Leith Athletic weather the storm as Blackburn's hopes are washed away

LEITH ATHLETIC weathered the rain storm that hammered down on Leith Links in their under-16 Scottish Youth FA Challenge Cup tie against Blackburn and the home side gave their new strip a winning outing in a very hard-earned 3-1 win.

Despite the awful conditions, this was a terrific game and it was made even better by having superb referee Jim Sim in charge. These two young teams were well matched but Athletic just had the edge when it came to sticking the ball in the back of the net.

The West Lothian outfit are coached by two players from the Blackburn Junior side and they started very well, pinning Athletic in their own half in an impressive start to a game that took place throughout in pouring rain.

Leith were made to work hard to defend their goal in the opening and, against the run of play, went 1-0 up – and what a significant goal scored by Calum Donaldson that proved to be.

The Leith No.18 was perfectly placed at the back post when a cross came over from the right wing and bulleted the ball into the net from a few yards out.

The action that raged from one end of the pitch to the other following on from the goal was quite magnificent in such conditions.

The West Lothian players matched the Leith side in every area, but they let themselves down with poor shooting while their deliveries from set-pieces, both corners and free-kicks, were not good at all. In fact, it must have been frustrating for their coaching duo to see many good chances being wasted.

There were goalmouth incidents in abundance at both ends, but Donaldson's goal was all that separated the sides at half-way.

Prior to the break, Leith set up a good attack when the ball was fired up the left touchline for Tyrone Jimenez to set off on a surging run before he passed to the impressive Gavin Pettigrew, who then laid it into the path of big Leith No.9 Kris McLoughlin. However, his rising shot from outside the 18-yard box raged over the top of the Blackburn goal.

In the second half, Leith upped their game and Blackburn goalie, Zain McCarron, pulled off a brilliant save at the feet of Liam Tomassi in the opening stages. Ryan Gillies then ran at the home defence, but his final shot was easily held by Leith keeper Stuart Dodds. A McLoughlin run was halted by a brilliant tackle by Daniel Hogg but the powerful Leith No.9 set up his team's second goal when he fired a great ball across from the right wing and Jimenez swept the ball into the net from close in, giving McCarron no chance of stopping it.

Leith then enjoyed a really lucky break when a Blackburn free-kick from the left beat the home defence and Ryan Kellock got a foot to the ball that bounced high in the goalmouth, only to see his shot smack off the head of Dodds and spin away from goal.

Leith defender Michael Park produced a great saving tackle to rob Daniel Campbell as Blackburn homed in on the Leith goal as the game went into overdrive.

Leith went back on the attack and went 3-0 in front when a cross from Kayne Paterson from the right was swept into the net again by Jimenez.

Blackburn never gave up and it was only their final ball that let them down in several good raids on the Leith goal. Near the finish, a long ball into the Leith goalmouth was not cleared by a home defender and Fraser Clarkson capitalised to control the ball before hammering in a shot at the left-hand post to make it 3-1.

That well-taken goal was all Blackburn had to show for the great efforts.

Leith coach Mark Paterson said: "It was good to see all the hard work we have put in with the team producing such a good display. It was a tough test but I thought Leith Athletic were deserved winners. We kept a good shape, defended well and the midfield kept up a good supply of passes for our attack to score three good goals.

"We now go on to play Leith Athletic Colts in the next round. That should be a great occasion for our club, two Leith teams playing each other in the Scottish Cup."

Leith Athletic: Stuart Dodds, Christopher Joyce, Ben McKinnon, Alan Murray, Greg Douglas, Lewis O'Connor, Kayne Paterson, Conor Scott, Kris McLoughlin, Liam Tomassi, Tyrone M Jimenez, Liam Rush-Smith, Christopher Barron, Greg Turnbull, Michael Park.

Blackburn: Zain McCarron, Mark McConnell, Nathan Taylor, Declan McGivern, Ryan Kellock, Daniel Hogg, Billy McGuigan, Michael Wells, Graham Poole, Daniel Campbell, John Riley, Ryan Gillies, Thomas McGladrigan, Ryan McIntosh, Fraser Clarkson.

Referee: James Sim.