Edinburgh Caledonian

Team: Strevens, Veitch, Davidson, Mackenzie, Chan, Brown(Fearn), Smith, McCrindle, Stewart, Christie(Gray), Fleming, Alexander
Sub not used: Walton

Fountainbridge enjoyed another victory in the sun today, with a close fought 2-1 win over Edinburgh Caledonia at the Gyle, to complete the double over them this season. After the convincing win in our last outing against Falside, it was vital that we kept our concentration and played to our strengths against a big physical side, who thankfully didn’t have too much in the striking dept. There were a few changes in the line-up, with Strevs now fit again he replaced the Gaffer in goal, Chris was unavailable but we welcomed back Bri into the RB slot, whilst Luigi missed out with Paul Christie making his starting debut out on the wing. A slight change in formation saw us take to the field in a 4-4-1-1 line up, with Ian F playing just off Keith up top. The opening stages were a real battle of attrition with both sides trying to gain control of the centre of the park, and with us only having 2 in there rather than the normal 3, we were under the cosh for the first 15 mins or so. On the occasions that we did get possession we tried to use the wings to good effect, with both Paul and Broony getting into acres of space behind a static looking back 4 for Caley. Indeed had Broony been more alert he could have been in and away behind the LB, but delayed his run too much and allowed the defender to get back.
Brian was having a great start to the match and was flying into challenges and winning header after header from his RB slot, and was also finding time to stretch his legs with some great runs beyond his winger, and from one such lung bursting run he nearly opened the scoring. He intercepted a pass inside his own half and set off on a gallop over the half way line. He played a neat pass into Ian’s feet and kept his run going to receive the pass back to him, which put him clear beyond the defence. With the defender struggling to keep pace, he controlled the through pass and ran on into the area, but at the business end of the move he drove his effort high and over the bar, but it was a great run none the less. Strevs had been pretty much a spectator for the opening spell, but was forced into action soon after, when despite calls for offside the Ref allowed the game to continue for the striker as he made strides into the box. With only the keeper to beat he took a heavy touch and this was enough for Strevs to make up the ground and make a brave block at the striker’s feet, with the 2nd ball mopped up by the Bridge defenders. Caley then won a very soft free kick right on the edge of the area after Lee was adjudged to have brought down their striker, and although it looked very theatrical, the young inexperienced Ref bought it though and the set piece was given. Strevs lined up his 3 man wall and waited on his line expectantly, whilst the 2 Caley players made their move for a rehearsed routine. A simple dummy run was made before the 2nd player hit a ballooned effort high and wide of the target to avert the danger however and the chance was lost.

With half an hour on the clock, the Bridge made the breakthrough, and what a goal to do it with. After a 10min period of good pressure from the Bridge including several corners and free kicks put into dangerous area’s, the ball broke off one of their defenders after a long throw in from the right. It fell kindly to Paul around 20yards out in line with the edge of the area, and he scooped a lovely volley over the diving arm of the keeper into the far corner of the net for his 1st Bridge goal, and the 1st of the match. Up until the goal we hadn’t really threatened their goal, so to get a goal in front was a welcome bonus at this stage of the match. Caley came at us until halftime to try and get the equaliser, Brian was harshly penalised for a strong tackle near the side of the box, when although he did connect with their winger, he cleanly got to the ball, but again the decision went Caley’s way. Once more they deliberated over the free kick, and again the end outcome was the same, the 1st effort slammed low off the wall, then the 2nd phase ball was hooked miles over the bar when the ball should have been curled into the box for someone to get onto. The final chance of the half came after a great wee run from Johnny saw him clear the halfway line before setting Broony free on the right with a peach of a through ball, but Broony hesitated and failed to make the most of the excellent attempted pass.

Half time 0-1 Fountainbridge FC

At the break we discussed what went wrong in the 1st half, such as bringing it down and playing simple 6yard passes rather than hitting 1st time balls that were doing nothing, and players miss-judging the ball in the windy conditions. Keith had been feeding on scraps all half and we really needed to get him involved more, whilst their lack of pace throughout the team other than one or two forward players hadn’t been a problem to them due to us not playing balls in behind them to race onto. Caley were on the front foot from the off, and although they hadn’t made any personnel changes they had pushed everyone further forward as the wind was now more behind them. Their main ploy was the long kick-outs from their keeper, and hoping for a knock on from one of their strikers, and this seemed to be suiting the larger more bulky Caley players than our guys at the back. Their main striker had been guilty of wasting several good free kick chances in the 1st half, and early in the 2nd period he was sent clear behind TC after the Bridge defender had been pulled out of position. With his team mates screaming for him to cut it back or hold it up, he chose the Holywood option and tried his luck from 18yards out right on the corner of the box, and needless to say the effort went 10 foot over the bar, and 15 foot wide of the post much to distain of his fellow players.
Chances for the Bridge were few and far between for much of the start of the 2nd half, Broony had one good run at their LB, but just as he was about to play the pass he was hauled back without a free kick being given nor even acknowledged by the very inconsistent Ref. Some his decisions had been puzzling to say the least, with Brian, Ian, Keith, and Broony all being denied stonewall free kicks in the 1st half when even THEIR players had stopped, expecting to hear the whistle. Ian felt the red mist descend near the half time whistle after being ignored by the Ref and kicked out at one of their defenders with a silly kick to the ankles, and was given a Yellow Card for his troubles. This half was now going the same way, with numerous dodgy decisions baffling both sets of players. As we had done in the 1st half, Caley were winning corner after corner, and only the poor finishing and some good defending stopped clear efforts from raining in on Strevs in our goal.
Midway through the half, our defence finally caved in to the pressure from the Caley attacks, and although the finish was pretty decent, the defending could have been better. It came from one of our attacks and when it broke down they moved it forward quickly before our defenders could get back properly into position. The ball was fed down the left side, and when it was cut back towards the pen spot it was met by the incoming Caley player who swept it high past Strevs from 12yards for a deserved equaliser. This signalled a change in personnel for the Bridge, and soon after the goal we brought on the returning Captain of the club Barry Fearn for his 1st appearance since damaging ankle ligaments in a friendly in late March. Broony made way and Stu went out wide with Baz taking his position in the middle alongside Marky. Caley then nearly took the lead with a carbon copy of their 1st, when TC was beaten to a ball down the right and when it was crossed in towards the front post the resulting shot scraped the bar with Strevs rooted to his line. The change was still not making any clear chances for us, and the keeper had been pretty redundant during the whole half, so a 2nd sub was made with Paul coming off for John to give Keith a bit support up front. Ian went into his right wing role and soon after we brought on Andy for the injured Stu, which meant TC going into the centre, Lee going into the midfield, and Marky moving out wide right. This seemed to make it a bit stronger going forward for us, and Marky was soon making inroads down the right to good effect. The addition of another player up top made the difference as it stopped the full backs from Caley bombing forward, and also gave the likes of Mark and Ian another target to hit with passes. Lee and Baz took hold of the midfield and were pushing forward to combine with Keith and John. The 1st chance since the changes fell to John, after Ian linked up with Lee on the left. Ian played a chipped ball into the centre of the park and Keith did well to leap and bring it down on his chest before knocking it into the path of his strike partner John. The Gaffer took a touch to bring control it and get it out of his feet before letting fly from 25 yards central to the goal. Agonisingly for the Gaffer however, the shot just failed to dip enough and cleared the bar with the keeper nowhere near it, but this was just the start of a solid 10 minute period where we created more chances than in the previous 70mins of the match.

Johnny broke well from his place at the back and only a last gasp header away stopped his cross field chip from reaching John’s run to the back post, then Lee got onto to a long ball down the right but his cross into the box was too near the keeper. Andy was playing well in his LB role since coming on and was winning all his headers against his opponents, whilst Lee was finding loads of space just behind the front pairing, and with around 8 mins left we got the breakthrough we were striving for. Sustained pressure on the Caley defence saw the ball bounce around on the edge of the area, and when both Keith and Lee put in blocks to win the ball back it was played into the feet of Baz, whose late run broke the line of the back 4. He took it into his stride and waited for the keeper to commit himself before slipping a low finish beyond him for his 6th of the season and a slim late lead for the Bridge. The 2nd goal for the Bridge seemed to deflate the Caley side, and with a bit more luck we could have got a 3rd prior to the final whistle. Lee darted in behind their LB to collect a pass from Mark, and even though their keeper ran out and clearly handled it out wide beyond his box, the Ref waved play on with Lee in possession. Lee played it across to John, but as he went to shoot he was closed down and the chance lost, then seconds before full time, Baz burst into the box on the left and only the outstretched boot of the last defender stopped his pass reaching the unmarked Gaffer who was lurking at the back of the 6yard box. The Ref blew soon after to the joy of the Bridge players, who knew that despite a poor showing the 3 points were in the bag.

Final score 1-2 Fountainbridge FC

Managers Comment:
With our confidence on a high, I asked prior to the match that we focus on keeping the momentum going from the Falside victory, and that we continue to pass the ball around rather than lump it up field. We managed to scrape the victory but somewhere along the way we stopped playing football and played way too many hit and hope balls into space for much of the game. Changing the formation to a 4-4-1-1 didn’t really have the desired effect, with the 2 CM players finding it difficult to play as a pairing rather than in a trio in the middle. Keith was starved of possession, and hardly had a chance the whole game, compared to the half dozen than normally fall the Hitman’s way when playing in front of a five. Like or not, our best formation has to be the 4-5-1 which has brought us the most success this season. We have one final League match in a couple of weeks against Meadowbank, who struggled to a last minute 3-2 win against Falside today, so we want the 3 points from that one to end the season on a high.

Best in the Tangerine: Johnny continued his superb run of form in the heart of the defence alongside Lee who also had a fine match, Paul did well out on the left and scored a great goal to put us in front, and Baz shored up the middle of the park when he came on in the 2nd half. However M.O.T.M this week goes to BRIAN VEITCH. He dominated their winger the whole game and got forward on numerous occasions to great effect, he put himself about well against their forward line and was a big stand out for the Bridge.

Well done to Brian on the award.

Player Ratings:
A.Strevens 7
B.Veitch 9M
L.Davidson 8
J.Mackenzie 8
T.Chan 7
S.Brown 7 (B.Fearn (1g) 65min (7))
M.Smith 7
S.McCrindle 7 (A.Stewart 80mins (7))
P.Christie 7 (1g) (J.Gray 75min (7))
I.Fleming 7
K.Alexander 7