Leith fail to find the missing links

There is little to separate the majority of teams in this season's close-run Lothian Buses South East Region under-16 Division 1, so followers of the youth football league would have evinced no surprise at the now-customary snakes and ladders at the top of the table at the weekend.

Leith Athletic and Musselburgh Windsor faced off at Leith Links in the division's key fixture, with victors Windsor leapfrogging AC Oxgangs and Leith dropping a place after their 2-0 home defeat.

League leaders Hutchison Vale suffered a 5-3 home loss to Haddington Athletic, who had sat joint-third bottom prior to kick off. Tynecastle, winners at Oxgangs, now trail Hutchison Vale by just one point at the summit. It was with a clear conviction that Windsor inflicted upon their hosts a third league defeat of the campaign, with a goal in each half by Ryan McConville and Kevin Keane.

The visitors were the dominant force and, but for the heroics of Leith goalkeeper Reece Smail, could easily have opened up a wider margin of victory.

At the other end, it was a very different reason for a lack of goals, with Leith striker Sean Alexander unable to awaken his goal-scoring senses. Early on, Alexander was clean through on goal but a lazy-looking shot was easily blocked by the legs of Windsor goalkeeper Chris Anderson.

Five minutes later, Windsor's Ryan McConville showed exemplary incisiveness, cutting into the box and turning Leith defender Brad Hainey before side-footing a composed finish past Reece Smail.

McConville and Leith counterpart Alexander saw headers stray past the target later in the first half, and home midfielder Omar Merzouki fed a delicious through ball to Ross Davies, only for the forward to shoot straight at goalkeeper Anderson.

Ten minutes into the second half, a superior Windsor smash-and-grabbed a second goal to affirm their ascendancy in the game.

Craig Turnbull's teasing ball into the Leith six-yard box from the right sailed a yard in front of all prospective takers, until Kevin Keane stormed in at the far post to crash his shot from an acute angle into the roof of the net. Leith strung together a well-orchestrated sequence that almost led to them halving the deficit ten minutes later.

In a quickfire one-touch forward flow, Lloyd McGee pushed the ball wide to Callum Mein on the left flank, and he knocked it into the box for striker Alexander, but just as the No.?16 prepared to shoot from 12 yards out, Windsor defender Kamran Tufail dashed across to clear the ball.

If Alexander reaped only bad luck in front of goal, his Musselburgh counterpart Jordon Burrows was to take over the mantle of misfortune in the closing stages.

Lively enough and able to find space to create the chances in the first place, Burrows contrived to spurned two hat-tricks' worth of opportunities in the final minutes thanks to a combination of wayward shooting and the latest episode of the Reece Smail Show, starring Leith's spirited goalkeeper.

Burrows ought to have buried a 15-yard effort but instead he dragged wide of the post, then bravely attempted a half- volley from the right-hand side of the penalty area that narrowly cleared the target. A free header moments later crept over the bar, but the striker continued to show admirable appetite despite his missed chances. A well-worked Windsor move instigated by Declan O'Kane and Ben Stewart released Burrows through on goal, but Smail made a great block and saw the striker sclaff the rebound wide.

In his final act, Smail repelled a Burrows effort with his legs after the Musselburgh No.?9 had turned Leith defender McGee inside out with ease.

Dennis Mulvey, the Leith Athletic coach, was full of admiration for his goalkeeper, as well as the impressive East Lothian visitors. He said: "I'm very, very pleased with my team. We try to play the passing game, which can be difficult on some occasions, such as today, against a strong Musselburgh team. In midfield, they were stronger, but our goalkeeper was absolutely brilliant, and Darren [Gallagher] and Lyndon [Learnad] werefantastic."

Leith Athletic: Reece Smail, Ryan Agate, Sean Patterson, Jack Brian, Lloyd McGee, Brad Hainey, Callum Mein, Kerr Mathieson, Ross Davies, Darren Gallagher, Steven Bishop, Omar Merzouki, Lyndon Learnad, Sean Alexander, Sean Davidson.

Musselburgh Windsor: Chris Anderson, Patrick Harrold, Kamran Tufail, Reece Docherty, Jack Moffat, Ryan McConville, Daniel Moffat, Jordon Burrows, Craig Turnbull, Ewan Ralton, Declan O'Kane, Gary Scott-Learmonth, Ben Stewart, Kevin Keane, Daniel Laing.

"We try to play the passing game, which can be difficult on some occasions"

Dennis mulvey