Preston's perseverance pays off in Cup victory

An end-to-end affair, cheered on in the East Lothian twilight by a crowd pushing 300, was punctuated by three goals of superlative quality but ended with an unsavoury incident that saw the mercurial Johnathan Grotlin sent off.

It all began so well for Vics and their travelling army of supporters. Within the first ten minutes, they had stunned the locals with a fine finish by defender Euan McDonald past Athletic goalie Greig McLay.

However, Preston found their way back into the game midway through the half, when Daniel McSorley's pace took him flying past Newcraighall defender Marcus Morwood on the right.

McSorley, advancing into the penalty box, then poked the ball past goalkeeper Nicky Erskine and into the bottom left-hand corner.

Vics' Keiran Grant almost restored his side's lead soon after but, after driving past Preston defender Liam Cairney, he struck his effort directly at goalkeeper McLay.

Instead, it was Preston who snatched the third goal of the game shortly before half-time.

A corner from the right was only partially cleared by the Newcraighall defence, and the predatory Ross Jappy was ideally positioned on the edge of the box to race onto the loose ball 20 yards out and smash a right-footed shot through the ruck of players in the box and into the bottom left-hand corner of the net.

After the break, it was Preston who looked more likely to add to their tally.

Jappy raced past Grant Low on the right wing and sent over a delicious cross latched onto at the far post by Liam Higgins, but he snatched at the ball and could only direct his shot wide of the left-hand post.

Five minutes later, as Preston temporarily set up camp in the Vics penalty area, Athletic's No.9 Andrew McNeill, the ball at his feet, was presented with an small oasis of space amid a crowded penalty area but pulled his shot wide.

Again, soon after, McNeill spurned another gilt-edged opportunity, missing the target at a one-on-one with Vics goalie Erskine.

The Preston crossbar rattled from a Newcraighall strike on goal with ten minutes to go, and Athletic were clearly flustered as they clung on to their slender lead. This show of nerves unfortunately manifested itself with the livewire forward Grotlin apparently stamping on Newcraighall's Grant Low as the two became entangled in a midfield battle for the ball. Referee Brian Borthwick had little hesitation in brandishing the red card to hand Grotlin an ignominious end to the game.

Andy Erskine, who heads Newcraighall's coaching team of Martin Cook and Andy Low, was delighted with the display of his runners-up on a proper gala occasion at the home of Preston Athletic juniors.

"The only thing I was disappointed with was the result," said Mr Erskine.

"Hands up to Preston – it's putting the ball in the net that counts but we've got the support of the parents, the aunties, the girlfriends – everybody here – and you can't ask for more than that."

For Preston Athletic coach Derek Anderson, as well as his sidekicks Stephen Whyte and Richard Menzies, the cup win is the first of their coaching careers.

And he hopes to add to the success in the coming weeks with a league title and more silverware as, intriguingly, the same two teams were also due to contest the Belmont Vauxhall Cup final at the same venue.

"The local community have come out in force today, and the boys can be very proud of their efforts," said Mr Anderson. "We should win the league, and we have another cup final against Newcraighall to look forward to.

"I thought everybody gave everything, and what you saw out there all comes from hard work at training."

Preston Athletic: Greig McLay, Liam Cairney, Daniel Smith, Robbie Menzies, Jake Jarvis, Brad Robertson, Liam Higgins, Ross Jappy, Andrew McNeill, Johnathan Grotlin, Daniel McSorley, John Menzies, Jack Friery, Ryan Henderson, Clark Harvey, Stuart Talac.

Newcraighall Leith Vics: Nicky Erskine, James Carter, Euan McDonald, Grant Low, Steven Gillon, James Cook, Taylor Philp, Keiran Grant, John Fleming, Jamie Hamilton, Lewis Reid, Declan Henderson, Marcus Morwood, Jack Inglis, Jordan Easton.

THE Sunday Amateur Cup Final our correspondent was due to cover was cancelled at late notice.