On a cold Sunday morning when most games had fallen victim to the freezing temperatures, Middleshot 3G in Prestonpans played host to a thrilling battle in the latter stages of the Under 16 inspireSport Scottish Cup between Longniddry Villa and Rowallan SC.

 

As expected in a fixture with so much at stake, the action started right from the opening whistle and much like the large crowd in attendance, the Rowallan defence were caught cold. As the ball came in from the right hand side, the Rowallan defence could only partially clear to the edge of the box where Adam Matthews swept home a controlled finish in to the bottom left hand corner to give Longniddry Villa the lead with only 55 seconds on the clock.

 

Instantly after Rowallan had restarted the game, Villa had their tales up from the early goal and began to press the visitors at every opportunity to regain possession. This led to Tyler Bolochoweckyj robbing his man of the ball and feeding in Aiden Walsh who broke the offside trap and lifted the ball over Taylor Callaghan in the Rowallan goal but could only watch on as it went agonisingly past the post.

 

Moments later Bolochoweckyj switched the ball to Walsh again who drilled a perfect ball along the six yard box that was parried by Callaghan. The ball broke to Jack Macdonald who hit a powerful effort towards the left hand corner that was blocked by a sea of Rowallan bodies on the goal line.

 

Pressure was beginning to mount on the Rowallan defence and once more Longniddry Villa came close to doubling their early lead. An inswinging corner was met with a towering header by Ben Wright however Callaghan smartly caught and held his effort to the keepers left.

 

Further heavy pressure from the home side led to another half clearance by the Rowallan defence which Matthews very nearly doubled his tally with. Another strong left footed effort to the goalkeepers right hand post, this time just narrowly whistling wide.

 

Matthews then turned provider for Walsh who again sprung the offside trap and raced in on goal. Callaghan was alert once more and rushed from his line to win a vital 50/50 with the Longniddry number 11.

 

After a scrappy period in the game and having weathered the initial storm, Rowallan hit back with a goal of their own. A long ball over the top was not dealt with by the Villa defence and Barrie Preston pounced immediately, getting the wrong side of his man before unleashing an emphatic finish past a helpless Sam Capes in the home goal.

 

Longniddry seemed to use this minor set back as wake up call for not taking their earlier chances. Straight from kick off once more, the ball was worked out wide to Walsh who brilliantly skipped by the Rowallan full back before hanging up a delightful cross at the back post for Bolochoweckyj to head in from close range.

 

Down the other end saw Rowallan's best move of the half. Preston received the ball in to his feet with his back to goal and played a clever one-two with Keir Miller before rifling another fierce attempt at Capes' goal which the keeper smartly stopped with his feet. 

 

However every Rowallan attack seemed to spur the home side on further and almost cause Villa to shift up a gear in retaliation. Macdonald cut back for Euan Donaldson who had a snap shot on the volley but could only direct it straight at Callaghan who held it well.

 

The half hour mark brought the best move of the half. Macdonald held the ball in around 25 yards out with his his back to goal, he shrugged off his man and slipped a great ball out to Bolochoweckyj on the left wing who delivered a wicked first time cross for Walsh at the back post who was inches away from adding to his sides lead.

 

With half time approaching, Rowallan launched a counter attack where the dangerous Preston was tugged back in cynical fashion and a freekick was awarded to the right of the box. The visitors worked a set piece from the training ground to nullify the Longniddry wall by rolling the ball across the 18 yard line for Andrew Spencer to hit, however he could not get over the ball amid pressure from the onrushing defence and blazed his effort well over.

 

With the game still finely poised, there was a moment of controversy as Longniddry wrongfully had a goal chalked off. Walsh was slipped through one-on-one with Callaghan and after rounding the Rowallan keeper the winger lost his footing. Bolochoweckyj was alert and ran in on goal to tap in to the empty net before being incorrectly flagged offside.

 

Seconds later however and the home side had the third goal that their performance deserved right on the stroke of half-time. The impressive front three of Bolochoweckyj, Macdonald and Walsh all combining once again with the former feeding the ball in to Macdonald who was able to release Walsh on the remaining defenders. The mercurial winger beat his man before checking inside of a recovering defender and calmly sliding the ball past Callaghan.

The second half started very similar to the first with the home side on the front foot. Macdonald was released down the left flank in the opening moments but could only drag his low left footed effort across goal and out for a goal kick. The warning signs were there for Rowallan that Villa were not prepared to sit on their two goal lead.

 

Villa's onslaught continued with a fast flowing with Macdonald again at the heart of it. This time he played in Donaldson right through the centre of the Rowallan defence but he could only direct his effort on to the post before the flag was raised to deny an easy tap in for Benjamin Smith.

 

After a short period of head tennis between both sides the ball fell kindly for Bolochoweckyj who carried the ball to a central area before trying his luck from all of 30 yards with a wonderful dipping effort that looked destined for the bottom left hand corner before a wonderful save from Callaghan at the last minute,

 

With Walsh moving in to a central position he became even more influential in his sides attacks. Picking the ball up just inside the oppositions half he weaved through the Rowallan defence only to be denied by a superb last ditch tackle by the towering figure of Billy Duncan. A wonderful piece of defending that prevented a certain goal and ensured his side remained in the match. From the resulting corner Corey Smith attacks a great delivery from Walsh but can only header straight at Callaghan.

 

A long ball over the top from Matthews initially caught out Rowallan's Duncan and allowed Macdonald in on goal. His first effort was stopped by Callaghan before the ball fell kindly to Macdonald's feet for a second attempt. He has the goal at the mercy and must have felt he had scored before Duncan recovered yet again with a heroic clearance to deny Villa yet again.

 

The next goal felt like it was the all important one to either see out the game or set up a grand stand finish and comeback. With 15 minutes remaining, Walsh grabbed the game by the scruff of the neck and stole the show in the process. He picked the ball up in side his own half and began to drive forward, jinking his way two then three challenges before offloading the ball out to Smith on the right wing before continuing his run. Smith took his time and cleverly waited to roll the ball in to the path of Walsh who expertly executed a cheeky back heel past the helpless Callaghan in the Rowallan goal.

 

With confidence flowing through this Longniddry Villa side, substitute Ramsay Leitham was not to be out done and wanted in on the action. One of Callachan's clearances was nodded down to the Villa front man who took one touch to set the ball on to his right foot and launched a ferocious shot in to the roof of the Rowallan goal from all of 30 yards to seal an emphatic victory for Villa and send them in to the competitions semi-finals.