Midfielder's strike keeps Welfare in hunt

There were only 17 minutes left when he received the ball from a throw-in on the right near the University corner flag. He quickly shifted the ball from his weaker right foot on to his left, created some space and hit a shot from 20 yards which entered the net via the underside of the crossbar and the inside of the post.

"I was aiming for an area at the back post and luckily for me the ball hit the bar and went in," said Hall. "Obviously I was very happy because it helped us to achieve a great result against a very fit University team who made a real battle of the game."

The Ferguson Park surface had not seen action since October 30 and it looked heavy as both sides tried their best to play football on the strength-sapping pitch. The first opportunity fell to the University when Gordon Milne hit a 30-yard shot over the bar before Struan Scott-Woodhouse hit a free-kick into the Whitehill wall.

Both sides gave the ball away cheaply early on. Ross Allum had a glancing header which sneaked past Mark Tait's post in the University goal. At the other end, James Craigen had a shot blocked then Whitehill responded with a David Beattie shot with Tait held low.

The students enjoyed a spell of pressure which resulted in a Scott-Woodhouse corner being headed towards the top corner by Jack Beacher. A goal seemed certain until Youssef Bejaoui flung himself across the goal and clawed the ball wide.

The action swung to the other end where a Scott Gormley free-kick from 28 yards was bound for the postage stamp corner before Tait made a fantastic dive to divert the speeding ball for a corner.

The second half began with a Peder Beck-Friis header which Bejaoui saved one-handed.

However, Gormley, Allum and Hall all had efforts in the University penalty box before the best opportunity of the game fell to the students. Dan Ward was gifted the ball eight yards out after a defensive mistake and he appeared certain to score before Bejaoui thwarted the midfielder to make a magnificent block. That proved to be a crucial moment because, shortly afterwards, Daryl Devlin fed Allum and the latter's first-time shot was expertly saved by Tait who deflected the ball on to the post.

The winner arrived in the 73rd minute when Hall, with the utmost composure, curled a left-foot shot over Tait and into the net from 20 yards.

The students retaliated and Calum Murray, Ward and Beacher all had shots blocked before Beacher set up Craigen whose 14-yard effort was well held by Bejaoui. Devlin almost doubled Whitehill's advantage with a close-range header which sailed high over the bar.

Whitehill boss Paul Cavanagh said: "The University probably edged the opening 45 minutes although in the second half we got to grips much better and moved the ball quickly. It was a wonder strike which gave us the three points we desperately needed. Big Youssef kept us in the game. I regard him as one of the top goalkeepers in the league.

"The students had come to us brimming with confidence. We both had a go and the result sets us up nicely for this Saturday against Spartans."

Douglas Samuel, the University head coach, concluded: "I think that our performance merited something from the game. The turning point was Dan Ward's chance when the score was still 0-0. If we had scored then I reckon that we would have gone on to win."

Whitehill Welfare: Bejaoui, Cornett, Morrison, W Kidd, McGlashan, Taylor (A Kidd, 70), Gormley, Allum, Hall, Robertson, Beattie (Devlin, 70). Subs: Adamson, Lunn, Haldane.

Edinburgh University: Tait, Scott-Woodhouse, Gair, Trialist, MacKinnon, Irvine (Brownie, 65), Ward, Milne (Murray, 70), Beck-Friis (Cameron, 56), Craigen, Beacher. Subs: Hunter, Gray.

Referee: Des Roache.

Whitehill Welfare 1

Edinburgh University 0