Globetrotting PE teacher leads Vale to victory over league leaders

ANDREW COOK, the former Edinburgh University and Raith Rovers player who has just returned from nine months globetrotting, showed that he has lost none of his zest for the game when he capped a great display with a goal in Vale of Leithen's 2-0 victory over league leaders Craigroyston.

Cook, a PE teacher, played for Raith Rovers during the 2008-2009 season after graduating from Edinburgh University before he began his sabbatical in various countries including Australia, New Zealand and Thailand.

"At the moment I just want to get my fitness levels up and get some playing minutes under my belt," said Cook. But judging by his five-star performance against Craigroyston, that will not take long. "I have only been back in Scotland for two weeks and have already had training sessions with Edinburgh University, Spartans Juniors and East Fife as well as playing for Kelso United and now Vale of Leithen."

Cook met his new teammates only hours before helping them to beat Craigroyston and move into third position in the Central Taxis First Division, five points behind them but with six games in hand.

The game started at a frantic pace and Craigroyston's James Binnie was booked in the seventh minute. Vale had Andy Martin in good form wide on the right and Aaron Somerville showed his eye for goal with a first-time volley which flew inches wide.

At the other end, a Kyle Hay free kick was held by Darren Walker at the second attempt and a long-range effort from David Anderson hit the side netting.

Kevin Robertson put in a timely tackle on Scott Moffat on the edge of the Craigroyston penalty box before Paul Greenhill was given a yellow card for a trip on Hay. Robertson then tested Walker with a crisp 20-yard shot on the turn before the best chance of the first half fell to Moffat who missed a Somerville cross only six yards in front of the target.

The second half started in similar fashion to the first with Ryan McKenzie being shown a yellow card for a foul on Gavin Tainsh before Anderson joined him in the referee's notebook for kicking the ball away. Vale substitute Darren Gillon brought out a great save from Craig Weir but it was Craigroyston who came closest to breaking the deadlock when a Lloyd Dignan cross was volleyed by Anderson. However, his well-struck effort rebounded from the post and was cleared.

There were only 12 minutes left when Vale finally prised open the Craigroyston defence. Craigroyston had a throw-in near the halfway line but conceded possession needlessly when Steven Sproule was robbed by Vale substitute Ousman Sonko. The talented midfielder then threaded a pass to Moffat who shot low behind Weir from 20 yards to give the visitors a precious lead.

Craigroyston pushed men forward in search of the equaliser but were caught on the break with only five minutes left when Somerville and Martin interchanged passes before the latter crossed low into the penalty box where Cook had made an unchallenged late run. The full-back met the ball perfectly and slotted it into the bottom corner from 14 yards to give Weir absolutely no chance.

"I thought to myself that Craigroyston had committed lots of boys forward so I just made a run," said Cook. "Andy cut the ball back superbly and luckily I hit it into the bottom corner. I'd like to say that I showed great vision and picked my spot but that might not be strictly correct! After the goal it was a case of keeping it tight at the back and retaining possession.

"It was nice to get 90 minutes of football under my belt and now I will wait and see what happens. Ideally I would like to get another chance with a Scottish League club."

Rab Paget, the Vale manager who also fielded another new signing, Kerr Dodds from Edinburgh University, was happy to have closed the gap on Craigroyston.

"That was a fantastic three points in a difficult game against a very good side," he said.

"In the first half both teams looked a bit nervous because there was a lot at stake and, honestly, it was a bit of a non-event.

"We looked more experienced than them in the second half and in the last 20 minutes we were physically stronger and I think our fitness levels were superb. That was emphasised by Andrew's goal when we had five players in their penalty box compared to their two. Overall, the three points do not mean anything as we still have nine league games left to play. All we can do is keep winning games and not worry about other teams."

Jamie Burrell, the Craigroyston boss, was relatively happy with his side's performance. "I thought that we played really well in the first half and competed with Vale all over the park," he said. "We made it difficult for them although we did not create any clear-cut chances. Our game plan was to go in without conceding and we achieved that.

"I cannot fault my players' efforts although we were probably not clinical enough in front of goals. We will not give up our fight for promotion. We still have three games to go and a potential nine points."

Craigroyston: Weir, Sproule, Cameron, McKenzie (Lawson 67), K Robertson (O'Neill 85), Georgeson, Manson, Hay, Anderson, Dignan, Binnie (M Robertson 67). Subs: Jeffrey, Dewar.

Vale of Leithen: Walker, Tainsh, Cook, Stewart, Lee, Greenhill (Gillon 60), Martin (Penman 85), Dodds, Moffat, Shortreed (Sonko 67), Somerville. Subs: Burke, Wilson.