating their hosts in last year's semi-final.

They did just that thanks to a goal eight minutes from time by Craig Macaskill that saw Musselburgh suffer a narrow 3-2 defeat.

Windsor, beaten semi-finalists over the past two years in the national tournament, appeared a shadow of their usual self, struggling to attain fluency in what was overall a stop-start contest.

Dyce were more at ease and, judging purely on the quality of football they achieved, were worthy winners.

The Honest Toun side couldn't replicate their customary high tempo and directness against the north-east's finest.

An early Dyce goal immediately had Windsor on the back foot, the impressive visiting captain Thomas Robertson nodding in from close range at his team's first attack of the game. Windsor pressed their opponents thereafter, but found Daniel Tootill a formidable last line of defence.

Robertson, again bucking the balance of play and sparking a rare Dyce attack, doubled the visitors' lead on 15 minutes.

Stuart Close sent a long free-kick over the Windsor defence and into the penalty area and Robertson nipped behind the home back-line and prodded the ball past a non-committal Daniel Laing in the Musselburgh goal to score.

On 22 minutes, Windsor used the awesome weapon of Jack Moffat's long throw to maximum effect, the Windsor No.6 lobbing the ball from the left touchline straight on to the head of Daniel Moffat, who nodded the ball past Tootill.

Five minutes before half-time, a beautifully-worked Windsor goal confounded once-dominant Dyce and brought the home side back on to level terms. Ben Stewart, in a central position on the edge of the penalty area, cleverly flicked the ball away from a crowded area to Ewan Ralton who, from a wider position on the left 12 yards from goal, prodded the ball inside and into the path of Ryan McConville, who lashed it into the roof of the net with the most emphatic of finishes.

A dizzied Dyce managed to regain their balance in the second-half, and almost restored their lead when skipper Robertson's incisive pass forward to Robbie Collinson should have resulted in at least a shot on target. However, Collinson, after bypassing Windsor defender Reece Docherty, blasted the ball wildly over the crossbar.

Shortly after the hour-mark, Musselburgh's Declan O'Kane displayed exemplary technique to meet a high, dropping ball from 35 yards out with a cannoning volley that dipped narrowly over the bar.

It was Dyce who were to find that all-important composure in front of goal as a breathless game prepared for its final puff.

Craig Macaskill, the visitors' diminutive No.9, had just re-emerged as a "rolling" substitute, and was perfectly-placed to meet Collinson's left-wing cross and coolly fire the ball past Laing to win the match.

Stephen Rogers, the Dyce coach, said: "

Coming down here to face one of the best teams in Scotland, we always knew this would be an extremely difficult tie. We found ourselves 2-0 up, but Musselburgh game back strongly to equalise.

I think we just deserved to go through. We wish Musselburgh all the best in their season."

Windsor counterpart David Gaines identified the character of his team as key to such an intriguing head-to-head.

He said: "The encouraging thing after a really bad start was that they did rise to the challenge. They showed the character to turn around a two-goal deficit. We dug in and dominated the rest of the first half.

"Dyce showed a greater desire in the second half, and the bottom line is that our boys came up against a really good team. It's a huge disappointment for the players and coaches, but they've done really well."

Windsor, meanwhile, face a stern test to their hopes of silverware tomorrow when they face top-of-the-table Edinburgh City in the semi-final of the under-15 South East Region Cup. The winners of tomorrow's tie at Pinkie will play Leith Athletic on finals weekend at Dunbar.

Musselburgh Windsor: Daniel Laing, Lee Edwardson, Patrick Harrold, Kamran Tufail, Reece Docherty, Jack Moffat, Ryan McConville, Jordon Burrows, Craig Turnbull, Ewan Ralton, Declan O'Kane, Gary Scott-Learmonth, Ben Stewart, Marcus Gaines.

Dyce: Daniel Tootill, Ross Cochrane, Nathan Greig, Martin Anderson, Stuart Close, Grant Thomson, James Anderson, Thomas Robertson, Craig Macaskill, Connor Scott, Robbie Collinson, Kenneth Mair, Jack Goodwin, Calum Yule, Lewis Michie, Cameron Buchan.