Galston BC 2  Ayr Boswell 3

CAYFA U15s

 

Ross Mitchell reports...

 

Galston, lying in 4th, kicked off the match against league leaders Ayr Boswell on a very good looking pitch despite the recent weather conditions.  From the start of the game both teams looked to try and play nice, passing football.

 

Galston began the game on the front foot, with long throws from David Jamieson causing trouble in the Boswell defence.  The first goal of the game came from Jamieson’s throw.  He threw the ball down the line on the right hand side, a Boswell defender misjudged the bounce and got caught under the ball allowing Matthew Balls in to score a coolly finished shot past the Boswell keeper, Peter Hinderley.  After the goal Jamieson’s long throw continued to cause Boswell problems.  The defender’s long throw allowed Connor Campbell to get through on goal but Boswell’s Andrew Murdoch got back to clear the danger well.  Boswell’s first half-chance came from good work down their right flank by Scott McHallum who got a low cross into the box which was fumbled by the keeper who gathered at the second attempt with Boswell players charging in to get to the rebound.  

 

The next chance of the game fell to the home side, it came from a free kick just inside Boswell’s half.  Jamieson played the ball in to the box, it was cushioned round the corner to Connor Campbell who wasn’t able to get his shot away after a brilliant challenge by Steven Fraser.  Galston kept the pressure up by pressing Boswell high and not giving their opposition time on the ball.  A slack pass from Boswell gifted possession to Galston on the right wing.  Jamieson played a brilliant ball across the face of goal towards the back post with Campbell running on to it, but he was unable to control his shot which went high and wide.

 

Boswell came more and more into the game, and their first of a flurry of chances came from good work on the left wing by Sean Campbell who played a one-two with Scott McHallum, putting Campbell inside the Galston area.  He tried to place his shot inside the right post but the shot was blocked before it could reach the goal and cleared away.  Their next chance fell to McHallum himself, he received a ball from midfield with his back towards goal, he turned and shot from around 25 yards out, but it was easily saved by the keeper.  

 

The Boswell pressure continued with a few half chances created, nothing more.  The next incident came from a cross from the left wing which nobody connected with.  A Galston chest cleared the ball with the Boswell players and fans shouting for a penalty to be given to their side, the referee ignored shouts and played on.  The decision seemed to spur the Boswell players on, with them having most of the play for the remainder of the half.  Good play by Sean Campbell in midfield led to him being blocked off and winning a free kick for his team around 30 yards out.  Three Boswell players surrounded the ball, looking as though they have a routine planned for the set piece.  Scott McHallum rolled the ball between the legs of his team mate to lay off Morgan Brown to have a shot.  The referee’s whistle went before Brown could get his shot away and Boswell were ordered to retake the free kick because the Galston wall was not back 10 yards.  The retaken free kick was taken by Brown, who shot over.  

 

More neat play just outside the area resulted in an indirect free kick being awarded to Boswell, this time around 20 yards from goal.  The free kick was laid off to Calvin Kemp whose shot went over the bar.  The last decent chance of the half fell to Galston who caught Boswell sleeping at the back.  Nice play from Liam Wilson in midfield allowed him to find space and pick out Connor Campbell who got a shot away which fizzed across the face of goal and away for a goal kick to Boswell.

 

At half time Galston would have been really happy with a 1-0 lead.  They began the game better but allowed Boswell to dominate the game for most of the half.  Both teams tried to play football and this made the game very entertaining to watch.  Both teams will thank their defences for only allowing one goal to be scored after being called upon so many times.

 

Boswell kicked off the second half, shooting from left to right.  The first decent opportunity of the half fell to Boswell’s Jake Barbour around 20 yards out.  The ball was laid off to him by his team mate in a perfect position for the first time shot but he took the touch and, from there, the attack came to nothing.  Galston’s first decent opening of the half came from a free kick won by Martin Findlay on the right wing.  A good ball was played into the Boswell box from the kick but was missed by everyone, someone should have got on to the inviting cross.  

 

The next real attack came from Boswell and led to a fierce shot by Darius Graham, who was played in by Daniel Alexander, just inside the corner of the area which was well saved by Galston’s keeper.  Both teams had attacks which came to shots going wide and not bothering either keeper for the next portion of the game.  Boswell scored the next goal of the game drawing themselves level.  A free kick was played towards the penalty spot by Barbour and flicked on by Kyle Campbell to Scott McHallum, who played a ball across the face of goal to Daniel Alexander who scored his first of the game with a simple tap in.  

 

After their goal Boswell continued to press and had a goal disallowed for offside after Marc Riddex tapped in from close range.  Shortly after the disallowed Alexander got his and Boswell’s second of the game to put them in the lead.  A great ball from Scott McHallum to Darius Graham was laid off by Graham to Alexander who coolly placed his shot into the bottom right corner, leaving the keeper with no chance.  Boswell rounded off their comeback with a third goal in very quick succession.  A long kick from the Boswell keeper was laid off well to Barbour by Alexander.  Barbour drove into the Galston half and played a brilliant pass to Alexander who was just inside the penalty box and scored with another great finish sending the keeper the wrong way to complete his hat trick.  

 

Galston hit back quickly to reduce the deficit back to one goal.  A brilliant run down the right hand side by David Jamieson allowed him to break into the box.  He shot across the keeper and into the bottom left corner, a great finish to bring Galston back into the game.  After the Galston goal the game became very even with neither team wanting to take control of the game.  The next chance went to Boswell who won a free kick around twenty yards out.  Kyle Campbell played a cross in and Sean Campbell headed the ball towards the corner flag.  He did not get the connection he was looking for and should have done a lot better with the free header.  The last good chance of the game went to Boswell.  A great ball from Daniel Alexander got through to Darius Graham on the right hand side of the box.  He could have, and should have, crossed the ball to Lyall McCann who was unmarked inside the area but tried to cut back onto his left foot allowing the defender to get a challenge in and clearing the danger.  For the remainder of the match Boswell had the better of play although they did not really create any chances.

 

The match ended 3-2 to Ayr Boswell; a deserved victory after having the better of play throughout the whole match.  However, from the Galston viewpoint, they will feel that they deserved at least a draw as they played nice football in spells and created many good chances.  The second half was as entertaining as the first, making it an entertaining encounter for the neutral.