With the snow gone at last after a 6wk lay-off, we finally got to play the match against Meadowbank that was originally scheduled for early December. With the game due to be played at Gyle Park it was 50/50 whether it would go ahead after the deluge that had fallen over the last few days but after an inspection of the 3 pitches all games kicked off on time. Our pitch was very soft with large areas of water at each goal but was flat and didn’t really hinder either side in the early stages. After having 14 at training on Wed the numbers fell like Liverpool’s share price and by the time we got to kick off we were down to 11 players with 10 out injured or working or sunning themselves in Australia (yes you Baz) but still managed to put out a reasonable looking side with only a couple playing in changed roles, Ian F was brought in one place to CM, and Broony was pushed into a more attacking supporting role alongside Gaz up top. It was glaringly obvious that the Meadowbank side had the advantage for any challenges in the air, with them towering over the majority of our side so we needed to box clever and just keep them off balance at corners and free kicks. Gaz was pulled back to help defend against them at these situations whilst Broony stayed further up the park.
We kicked off and tried to play it about from the off, Wullie got into the action early and only a pull on his jersey stopped him from racing clear after a simple slide rule pass from Ian W put him away down the left. Gaz was pushing up high against the last man and the game plan to get midfield runners in and around him was working with Mark and Ian seeing plenty of the ball in the opening 15mins. A pleasant surprise for the Bridge was the throwing capability of our new keeper, and when he got hold of the ball for the 1st time in the game he THREW it over the half way line much to the astonishment of the Bridge players. He was eager to get us started early from the back also and this was keeping a high tempo to the game which in turn allowed us to put pressure on them. Reidy started his 1st game for the Bridge at RB and was settling in fine, Luigi was giving him cover over on the right and this stopped any forward running from that side of the park. With around 20mins gone we had our 1st chance of the match when a pass into feet by Marky saw Wullie skip past their RB before drawing out their CB. He sped into the area and as the CB slid in he swept a left foot effort in on goal only for it to scrape the far post
And go out for a goal kick with Gaz only inches away from making contact as he slid in. Next to have an effort go close was Marky after a corner was won on the right, Lee swung in a decent ball into the pen spot area and Mark’s header went the wrong side of the post. Otas wasn’t really being troubled at the other end, he had to look sharp off his line a couple of times to play sweeper-keeper, and held a long range effort without any problem, whilst their best effort was blasted high and wide after good play out on the right from their winger. The pitch was cutting up badly in the middle of the park where all the action was, so we were trying to use the wide area’s as much as possible, and it was from there that we threatened there defence throughout the 1st half, with Luigi and Broony combining well on the right and Wullie and Gaz linking up time and time again to try and get in behind there back line and only the weight of several through balls allowed their keeper to reach the ball before our strikers could pounce.
One thing that was very evident was the leniency of the referee to book players for dicey tackles in the opening half hour, as their no’ 5 went through 3 or 4 Bridge players with dangerous studs-up slide tackles that went unpunished. The Ref was also enraging the men in Tangerine with countless decisions to give goal kicks when it was blatantly obvious that the ball had gone out for a corner, but with 35mins gone we got a slice of luck that rarely goes our way in matches. Broony and Luigi did well to create some space on the right and the ball was played down the inside of their CB for a runner to get onto inside the area. Marky made the run and reached the ball before the keeper who rushed out to push Mark wide. With the keeper back-tracking to his line, Marky took a touch to steady himself before whipping over a right foot cross from the by-line that was headed into his own net by their unlucky CB for the opening goal of the game. Mark looked a little embarrassed to be celebrating, but it put us ahead deservedly considering the possession and pressure we had enjoyed. Lee and Johnny were continuing to control their front players, and on the few occasions that the ball was sprayed wide our full backs were in position to clear the ball to safety without trying anything to fancy at the back. As the half time whistle approached we won a spate of corners that all caused panic in the Meadowbank defence, Luigi had a bash from 16 yards that flew off the defender who threw himself in front of the effort, but again the Ref gave a goal kick even though the Meadowbank players lined up to defend another corner. The next attempt at goal was from an unlikely source when Johnny found himself just inside the box to the right of goal, he took aim and blasted a right foot effort that cannoned off the keeper and over for a corner but the fussy Ref blew for the break before the set piece could be taken.
H/T 1- 0 Fountainbridge FC
After a quick “chat” with the Ref at half time about questioning his decisions, the Bridge Gaffer reminded the players to keep their concentration at the start of the 2nd period, as this was usually the time we gave away something sloppy. We felt that although we had tried to test their keeper in the 1st half we wanted to have far more efforts on goal in the 2nd 45mins, especially from distance. Broony was told to push up a little to give Gaz more support against their back line, whilst Marky had to keep his discipline and not bolt forward too often to leave a gap in the central area. As we thought, Meadowbank started the faster of the two sides after the break, and after a few minutes they carved out a chance on the left of the box that skidded across Otas as he dived in the mud of his 6yd box. He dived over the ball but got the slightest of touches to put it past for a corner, and from the resulting set piece their big no’5 headed wide of the target from 8yds to keep the Bridge lead intact. Broony was now enjoying the match and his tricky footwork was causing their full back all kinds of problems, and when he was released down the wing by Reidy he skipped inside the defender to give himself some space, but his 20yard effort skewed wide of goal off the side of his boot.
With 15mins gone in the 2nd half the game got a little more interesting for both parties. M’bank tried to break quickly through the heart of the Bridge defence, and when their striker was about to receive the ball on route to goal Lee slid in to make a tough but fair challenge to prevent further progress but the Ref had given the offside so the play had been called to a halt belatedly by the Ref before the challenge was made. Lee was slow to rise from the tackle and soon after it was clear to see why as he made his way to the sidelines. His knee had been caught by the striker’s studs and a 3” slash was bleeding steadily across the top of the knee cap, which although not deep was bad enough to need attention, however whilst he was being attended to by the Gaffer we went 2 up through an Ian F free kick from 30 yards that deceived their keeper after Gaz had stepped over it as it sped goalwards into the bottom corner. Lee was struggling now though as the claret streamed down his knee each time he bent it, and the only option was to bring him off the park and play the last half an hour with only 10 men. Luigi reverted to RB, and Reidy moved over to partner the now Capt Johnny in the heart of the Bridge defence, with Broony now covering the wing slot vacated by Luigi. This allowed M’bank to push a player further forward, so Marky was pushed back deeper into a more holding role with the formation being two banks of 4 and Gaz as the lone attacker. The idea was to have our 2 central midfielders holding to allow the 2 winger to support Gaz when we were in possession, then they would filter back to form a middle 4 when we were defending, and it worked out perfectly as we were the ones to make the better chances as the half wore on.
Wullie had a great effort that flew into the side netting after a good exchange of passes saw him clear on the left, then Broony again skinned their full back before being knocked off balance by the covering CB as he was about to pull the trigger in the box. Luigi was showing great discipline in his RB role now, and was constantly at Broony to cover the midfield runner from doubling up against him when M’Bank were attacking, and he did the simple things to stop the flow of play down his side. M’bank had to push up now in search of goals, and although they saw plenty of the ball in the central area they failed to properly trouble Otas in our goal other than a couple of headers that he easily touched over the bar and we were happy to allow them possession in their own half and then close them down as the moved into the final 3rd of the park. Reidy and Johnny in particular were in commanding form to block away attack after attack with solid challenges both on the ground and in the air against far taller opposition, and whenever Luigi found himself up against it at the back he was covered well by his co-defender in Reidy. With 10 mins to go we wrapped up the points with another well taken goal from a quick breakaway. Ian F pushed up into their half and attempted to find Wullie who was calling for it out wide on the left, the pass was blocked but Broony showed great awareness to collect the loose ball in the centre of the park before curling a perfect ball into the winger’s path on the edge of the area. Wullie controlled the pass and swept a left foot shot low past the keeper onto the opposite bottom corner for his 1st Bridge goal in his debut match. This goal pretty much ended the fight back from M’bank, and in the end it could have been 4 if Wullie’s late cross from the left hadn’t been inches out of reach from Gaz’s attempted side foot finish on the volley from 8yards out in the dying seconds.
F/T 3 - 0 Fountainbridge FC
Managers Comment:
After the long wait due to the snow it was great to get back into the swing of things albeit with a very weakened team, however the eleven that took to the field all performed to a high level and the win was a very deserving one in the end. We played some excellent football on a glue pot of a pitch and the 3-0 score line was probably right considering their stand-in keeper made at least 4 decent stops during the 90minutes.
Our Aim prior to the match was to get the 3points to increase our lead over the teams at the bottom, and we spoke at length about the need to put a little extra into each pass to compensate for the pitch, whilst we also wanted to keep a high tempo to the game to ensure they didn’t get time to play their own game. At times it looked like an adults V children’s match due to the average height of their side being well over 6ft, but we stuck to our task at set pieces for them and challenged for every ball. Gaz had a tough shift against a couple of trees at the back for them, but the pace and ability of our midfield meant we were able to play around them and get them turning back towards their own goal. The quick release from Otas in goal helped hugely, as it allowed us to break quickly at a reduced amount of defenders, and this is a weapon we haven’t had in recent months. The fact that we played for nearly half an hour with 10men after Lee’s knee injury shows the resilience within the side and Reidy stepped into the CB next to Johnny with no problems. Our game plan worked a treat as the two banks of 4 did their jobs brilliantly to stop M’bank getting back into the game. It is now up to the players missing today to show they deserve a starting slot next week, as on this showing there will be real competition for places from now on.
Best in the Tangerine: As in the last match against Roseburn, there were no failures on the day with everybody putting in a great shift against a big strong opposing side. Otas slotted into the GK position like he had been there all season and gave the defenders far more confidence. Lee and Johnny looked solid at the back, Marky had a hard game in the middle of the park with him having more defensive duties than normal, Ian F got stuck in well in the engine room, Broony showed again in flashes that he has the talent to maul most defenders in the league when he is in the mood, and Wullie looked up for it from the 1st minute and was happy to run at their defenders at will and got a deserved goal.
Man of the match for today’s game however goes to Will Reid, he stepped into the back line smoothly, and performed very well alongside Johnny when Lee was forced off through injury.
M.O.T.M – Will Reid
Mitkas 8 (out of 10)
Reid 8M
Davidson 8
Mackenzie 8
Waugh 8
Trialist 8
Smith 8
Fleming 8
Pia 7
Brown 7
Stephen 7
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