Club clinches second cup of the season with an early strike

An early strike from winger Darren Mitchell proved enough to see off ten-man Musselburgh, who had striker Stuart Cosgrove dismissed in the second half.

Mayfield boss Eddie Carberry, who also led his side to Anderson Cup success, was gracious in victory, saying: “I thought we were quite sluggish and Musselburgh were the better team. They made us work extremely hard for the victory, and full credit to our goalkeeper for keeping the game at 1-0.”

Mayfield wasted little time in stamping their authority on the match and scored the decisive goal inside two minutes

A long punt up field from Mayfield goalkeeper Barry Lindley was not cleared by the Musselburgh defence, allowing Mitchell to steal in and slide the ball home past Michael Welsh in the Musselburgh goal.

In a first half of very few chances, both sides showed lots of heart and a lack of creativity was replaced with fighting spirit that saw plenty of hardy challenges fly in. Mayfield could have been two up on 25 minutes. Scott Mitchell drilled a shot across the face of the Musselburgh goal but an outstretched Douglas Morrison couldn’t find the vital touch.

Musselburgh did pose some attacking threat in the first period, with man-of-the-match Scott Gourlay impressing on the right-flank, showing excellent trickery and causing problems for the sturdy Mayfield backline.

Mayfield though had the chance to double their advantage before the break, this time from a set-piece. After the Musselburgh defence momentarily switched off, Mayfield worked a clever short corner into the feet off midfielder Scott Thornton, whose shot was eventually blazed over the crossbar.

Musselburgh’s only chance of the half came on 40 minutes. Peter Coyle headed just wide after big midfielder Kristoffer Mack picked out his team-mate with a floated ball into the penalty area.

Windsor came out the traps quickly after the restart and created their best chance of the match within minutes. After picking the ball up on the right-wing, the impressive Daryl Waugh showed excellent skill in jinking into the area, before picking out his namesake Jamie. The striker failed to get the ball under any real control, largely due to the pressure applied by the Mayfield defence and his opportunity was spurned.

Much like the first half, clear-cut chances were few and far between, with defending proving the order of the day. Mayfield’s Sean Dillon in particular was a standout at full back, with very little going past him throughout the whole 90 minutes. Musselburgh continued to battle hard and produced the better football in the second period, attempting to pass the ball through midfield and work crosses in from wider areas. Left-back Jonathon Morrice fired a cross into the penalty area on the hour mark, which Daryl Waugh was unable to convert. Windsor saw their hopes dashed shortly after when striker Stuart Cosgrove was sent off for foul and abusive language. The red card was the only mar on an otherwise clean and competitive football match.

Mayfield attempted to make their advantage count, and striker Douglas Morrison could have wrapped the game up with 15 minutes remaining, but he failed to latch onto a well delivered free-kick into the danger zone.

Musselburgh then deployed three in defence as they went in search of a late equaliser, throwing on big forward Nick Ramsey to cause trouble to the Mayfield rearguard. Their efforts proved unsuccessful, as they failed to find a way past Lindley, who looked assured throughout for the Midlothian side.

After the match, Windsor manager Mark Finlayson admitted the presence of the extra man was decisive for Mayfield. He said: “We worked really hard but the difference between the two teams was the extra man in the end. We played the better football, but our final ball let us down at times and Mayfield had more clear-cut chances. Hopefully next year will be a better season for us.”

Musselburgh Windsor: Michael Welsh, Daniel Simpson, Jonathon Morrice, Daniel Welsh, Scott Gourlay, Alan Weir, Daryl Waugh, Kristoffer Mack, Stuart Cosgrove, Jamie Waugh, Peter Coyle, Mark Robertson, Paul Finlayson, Douglas Todman, Daryl Pitt, Nick Ramsey.

Mayfield & Easthouses: Barry Lindley, Sean Dillon, Liam Hall, Craig Gow, Scott Dewar, Dale Thornton, Scott Mitchell, James Glodek, Martin Hughes, Douglas Morrison, Darren Mitchell, David Hogg, David Gillian, Bryan Wilson, Alan Reid, Shaun Thornton.