YFS
A goalless draw was the outcome of Saturday’s tie between Musselburgh Windsor 96 and Leith Athletic. While both teams played some good football throughout the match, there were ultimately no goals to brighten up what was a cold and wet afternoon at Pinkie.
The first half of the game was evenly contested between the two sides. Neither team seemed to hold an advantage in terms of possession or chances created. The first on-target effort of the opening fourty-five minutes came from Musselburgh’s Scott Chapman. The Windsor captain’s free-kick was powered towards goal, troubling Leith’s keeper Kieran Davidson who did well to hold onto the ball with Dean Ballantyne closing in.
Chapman was to prove influential twice more in the early stages. Another well executed free-kick found the head of Robbie Watson at the back post but he couldn’t convert the chance. Then moments later, Chapman played a wonderful defence-splitting pass through to Dean Ballantyne in the box. With only the keeper to beat however, Ballantyne put his shot just wide of the target. This was perhaps Musselburgh’s best chance of the match at the time.
Leith Athletic were keen to keep the ball low and were stringing passes together excellently in midfield. A great move up the left wing manufactured by Ross Davies and Callum Mein presented an opening but Aaron Congleton of Musselburgh tracked back well to see the ball out. It was the away side who came closest to scoring when Sean Melvin brilliantly shifted the ball from his right foot to his left and unleashed a shot which rattled off the cross bar. Leith continued to press and may have found an opener if not for a well organised Musselburgh defence. Defender Stuart Mackay was the stand out man in the first half, showing composure on the ball to find the right pass and pressed forward himself when the opportunity arose.
Musselburgh ended the second half with a well worked piece of football. A one-two pass between Steven Kean and Lewis Thompson initiated an attack on the left wing before the ball was squared to Callum Mein. Taking on the shot with his first touch, Mein couldn’t keep the ball down and watched it sail over the bar to the agony of the Musselburgh support. The passage of play itself perhaps deserved a goal. It was not to be however and the sides went into half-time with the score line still standing at nil-nil.