YFS
Loanhead had to produce a performance filled with guts, graft and goals to defeat an impressive Musselburgh Windsor side who had the man advantage and the goal advantage for a large period of the game.
The semi-final started at a frantic pace, with both sides flying into tackles and trying to get a foothold of the contest.
The first effort came from the home side on four minutes, as Andrew Fleming won a tackle on the edge of the Loanhead box and had a dig at goal, but Jardine held onto the low shot.
A couple of minutes later it was Sean Brown who crafted the chance for Ross Greig with a cutback, but his effort was too high to hit the target.
Up the other end of the pitch Aiden McMillan had Loanhead's first effort, as he glanced a header which was tipped over by Grant Goodfellow, after Joshua Fital’s corner kick caused havoc.
Lewis Kynoch was relishing the occasion, as he showed the defender a clean set of heels with a dummy, and whipped the ball in, but Jardine held well.
The Windsor number nine then had a great chance to open the scoring with 20 minutes on the clock, but a superb sliding tackle from Rory Rutherford forced the corner.
It was all one way traffic for the home side at this stage with Jamie Baillie’s effort from just outside the box the closest sight of goal for the away side.
Loanhead had to rely on some crucial interventions right at the last moment. Jardine was providing the heroics at this stage, clawing away Brown’s effort to keep the scores level on the half hour mark.
Chances then were few and far between, as Loanhead were able to establish a foothold into the game towards the end of the second half and reduce Musselburgh’s chances. Although, Kynoch’s corner nearly led to a goal, but the resulting shot was deflected just wide for a corner.