Miners in demolition derby

AS THE Edinburgh derby at Tynecastle entered the dying minutes on Saturday lunchtime, another pair of local rivals kicked off ten miles away in a Lothian and Edinburgh Amateur FA Challenge Cup, second-round tie that had all the makings of a fervent and physical clash between two fierce adversaries.

The Midlothian match-up of Loanhead Miners Welfare and Dalkeith Miners Welfare may have drawn a decidedly more modest crowd – around 50 were in attendance at Loanhead's King George V Park – but there was action aplenty as the ten-man hosts, depleted by the sending-off of main striker Kenneth McMillan shortly before half-time, took the lead but were then pegged back by their higher-division opponents and beaten by a single goal in extra time.

The last time these neighbouring clubs met was on league duty last season, and Dalkeith went on to win promotion at the expense of Loanhead by just a point. The scene was therefore set for something of a grudge match, and tensions ran high.

Dalkeith sit mid-table in Premier Division 1, while Loanhead are well-placed for promotion from the league below. The hosts proved early on in this contest that they could compete well in LEAFA's top tier should they make the step up.

Their left winger, Blair McDonald, spotted the run of striker McMillan, who had ghosted through the centre towards the edge of the penalty area unnoticed by Dalkeith's defence on 15 minutes. But, a combination of McMillan's heavy first touch and the speed with which opposing goalkeeper Barrie Lindley advanced from his line meant that Lindley was almost on top of McMillan when the latter pulled the trigger, and the No.1 blocked the effort.

At the other end two minutes later, Darren Stewart, the Dalkeith midfielder, struck a tantalising 25-yard volley that crept over the crossbar by no more than two feet, creating a chance out of nothing and showing great technique.

Visiting goalkeeper Lindley was then called upon once more, this time being dealt an awkward back pass from his defence. His unorthodox flying kick met the airborne ball but presented it directly to Loanhead striker Chris Fortune but the goalkeeper recovered well and saved the blushes of his defence by pulling off a point-blank save from the striker's close-range strike.

Dalkeith forced themselves back into the match after playing second-best in the opening stages, but showed similar profligacy in front of goal when Mark Brown's low cross from the right squirmed through to centre forward Chris Wright, who skied the ball over the bar with the possibility of a slight bobble before he shot.

Referee Gordon Clarkson certainly had his work cut out throughout the game in controlling and disciplining two full-blooded sides, and rightly red-carded Loanhead's No.9 McMillan shortly before half-time after the striker's second bookable offence. According to the match official, McMillan threatened to punch an opposing player in the face, this after an initial booking for dissent.

The classic 'ten men' scenario subsequently played out in the second half, as an increasingly fired-up Loanhead took the game to their numerically superior opponents.

Darren Robertson's rasping strike from a 56th minute free-kick clattered off the right-hand post, and the ball rebounded kindly into the penalty area, where Loanhead's lone striker, the towering Chris Fortune, leapt to head the high ball into the net.

Dalkeith thereafter projected the demeanour of a side who were confident an equaliser would arrive sooner or later. Not even Michael Laing's failure to test Loanhead goalkeeper Darren Page from close range after Brown's inch-perfect cross flustered them much.

Such self-belief bred reward with 15 minutes to go, as Laing was well-placed at a corner kick to bullet a header beyond Page and level the game.

Brown should have prevented extra time but spurned a gilt-edged chance from four yards out in the dying seconds. Otherwise, as both sides sought a winner in the latter stages of regulation time, they generated little productivity in front of goal.

A solitary goal a minute from the midway point in extra time was enough to settle the see-saw tie. Again, Loanhead displayed fragility at a corner from the right, playing a high defensive line that allowed Dalkeith's Wright to steal into the six-yard box and divert a header into the net.

Loanhead, a man down and a goal to the worse, rattled their opponents in the closing minutes, their midfielder Darren Hodge going close with two strikes from the edge of the area and Dalkeith receiving bookings for time- wasting and a desperate tackle, but could not take the game beyond a gruelling 120 minutes.

Dalkeith coach Gary Rankin, whose side will meet Lochend at home in the next round, was relieved to have survived a close contest. "Both clubs have signed decent players this season and it was always going to be a tight game. I thought they had the better of the game until about 20 minutes to go, and after that we were on top," he said.

Loanhead MW: Darren Page, Duane Campbell, Craig Gallagher, Chris Shillito, John Sanders, Darren Robertson, Craig Robertson, Darren Hodge, Kenneth McMillan, Chris Fortune, Blair McDonald, Andrew Gemmill, Scott McKenzie, Richard Smith, David Scrymegour, Kyle McCulloch.

Dalkeith MW: Barrie Lindley, John Cooper, Darren Combe, John Taylor, Michael Laing, Stephen Wilson, Darren Stewart, Chris Wright, Paul McDermott, Mark Brown, Paul Walkingshaw, James Henderson, Greig Anderson.