Boss hails his Colts as they lift AC Taxis Cup

DUNBAR UNITED COLTS captured the South East Region under-13 Division Four AC Taxis Cup with a rampant second-half performance to see off the spirited challenge of Loanhead Miners Welfare at Saughton Enclosure.

A cagey first-half saw the sides trade goals before Colts went 2-1 up shortly before the interval.

After the restart, the East Lothian side then hit another four past a tiring Loanhead side, who themselves struck a single second-half goal, to make the final scoreline 6-2.

A partisan crowd of more than 100, made up largely of an enthusiastic contingent from Dunbar, made for a carnival atmosphere within the West Edinburgh stadium, with home-made flags and no little shouting of encouragement.

That all contributed greatly to a model advert for youth football in Edinburgh and the Lothians.

Dunbar's Grant Hastie responded brilliantly to an occasion when nerves may easily have suffocated the young footballers.

The free running of the Colts No.11 created the first goal of the night on 15 minutes when his surge from halfway unsettled a backtracking Loanhead rearguard.

From 30 yards out, Hastie angled a brilliant diagonal pass through to striker Jake Johnstone, who ran into the penalty area and, although his first strike was well blocked by the Midlothian side's goalkeeper Nathan Pryde, netted the rebound from close range.

Loanhead, though, were back on level terms just five minutes later, as Colts goalkeeper Josh Stewart took a moment too long in gathering a grounded ball with his hands after a corner.

That allowed opposition striker Owen Cassidy to nip in and poke it into the net.

Just as it looked as though the sides would retire for their half-time rest with a goal apiece, Dunbar struck their second to regain the lead. A cross from the right flashed across goal and looked to be heading out of play for a goal kick. Determined Dunbar No.9 Liam Demianczuk, however, raced to the far post to meet the ball, and cleverly reversed the direction of its flight, arrowing a shot into the bottom right-hand corner.

In this season's league campaign, Dunbar are top of Division Four with a 100 per cent record, while their Loanhead counterparts are in mid-table with a 33 per cent win record. It was true to form, then, when Dunbar ran away with the game in the second half to claim their first silverware of the year.

Five minutes after the break, Colts made it 3-1. Cameron Miller beat Loanhead's offside trap and broke into the penalty area and, just as it looked as though a recovering Miners defence had managed to snuff out the threat, Dunbar's Hastie came steaming in to seize the loose ball and smash it into the net from close-range.

Slackness in both defences in quick succession provided the crowd with yet more goals but kept Dunbar's two-goal margin intact. Loanhead's Cassidy and Dunbar's Johnstone were the beneficiaries of generosity by their respective opposition backlines and their coolness in front of goal made the scoreline 4-2 in favour of Colts.

Two goals in the final 20 minutes resulted in a rather lopsided result, but one that a latterly-dominant Dunbar fully deserved.

A corner from the left fell to Dunbar's Miller and, again displaying his seemingly innate talent for carving out space in the penalty box, he turned the ball into the net from six yards amid a crowded goalmouth.

Harry Steel set the seal on a comprehensive win for Colts with a finish from just inside the box with ten minutes to go and the result gave Dunbar manager Stewart Brown plenty of reason to praise his side.

He said: "We've been doing really well this season – we're still in with a shout for the league and have reached a second cup final.

"That performance was typical of our season. The whole defence played well, wee Ryan at left-back (Ryan Soso, the Dunbar captain] was superb, as were Jake Johnston and Cammy Miller. Loanhead played well, too, and the game was played in good spirit.

"It's our first year at 11-a-side and I couldn't have asked any more. We have plans to try to win the league but, most of all, it's about the laddies enjoying the rest of the season and improving along the way."

Loanhead MW: Nathan Pryde, Ethan Bird, Michael Kennedy, Darrell Smith, Jack Farquhar, Christopher Hume, Craig Forrest, Hayden Abrahams, Jordie Bell, Owen Cassidy, Ryan Elliott, Sammy Robertson, Finlay McIntosh, Nathan Paris.

Dunbar United Colts: Josh Stewart, Dean Muir, Elliot Mullen, Christopher Brown, Oliver Gilchrist, Louis Simba, Robbie Gemmill, Liam Dunn, Liam Demianczuk, Jake Johnstone, Grant Hastie, Ryan Soso, David Armstrong, Kyle Jeffrey, Cameron Miller, Harry Steel.