Moosavi secures struggling students a vital three points

Cyrus MOOSAVI was the toast of the Edinburgh University Sports Union when his two first-half goals, including one from the penalty spot, earned Edinburgh a narrow win against their Capital rivals and move them up the Central Taxis Premier Division in one of the few games to beat the weather.

Moosavi, whose physique and pace caused problems for the Heriot-Watt defence, said: “It was a must-win game and we had worked extra hard in training all week to improve our performances on the pitch and it worked out well for us.”

Moosavi scored his first goal after only four minutes when Chris Rae pulled down Andrey Kuzmenko and, after consulting with his assistant, the referee awarded a spot kick. Moosavi fired the penalty underneath the diving Craig Saunders to give Edinburgh the early advantage. “It was definitely a penalty because I had a clear view,” added Moosavi. “I just decided to take the penalty and, although it was not my best strike, it went in.”

Heriot-Watt found it hard to contain Kuzmenko, Kohei Habata and Moosavi and, in the 26th minute, the three of them combined allowing Moosavi the chance to score his second goal from 12 yards. “I managed to get a second goal thanks to Andrey who passed the ball to me,” said Moosavi. “I was left with a one-on-one with their keeper and managed to slot the ball in.”

Heriot-Watt enjoyed a lot of possession but were unable to turn it into any goal threats although they did gain five consecutive corner kicks which bore no fruit.

The second half started with a bang when Jamie Forsyth, with his first touch of the ball, brought it down with his right foot and hit a sweet left-foot shot from an acute angle behind Mark Tait in the Edinburgh net. The goal gave Heriot-Watt a fresh impetus and Aaron James, Ricky Burke and Chris Donnelly all went close while Ruaraidh Hamilton, Kuzmenko and Moosavi all had good efforts for Edinburgh. Heriot-Watt finished on the ascendancy with Tait clawing away a net-bound shot from Donnelly and then finger-tipping a Henrik Dahle header over the crossbar.

“It was a good performance, especially in the first half,” added Moosavi. “We expected the worst in the second half but we worked really hard and when the ball came to Kohei, Andrey and myself we managed to hold it up and play football which kept us in the game. I would say that we were unlucky not to score another goal because we had a couple of chances.

“Last season I remember that we were in a similar position in the league but we kicked in and had a great second half of the season. We can do that again because we definitely have the squad for it. Even against Heriot-Watt we were missing our captain, Danny Main, Jack Beacher and Mike Gray so when these guys get back into the team I would expect us to move up the league table.”

Dorian Ogunro, the head coach of Edinburgh, said: “That was a welcome and deserved three points because I thought that we fought very, very well although I also think the quality was there as well. We kept the ball well in the right areas and also moved it well. Our shape was very good and although we were never comfortable we were always in control and even when Heriot-Watt scored a fantastic goal we kept playing the same way and towards the end we had quite a few chances. We have been playing well in spells in every game we have played but never the whole game. That was the first time we have done it for the entire game and that’s the difference it makes.”

Michael Renwick, the Heriot-Watt head coach, said: “I think that Edinburgh University were worthy leaders and they were convincingly ahead at half-time. We were very poor in the first half and have been for weeks. The second half was reversed a bit and I thought that we dominated but were unable to get that second goal. We gave ourselves a mountain to climb because of that two-goal deficit although Edinburgh are a good team with good individuals and are well organised.

“I felt that after we scored we would go on and win the game although we have to address why we are not starting games better.”

Heriot-Watt University: Saunders, Rae (Paterson 79), James, Kerr, Forbes,  Napier, Donnelly, Burke (Myatt 74), Dahle, Muhsin, Webster (Forsyth 51). Subs: Ewing.

Edinburgh University: Tait, Cumming, Rankin (McMaster 74), Hamilton, Ward, Connolly, Brownie, Kuzmenko (Chatterjee 79), Moosavi, Habata, Patterson. Subs: Clarkson, Gray.

Referee: D. Potter.