Hillwood stamp their ticket to the SYFA U16 Cup Final

Hillwood booked their place in the Scottish Youth FA U16 Cup final after a great victory away to Bonnyrigg Rose Whites.

For the home side, they got their tournament started with a 7-3 win versus Bathgate Thistle before beating Tynecastle 2-1. This set them up with a tie against Carolside Sports Club which they won 3-2. In the next round they commandingly beat Johnstone Burgh 8-0 before a 2-1 victory against Portobello Community Football Academy gave them a place in the quarter finals. A convincing 8-2 beating of Burntisland Boys sealed their place in the final four.

For the visitors, an 8-0 win in their opening game against Drumchapel Amateurs set them up with a Hillwood Derby as they beat Hillwood FC Thistle 5-0. This was followed by a 3-2 win versus Haddington and then a 2-1 win against Rossvale. A 7-0 demolition of Lochend Football Academy put Hillwood into the quarter finals where they saw off Gairdoch Soccer Club 5-3 for their spot in the semi-finals.

Both teams were up for the game before kick-off. A win would send them through to an enthralling final against Clydebank – a tough game.

Hillwood got the match underway, and, for the opening 15 minutes, it was a close game. There were no real opportunities to the open the scoring until Hillwood went up the park and Max Johnston got past the full back before playing it to Rhys Oyegbesan. However, his shot was brilliantly saved by Jack Thomson. The resultant corner ended up over the bar as Oyegbesan failed to keep his effort on target.

Just after the double chance for Hillwood, the ball was sent up long and bounced, it fell to James Grant who attempted to lob the keeper from outside of the box, but the ball went wide of the far post.

In the 26th minute, Oyegbesan rose above the defence to open the scoring. It did not take long for Hillwood to add to their advantage as from kick-off, Owen Gray doubled his side’s lead with a tidy finish.

That’s all she wrote for the opening half. Bonnyrigg had their chances and kept the game competitive in the first 40 minutes but could not threaten Hillwood’s defensive as much as they would have liked.

Two minutes into the second half, Bonnyrigg almost grabbed one back. Archie Mellon went up the pitch after some nice build up play, but his effort went wide.

In the 50th minute, Max Johnston got rewarded for his performance. A brilliant first touch to bring the ball down, he took one more to set himself before slotting it into the back of the net.

Oyegbesan would get his second five minutes later. He caught onto the end of a stray pass and tapped it past the keeper before finishing into the empty net.

For the fifth and final goal, Johnston struck again – this time with a skilful effort. He touched to keep the ball in the air, before turning his defender and scoring to complete his teams tally.

The magic moment for Bonnyrigg Rose was definitely Thomson’s double save, Thomson pulled off some good saves in the match and was his teams player of the match too. The double save kept the game close, but Thomson remained strong and vigilant throughout the game.

For Hillwood, Johnston’s fifth goal was the definition of magic moment, keeping the ball up with four or five touches, turning around and scoring.

Johnston had a great game for his team, two goals and helped set many chances up. Rhys Oyegbesan also had a great game, two goals and many shots to test the keeper.

Commiserations to Bonnyrigg Rose Whites who had a great tournament which provided some memorable moments.

Hillwood however, progress to the final where they will play Clydebank after their semi-final victory over Lasswade Thistle. It is sure to be a very promising game.

Bonnyrigg Rose Whites Man of the Match: Jack Thomson

The young goalkeeper was strong between the sticks for Bonnyrigg Rose Whites, pulling off some top saves.

Hillwood Man of the Match: Max Johnston

Johnston was in great form for Hillwood FC and had a fine day infront of goal scoring twice.

Bonnyrigg Rose Whites Magic Moment: Double save

The magic moment for Bonnyrigg Rose was definitely Thomson’s double save. Thomson pulled off some good saves in the match but this was the pick of the bunch at a time when the game was still close.

Hillwood Magic Moment: Fantastic fifth

For Hillwood, Johnston’s fifth goal was the definition of magic moment, keeping the ball up with four or five touches, turning around and scoring.