Early red cards prove costly against Longniddry Villa 17s

The match was barely  20 minutes old when referee  Richard Menzies had  reduced Star to nine men, with  both Ross Bell and Dean  MacKenzie seeing red in two separate incidents.

Star coach Harry Lawrie was left frustrated with the decisions that went against his side.

He said: “The game was pretty much dead after we went down to nine men. I think we would have won the game if it had been 11 v 11 and I think the scoreline shows that. I wasn’t happy with the referee’s performance but I thought we played outstanding in the second half.”

The visitors were awarded a penalty when Bell was adjudged to have upended Sandy Holden inside the area and Aaron Pulloch stepped up to convert with ease to give Villa the lead.

With Bell subsequently sent off for his last-ditch tackle, MacKenzie was then given his marching orders moments later after becoming involved in a tussle with an opponent.

To make matters worse for the hosts, Adam Forsyth then made it 2-0 which left Star with an uphill struggle after the break. However, Ricky Henderson’s thunderous free-kick from 20 yards with 15 minutes remaining provided some spark on what proved to be a disappointing day for Star. Longniddry coach Nolan Wilson offered some sympathy for his side’s opponents but remained pleased to be in the draw for the next round.

“We’re delighted to get through as we’ve always had very close games with Currie. They beat us 5-4 recently so it was good to get one over them. All credit to them for the way they played in the second half.”

Reds 15s turn on the style

Edinburgh South Reds 15s continued their impressive form with a 6-2 victory away to Spartans YFC Whites at Ainslie Park.

Reds are sitting comfortably in fourth position in Division Three and have now won seven of their eight league matches this season.

Reds coach Joe Sneddon said: “This season is coming along nicely. We lost our goalkeeper and one of our best midfielders at the start of the season which set us back initially, but we took on six players from Hunterfield when they folded so that has helped quite a bit.”

Charlie Adams and Adam Crawford put in impressive displays for the visitors, sharing all six goals between them as both teenagers claimed hat-tricks.

Spartans were 3-0 down at the break but put up a better second-half showing and reduced the deficit to 4-2 at one stage with goals from Daniel Shevarl and Scott Bottomley. Spartans coach John Douglas felt the loss of some key personnel from his side proved costly. Douglas said: “They are a good side but we had a few players missing through injury and  illness.”

Liddell earns draw for City

Edinburgh CITY and Fernieside 17s battled out a 2-2 draw in their Division Two encounter at Forrester High School. The result puts Fernieside two points ahead of their opponents in third position, although City have four games in hand.

The home side were awarded a penalty in the second minute for a foul in the box and Blair Lumsden finished coolly to put City ahead. Unfazed by this early setback, Fernieside rallied to turn the game round and go 2-1 ahead at half-time thanks to goals from Stuart Small and Peter Wood.

However, with 20 minutes remaining, Jack Liddell restored parity with a shot from inside the box to secure a point for the hosts. Edinburgh City’s Jimmy McDonaugh said: “Fernieside had some very good players in the middle of the park and probably had more of the ball. But it was an evenly fought match and we are happy enough with a point.”

Fernieside coach Darren  Follett added: “I thought it was a fairly even match but they got a penalty that should never have been awarded. They beat us 6-3 earlier in the  season so I am happy enough to take a point, but we could have  won it.”