Murieston lift Cup after super sub McCann injects pace into final

MURIESTON UNITED under-21s emerged as winners of the City Financial Independent South East Region Youth Cup after beating West Lothian rivals Syngenta Juveniles 4-1 in an entertaining match in which spectators were served up five goals of high quality and blessed with warm and sunny weather at New Countess Park, Dunbar.

It took 15 minutes for Syngenta to open the scoring when Greg Stewart's on-target shot was only parried by Murieston goalkeeper Stephen O'Neill and Chris Taylor was on hand to knock the ball home.

Syngenta pushed on and felt they deserved a penalty on 23 minutes when keeper O'Neill and Syngenta's Stewart were both chasing a free ball and Stewart went down inside the box claiming contact was made. But the referee was not impressed by the claim and waved play on. Only minutes later, the game was level. A simple cross and header from Murieston forced a superb save by Allan Pacitti. But his efforts were in vain as David Wright reacted fastest to net the rebound.

Murieston came close to scoring before the break after Greg Fowler's attempt hit the side netting. He did well to beat one player and was slightly fortunate with the bounce of the ball, but couldn't find the target.

It was no surprise that the score remained 1-1 at half-time as the first 45 minutes was an anxious, nervous affair.

The second half started in similar fashion and shots were mainly coming from distance.

On 53 minutes, Syngenta's Ryan Aitken hit a rocket from far out but it was easily collected by O'Neill. Then in a similar position, Murieston's Liam Whyte could only put his shot wide of the left-hand post.

It was a Michael McCormack header on 66 minutes that gave Murieston the lead. A corner from the right came in and McCormack did remarkably well to make contact and score at the far post. It was a fantastic show of flexibility and the finish deserved to put Murieston ahead.

Murieston then went on to extend their lead on 75 minutes. A hopeful ball forward by Declan Brady was chased down by substitute Martin McCann, whose pace allowed him to beat the defence to the ball and then apply the finish.

McCann certainly injected some additional pace to the Murieston front line and it proved deadly against a tiring Syngenta defence.

After the third goal, Syngenta did apply pressure on the Murieston defence, but they struggled to create any substantial chances. John Mochan tested the keeper with his shot but didn't connect the way he intended and it ended up in the hands of O'Neill.

Despite pressure from Syngenta, it was Murieston who scored again from the penalty spot with only minutes to go.

The decision caused some controversy as the referee had initially played advantage after Syngenta defender Gary Dewar had clearly fouled the Murieston forward, but he had managed to square the ball to McCann who only had the keeper to beat. McCann couldn't score and the referee then blew the whistle for a penalty, deeming no advantage had been gained.

The decision then saw Dewar sent off for his second bookable offence.

Liam Whyte finished from the penalty spot to guarantee Murieston the cup.

However, the whole incident was marred by two supporters who came on to the pitch and harassed the assistant referee. It was disappointing to see as it spoiled what was an otherwise respectful contest. The association representatives reacted quickly and ejected the two offenders from the ground.

Murieston United coach Norrie Anderson was just delighted to have achieved the win after doing his homework on his side's opponents.

He said: "We watched Syngenta Juveniles and we were worried about their physical strength. But, we had a game plan, to compete and go wide with our play.

"We also took the heat into consideration and left man of the match Martin McCann on the bench until later in the match. Overall, it was a good team performance.

"You have to commend Syngenta on their effort as well. I wish them all the best in their next few games."

Murieston United: Stephen O'Neill, Jamie Jervis, Cameron Vines, Scott Forrest, Colin Morris, Liam Mahoney, David Wright, Gavin Borthwick, Martin McCann, Steven Georgeson, Kenny McLaren, Calum Christie, Nicki Pelc, Liam Whyte, Michael McCormack, Greg Fowler, Declan Brady, Kier Houston, Jonathan Tague, Daniel Forbes.

Syngenta Juveniles: Allan Pacitti, Fraser Lewis, Don Morrison, Robert Mollon, Gary Dewar, Jordan Dale, John Mochan, Ryan Aitken, Greg Stewart, Stuart Bell, Gary McInnes, Scot Russell, Eoghan Miller, Greg Davies, Chris Taylor, Boyd Neil.