Youths: Tynecastle 19s clinch place in Bob Bankier final

Tynecastle 19s defeated Bob Bankier Trophy holders Loanhead MYFC 4-1 to reach the final of the competition in a hotly-contested last-four tie at Lasswade High School.

Tynecastle 19s

There was little to separate the sides in the opening stages of the game with a scrappy midfield battle ensuing for long durations of play. Chances were limited for both sides, with few openings in the final third.

It took until the 15th minute for some goalmouth action and when it arrived Tynecastle nearly grabbed the lead. Jack Cowan delivered a ball into the area from the right and Ciaron Small turned his marker to fire just wide.

Loanhead came more into the game and they opened the scoring with their first real opportunity.

A free-kick from deep by Callum MacKenzie was volleyed first-time on the edge of the box by Liam Higgins. His effort hit the post, but Calum Smart was in the right place at the right time to follow up the rebound with a driven effort.

To Tynecastle’s credit, they got going straight away in their quest for an equaliser and were unlucky not to be on level terms five minutes later. Sonny Swanson’s free-kick from the right made its way through bodies in the box and to Matthew Quinn at the back post but he couldn’t quite make contact with the goal at his mercy.

The momentum was with the boys in maroon and they went close again minutes later. A ball in from the right picked out Swanson but he headed just over the Loanhead crossbar.

It wasn’t to be a significant miss, however, as, on the stroke of half-time, Tynie got their reward for patiently probing away. Ryan Mayer’s ball in from the right was met by Dom Foulkes in the box and he stuck his chance away from close range. Tynie maintained their momentum from the end of the half to go ahead not long after the restart. Swanson’s corner in from the left wasn’t cleared by Loanhead and, after Lewis Murray saw his shot blocked at close range, Scott Hay stuck the loose ball away from four yards.

Loanhead were doing all they could to get level but Tynecastle grabbed a third with Loanhead bodies out of position.

Another Swanson set-piece was half-cleared by the hosts and substitute Ben Gardiner smashed smashed a volley from 25 yards past helpless goalkeeper Billy Taylor.

Into the last ten minutes, and Loanhead were unlucky when sub Kyle Scott hit the bar with a header. They continued to push bodies forward in a bid to get back into the game but that only allowed Tynie to break and find a fourth of the game.

Mayer intercepted the ball at the heart of the Loanhead defence and he laced the ball into the bottom-left corner to secure Tynie’s final place.

Loanhead MYFC 19s: Billy Taylor, Calum Smart, Liam Taylor, Jack Fairgrieve, Ross Currie, David Wright, Sam Jones, Stephen Scott, Darren McCraw, Connor Lawrie, Andrew McNeill, Kyle Scott, Liam Higgins, Dean McCafferty, Callum MacKenzie, Ryan Porteous, Connor King.

Tynecastle 19s: Chris Burt, Scott Hay, Matthew Quinn, Lewis Murray, Ryan Mayer, Dom Foulkes, Ciaron Small, Daniel Cameron, Aaron Nugent, Hamish Levein, Matthew McKenzie, Sonny Swanson, Jack Cowan, Ben Gardiner.