Simpson hits hat-trick to let Haddington finish on a high

Haddington dominated the game and struck three times in the final half-hour, Simpson the scorer each time, to seal the win against a depleted Colts side.

Athletic piled pressure on Colts' goal from the start and took the lead after 15 minutes. Thomas Grant swung in a corner that was met by Darren Linton, whose shot was blocked. The ball fell to Laurie Preston who, positioned at the far post, got the final touch after three Edinburgh players had tried, and failed, to clear the ball.

Colts' half-time team talk must have restored the team's belief, as they scored the equaliser inside the first minute through an amazing strike by Matthew Gaunt. Straight from the kick-off Edinburgh played the ball forward to Andrew Husband whose shot was blocked for a corner. Adam Hill swung the ball and Gaunt, standing on the edge of the area, volleyed the ball into the top corner past the outstretched hand of Connor Muir.

However, Haddington did not let their heads go down and were again ahead eight minutes later, again through a goalmouth scramble with Simpson poking home. A corner was floated over by Darren Ramsay and, with the Edinburgh defence struggling to clear, Simpson slide in to prod the ball home.

Ten minutes later and Haddington increased their lead as Simpson volleyed home his second of the game. Lavin chipped the ball over the top of the defence for Simpson to run on to and slide home a first-time volley which nestled in the bottom corner of the net.

The game was all but over with 15 minutes to spare when Simpson got his hat-trick, heading home a superbly accurate cross from winger Linton and securing a 4-1 win - much to the delight of the Haddington crowd.

Haddington's coach, Gary McFarlane, believes his team were by far the better of the two finalists: "Apart from a few minutes after half-time when we let them back into the game, we were dominant throughout, playing the better football with some fantastic passing through the midfield. It's a great send-off for the boys after getting third place in the league and winning the cup on our last game of the season."

George Gaunt, Edinburgh's coach, felt his side struggled after a long, hard season: "We were not as good as we could have been, although we have played today with a depleted squad as so many boys are away on holiday as the season should have been over a month ago.

"We gave everything but just couldn't handle their passing; however, it was a great season finishing fourth and getting to two finals."

Haddington Athletic: Connor Muir, Michael McFarlane, Steven Kerr, Dale Moffat, Laurie Preston, Thomas Trotter, Darren Linton, Kieran Morrison, Daniel Simpson, Thomas Grant, Darren Ramsay, Christopher Lynch, Steven Buchanan, Grant Lavin, Greig Hill, Aaron Forsyth.

Edinburgh City Colts: Blake Anderson, Darren Pennycuick, Calum Burns, Scott Hume, Andrew Husband, Ryan Lamb, Matthew Gaunt, John Thom, Scott McLeod, Christopher Graham, Justin Thompson, Adam Hill, Sam Donald.