YFS
The Excelsior stadium welcomed Kirkintilloch Rob Roy and Harmony Row as they went head to head in the hopes of clinching cup final glory in the Scottish Youth FA Cup.
After a hard fought 90 minutes and extra time from both sides, Kirkintilloch sealed themselves victory on penalties after Callum McAuley’s excellent save of Ben Harwood’s powerful shot, which was ultimately the deciding factor in the tie.
Both teams set the tone for the fixture early on as Kirkintilloch’s Greg Miller piled on the pressure for the Harmony Row Goal Keeper, Dylan Austin; while Harmony Row’s Greg Murphy had a series of crunching tackles.
As Harmony Row found themselves comfortable within the game, the fifth minute saw Charlie Freedman race up the left hand side before firing the ball into the back of the net, only to have the effort called offside.
It wasn’t long before Kirkintilloch were hitting back at the other end though, as Miller had a shot that was taken comfortably by Austin in the sixth minute.
It was in the 14th minute, however, that Kirkintilloch caught a break as Kian Gilday sent an excellent ball over to the opposite side of the box to Luke McNiven, who picked out the feet of Fraser Dawson in the box. Dawson calmly slotted the ball past Austin and Kirkintilloch found themselves 1-0 up within the first 15 minutes.
After a series of long balls that didn’t seem to come off for Harmony Row, their determination paid off in the 27th minute after they gained a crucial corner that would change the dynamic of the game once again.
The effort brushed the head of Harwood but didn’t come off as he may have hoped; however, it fell behind him for Kieran Robb, who fired a low shot into the left-hand corner of the net, bringing the fixture even once more at 1-1.
After equalising, Harmony Row seemed to gain the confidence to take hold of the match, Harwood in particular continued to send wonderful balls into the box before one dropped for Kyle Elrick who was unable to take advantage.
