"Goals from Ryan Hill and Blair Ross were enough to earn Haddington an easy victory in a wet and windy match against Currie Star", writes NOAH MEHMETI.

The first half began with Haddington in control and their good play almost resulted in the first goal of the game. Adem Dursun was played through after a piercing Blair Ross through ball, but the winger did not strike the ball cleanly and the keeper was able to collect comfortably.

Shortly after, Haddington centre-back Reece Rudyj saw his 25-yard free-kick come inches away from the back of the net as it struck the crossbar, much to the keeper’s relief.

The following minutes saw a host of half-chances fall Haddington’s way, with a couple of tame shots from the edge of the box being saved comfortably by the Star stopper.

Currie’s first chance came in the 15th minute when a free-kick from their own half bounced around the opposition box, but the Haddington defence managed to clear the ball away easily.

Following the clearance, Haddington striker Ryan Hill was through on goal but an excellent bit of defending from Currie centre-back Mohammed Kuri stopped Hill from scoring what seemed to be a golden opportunity.

One of Currie’s few chances, in what turned out to be a frustrating match for them, was a free kick from just outside the box. The free kick was smashed disappointedly into the wall which set Haddington on the break.

The danger seemed to have disappeared when Kuri won the ball back for Currie with a solid tackle but he played a weak back-pass to the keeper that Hill pounced on and led to the first goal. The number 9 shot straight at the goal but the keeper failed to get a strong hand on it and the ball crept in, giving Haddington a 1-0 lead in the 29th minute.

The remaining minutes of the first half saw only one more chance, which fell to the goal scorer Hill, however Kuri made up for his prior mistake and won the ball back with a strong tackle.

The second half saw much of the same, with Haddington having a majority of possession and creating more chances than their counterparts. One of these came early in the half as winger Dursun tried to place a half-volley in the top corner, however the ball just grazed the top of the crossbar.

Haddington had a glorious opportunity to grab a second goal in the 46th minute when Andrew Larkman was through on goal with plenty of time, but his attempt to slot the ball into the bottom corner went narrowly wide.

After defending for the majority of the second-half, Currie were presented with a chance to send men forward and put in a cross from the edge of the box as left-back Ryan Connor was pulled down by Larkman. The cross did not come to fruition as Haddington got rid of the ball without much hassle.

Haddington doubled their lead and put the game to bed on the hour mark when Larkman ran down the right hand-side and whipped a cross into the middle. Blair Ross met it and the ball crept over the rushing goalkeeper and into the goal. The goal did come with controversy however, as it appeared that ball hit Ross’ arm in the process. The Currie players made their feelings apparent to the ref, but it was to no avail and the goal stood.

With the game drawing to a close Haddington could have added a third as a lovely bit of interplay between Dursun and Ronnie Brown sent Dursun through, but his shot was well saved by the Currie keeper.

The remainder of the game saw Currie try to break down the Haddington defence, but their attempts were dealt with ease and Haddington cruised to a comfortable 2-0 win.