Wintry weather once again deteriorated the ADJFA card with very little games going ahead. Myrus Centre, Macduff came to the rescue once again though with Deveronvale playing host to Westdyke & the surface was definitely playable & a cracking game of football was to follow.

Vale came out of the blocks early on in this fixture & went 1-0 up after 3 minutes. A Brodi Smith ball was fumbled in by Lucas Sey after Westdyke tried to clear their lines.

Westdyke tried to pull level 3 minutes later after Hamish McKay played a short pass into Ethan Brown whose looping effort towards goal was saved by Curtis West. A sign that this was going to be an exciting game of football.

The visitors equalised after 8 minutes. A ball by Evan Willison found Liam Smith who knocked an audacious effort into the bottom left hand corner past West to bring this game level once again. A great hit from the forward!

Westdyke then had a penalty 2 minutes later after McKay was brought down in the penalty box. The forward stepped up to take the penalty whose initial effort was saved however he knocked in the rebound.

There was to be two more penalties to follow in this pulsating game of football & it was Deveronvale who got a penalty next after Sey was brought down. Marc Evans dispatched the ball past the Westdyke goalkeeper after 19 minutes to make it 2-2

Westdyke then got a 2nd penalty on 28 minutes with Mackenzie Young this time being fouled, Liam Smith stepped up from 12 yards out this time & his effort smacked off the post before deflecting off West & in. Unfortunate for the Vale goalkeeper who had been having a good game.

Deveronvale levelled once again on 31 minutes after a Sey free kick from a great angle found its way into the bottom right hand corner from just outside the box. The free kick happened just beside the byline & Sey was able to bend the ball home. 

Westdyke had the first real opportunity of the 2nd half on 42 minutes with Hamish McKay having a great effort from 25 yards out crashing off the crossbar. Both of these sides drew 3-3 in the reserve game at the start of the season & both sides continued to serve up a cracking game of football.

Vale then pilled pressure on Westdyke & Keiran Anderson had an effort which was straight at the Westdyke goalkeeper. The hosts have Ferry Athletic in the Scottish Cup next Sunday & the home bench in particular were urging their players to try & get a win ahead of the respective encounter. A few subs came on for Vale in an attempt to get a winner.

The hosts got a winner in the 49th minute after a Brodi Smith ball found Jake Watt who headed home. The rest of the half was pretty quiet & Westdyke did all they can to salvage a point. Just before the final whistle, Adam Giles had a great chance however it went straight at West.

After an action packed 70 minutes, the referee drew the game to a close with a cracking game of football & some very supportive parents from both teams in the stand at Myrus Centre, Macduff. Vale now turn their attentions to the Scottish Cup tie against Ferry Athletic whilst Westdyke have a tough trip to face Elite.

Westdyke might be bottom with no wins from 6 league outings however they showed enough on Sunday to show that if they keep playing exciting, positive football then they won’t be bottom of the league for much longer. It’s a sign that the Under 13s ADJFA A league is so competitive & it is unpredictable as well.