YFS
St Peters lifted the Scottish Youth FA Cup despite being three goals down with just 15 minutes of normal time left to play. The remarkable comeback saw the Saints defeat a bitterly-disappointed Syngenta Juveniles, who cannot help but wonder at what could have been.
Syngenta kicked off but it was St Peters who would dominate the opening 15 minutes. The first chance of the match fell to Saints’ Darren Rafferty following a short corner. Rafferty turned his defender and fired a shot straight at opposition keeper Ryan Dick.
Rafferty then came close from another corner, this time taken long. Lewis McGregor floated the ball into the box where Rafferty headed narrowly over from eight yards.
Immediately after Rafferty then showcased his impressive athleticism with a powerful run from the left-back position, driving through the Syngenta midfield before firing a tame effort from 30 yards.
The next chance fell once again to Rafferty after he sprinted down the left wing, cut inside at the edge of the box before fizzing a right-footed shot wide of the far post.
Syngenta’s first chance manifested when centre-forward Finlay Malcolm charged from midfield into the St Peters box, sliding in Jamie Stewart who tamely prodded the ball towards Jacob Pazikas.
Syngenta then took the lead when Malcolm sprinted through for a one-on-one with Pazikas who parried Malcolm’s effort wide, when Stewart tapped the ball into an empty net from a tight angle. Until this point, St Peters had conceded a solitary goal in their entire cup run.
Jamie Lapsley came close to doubling Syngenta’s lead after a high corner from William Seagust fell at his feet but the ball struck his standing leg and rolled out harmlessly for a goal kick.
The Saints then came close to equalising shortly before half-time. McGregor got on the end of a long ball down the left wing and passed infield to central midfielder Robbie Scullion, who then slipped an inviting ball across the face of the Syngenta goal but the defence managed to clear the ball to safety.