Local Heroes: Leith 97 fight back to claim the glory

The South East Region under-14 Charles Porter Memorial Cup was bound for the north-east of the city after Patrick Ryan's double cancelled out a Strollers opener through Jack Pennell, then Leith No.?9 Lewis Park sealed his side's victory with an assured finish in the second half.

"We had a shaky start but found our composure," reflected winning coach Gary Colbert after his team, unbeaten in Division Four this season, conceded an early goal amid a sluggish start.

Leith striker Park had a sixth minute chance to break the deadlock as he bore down on James Meldrum's goal, but he was denied by the Strollers No.?1, who came out to block the 18-yard effort with his chest.

Civil Service found strength from their goalkeeper's early accomplishment, going on to dominate the ensuing ten-minute passage of play and take the lead.

During a period of concerted Strollers pressure after 13 minutes played, Leith skipper Keith Turner implored his fellow defenders to combat an opposition he felt was "all over us" as the black-and-white backline prepared to face a corner. The calls fell on a lacklustre Athletic rearguard, who failed to clear Kier Smart's cross, which was headed in from eight yards by Pennell.

Within nine minutes of the opening goal, Leith had turned the game around thanks to the predatory instinct and cool finishing of Ryan.

After 19 minutes, the Strollers defence could not rid their own crowded six-yard box of the ball after a Leith corner and Ryan seized upon the opportunity to stab home from close range.

Three minutes later, the big striker took a second goal with far more grace, picking up possession on the edge of the penalty area, skipping past two Strollers defenders to leave them on their backsides and assuredly placing his shot from the 18-yard line into the bottom right-hand corner to make it 2-1.

Park almost doubled his side's advantage on 26 minutes. After latching onto a forward ball, he sidestepped a backtracking defender before lofting a high shot over the goalkeeper from 20 yards, only to see his effort clear the crossbar by a couple of feet.

Eager to ensure victory, Leith emerged from the half-time break to do just that after a matter of seconds. In a direct onslaught straight from kick-off, Park, in possession, found room on the left-hand side of the box and outfoxed his marker with a quick swivel before firing into the far corner from 15 yards. Soon after, the same player drew an impressive save from Meldrum with a half volley from 20 yards, but by that time the result was already beyond doubt.

After his side received the trophy, Leith coach Colbert and his sidekick, Maurice Paterson, were able to reflect on their team's progress in eleven-a-side football over the past year-and-a-half. Colbert said: "The boys have given everything. They're a good bunch of lads, and it's been good to see them develop into athletes as well as footballers. We should win the league after missing out on promotion last season, but the development of the boys is the most important thing."

Strollers boss Carl Gardiner, who took on the appearance of Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini with a long overcoat and blue and white bar scarf, feels his side put in a performance of which they can be proud. "I though we played really well. The boys could have let their heads go down when they conceded the goals, but they kept going well and I can only be proud of them."

Civil Service Strollers: James Meldrum, Jack Hogarth, Jordan Brown, Kier Smart, Rory Anderson, Cameron Pryde, Jack Pennell, Louis Gardiner, Jamie Vinton, Aaron Porteous, Gavin Lavery, Lewis Black, Keiran Marshall, Ali Greig, Finlay Gunn, Ian Anderson.

Leith Athletic 97: Campbell Johnston, Andrew Baird, Osama Mahmoud, Ryan Colbert, Keith Turner, Neall Lloyd, Jesse Tucker, Leighton Paterson, Lewis Park, Murray Dickson, Lewis Robertson, Gordon Kinnear, Jack Brodie, Glynn Mullen, Christopher Slater, Patrick Ryan.