YFS
Portobello put eight past Currie Star in the space of 29 minutes as they turned on the second half style and romped to victory at Meggetland.
In what was to be a closely contested cup tie on paper, the first half was lacking a great deal of quality, and there wasn’t much between the sides. However Portobello came out after the break and showed a desire, and an energy level that Currie Star couldn’t match - and in fact they were blown away.
The away side, who have scored more than seven goals in each round of the competition, set up an intriguing tie at Salvesen, who sit fifth in the league - with a place in the South East Region Cup final up for grabs.
The only goal of the first period came just two minutes in. Josh Crolla was the architect, a common theme, as he worked a yard and fired a dangerous low ball to the back post, where Taylor Hamill was on hand to tap in from close range.
From that point onwards however, there wasn’t an awful lot to shout about, as the sides fought for scraps in a toughly contested midfield battle. Chances came few and far between; making it crucial that when they came about - the finishing was ruthless.
Unfortunately, this wasn’t the case as the only other meaningful chance of the half fell to the goalscorer Hamill, following some neat footwork from Declan Bryne. The wide man, from about eight yards, was leaning back as he fired over the crossbar. Luckily it wouldn’t have too much of an impact on the final outcome.
Something that may well have had an impact on proceedings were the conditions. Just a few degrees above freezing and not helped by the fact the rain began to lash down - the game moved into the second half with just the one goal in it.