17th April 2019 Bonnyrigg Rose v Haddington Athletic 5-0
Another trip out to Bonnyrigg for the east of Scotland League Cup second round tie. As Bonnyrigg do not yet have floodlights the kick-off was brought forward to 18.15 to cater for extra time and penalty kicks, if required, to settle the tie. As a consequence of the early kick-off I set out early and caught a 31 bus out to Bonnyrigg. The bus arrived early and I got off a couple of stops before the ground and walked the remaining distance, arriving at 17.50. Admission was the standard £6 and £2 for the programme. When I entered the ground I met an old work colleague and friend Gwyn. Gwyn's son Andy plays for Haddington and he had come along to give him support. We had a great time chatting and catching on news and were later joined by another still working colleague and friend Steve. There must have been a lot of RBS ears burning last night !
Bonnyrigg still have a number of games to play given their success this season. If they win tonight they will play Penicuik next Monday in the next round followed by further matches on Wednesday and Saturday, with this schedule possibly repeated the following week.. As a consequence of the busy schedule manager Robbie Horn wrote in the match programme that he was looking to bring in players on short-term deals to provide cover as the season progresses. The first of these players appeared tonight, Jesus Garcia Tena, in central defence. He previously played for Hamilton Academicals and Edinburgh City so has experience of the Scottish game. The Bonnyrigg reserve goalkeeper tonight was, to give him his full name, Jose Javier Dejada Herreros. I had never heard of him previously and could not find any information on Google. Haddington had their U20 keeper in goal as first choice Dale Cornet suffered a broken jaw in their last match. The also included a number of younger players with six teenagers and two twenty year olds in the squad.
Bonnyrigg started well and took the lead after five minutes. A cross from the right was headed up in the air by Haddington's Ross King. The ball fell to Lee Currie around thirty yards from goal whose first time volley flew low past keeper Aaron Jones into the net. I found out later that Ross King is the brother of former Hearts players Adam (now Swansea) and Billy (Gillingham). While Haddington played some nice football they were unable to trouble Michael Andrews in the Bonnyrigg goal and a second goal came along after thirty-eight minutes. A cross from the overlapping Dean Brett looked like an easy take for keeper Jones, however he seemed to let then ball slip through his hands. The lurking Keith Lough had little trouble heading into the empty net. Shortly after Haddington had their best chance of the match. Shaun Hill was tripped just outside the penalty box. He took the free kick himself and although his shot beat the defensive ball it was tipped over the bar by Andrews. Aaron Murrell had a chance when he ran through onto a through ball. Keeper Jones rushed from his line and then stopped. Murrell however fired his shot from just inside the penalty box past both the keeper and the post.
The second half became a Murrell Command Performance as he struck a hat-trick to put the match well beyond Haddington's reach. I first saw Murrell play when he broke into the Spartans side in season 2016-2017. He was scoring goals for fun and in the January transfer window signed for Dundee United for a fee which was believed to be £20,000. The move did not work for the player and the following season he moved to Berwick Rangers on loan where he hit a few goals. This season, on expiry of his United contract, he signed for Berwick but struggled in what is a poor Berwick side. He was released by new Berwick manager Johnny Harvey in January and joined Bonnyrigg. Up to this match he had scored six goals in ten appearances but he showed his quality against Haddington. His first goal came after fifty-three minutes. Louis Swanson passed the ball to Lewis Turner around twenty yards from goal. Turner fed the ball through to Murrell around fifteen yards from goal on the right hand side of the box. His powerfully struck shot hit the back of the net off the underside of the crossbar. Five minutes later a neat passing move found the ball at Lough's feet with his back to goal around the penalty spot. He laid the ball back to Murrell, just inside the box who shot into the corner of the net.The third goal arrived in the last minute. Substitute Ross Gary raced into the penalty box and his shot was cleared by a Haddington defender on the goal-line. The ball bounced off the crossbar and down. Before any shouts about goal-line technology and VAR the ball landed at Murrell's feet six yards from goal. He wasted no time in netting for his hat-trick. The game ended with a good win for Bonnyrigg against a spirited young Haddington side. Give them their due as they did not resort to questionable tactics to stem the flow of goals.
After the gamed ended I walked to the nearby bus stop and after a three minute wait caught a 31 back into town. I got off as usual at South Clerk Street and walked home along the Meadows. I arrived home in time for the second half of the Manchester City v Spurs game on BT Sport. The game confirmed my prejudices against both goal-line technology and VAR. Referees have for time immemorial made decisions and kept the game flowing. Yes occasionally these decisions are incorrect when seen again on TV but this provides talking points for both pundits and fans and is part of the appeal of the game. Technology slows the game down as decisions are queried or clarified and add little to the enjoyment for fans. There ends my Rant of the Day !
Bonnyrigg started well and took the lead after five minutes. A cross from the right was headed up in the air by Haddington's Ross King. The ball fell to Lee Currie around thirty yards from goal whose first time volley flew low past keeper Aaron Jones into the net. I found out later that Ross King is the brother of former Hearts players Adam (now Swansea) and Billy (Gillingham). While Haddington played some nice football they were unable to trouble Michael Andrews in the Bonnyrigg goal and a second goal came along after thirty-eight minutes. A cross from the overlapping Dean Brett looked like an easy take for keeper Jones, however he seemed to let then ball slip through his hands. The lurking Keith Lough had little trouble heading into the empty net. Shortly after Haddington had their best chance of the match. Shaun Hill was tripped just outside the penalty box. He took the free kick himself and although his shot beat the defensive ball it was tipped over the bar by Andrews. Aaron Murrell had a chance when he ran through onto a through ball. Keeper Jones rushed from his line and then stopped. Murrell however fired his shot from just inside the penalty box past both the keeper and the post.
The second half became a Murrell Command Performance as he struck a hat-trick to put the match well beyond Haddington's reach. I first saw Murrell play when he broke into the Spartans side in season 2016-2017. He was scoring goals for fun and in the January transfer window signed for Dundee United for a fee which was believed to be £20,000. The move did not work for the player and the following season he moved to Berwick Rangers on loan where he hit a few goals. This season, on expiry of his United contract, he signed for Berwick but struggled in what is a poor Berwick side. He was released by new Berwick manager Johnny Harvey in January and joined Bonnyrigg. Up to this match he had scored six goals in ten appearances but he showed his quality against Haddington. His first goal came after fifty-three minutes. Louis Swanson passed the ball to Lewis Turner around twenty yards from goal. Turner fed the ball through to Murrell around fifteen yards from goal on the right hand side of the box. His powerfully struck shot hit the back of the net off the underside of the crossbar. Five minutes later a neat passing move found the ball at Lough's feet with his back to goal around the penalty spot. He laid the ball back to Murrell, just inside the box who shot into the corner of the net.The third goal arrived in the last minute. Substitute Ross Gary raced into the penalty box and his shot was cleared by a Haddington defender on the goal-line. The ball bounced off the crossbar and down. Before any shouts about goal-line technology and VAR the ball landed at Murrell's feet six yards from goal. He wasted no time in netting for his hat-trick. The game ended with a good win for Bonnyrigg against a spirited young Haddington side. Give them their due as they did not resort to questionable tactics to stem the flow of goals.
After the gamed ended I walked to the nearby bus stop and after a three minute wait caught a 31 back into town. I got off as usual at South Clerk Street and walked home along the Meadows. I arrived home in time for the second half of the Manchester City v Spurs game on BT Sport. The game confirmed my prejudices against both goal-line technology and VAR. Referees have for time immemorial made decisions and kept the game flowing. Yes occasionally these decisions are incorrect when seen again on TV but this provides talking points for both pundits and fans and is part of the appeal of the game. Technology slows the game down as decisions are queried or clarified and add little to the enjoyment for fans. There ends my Rant of the Day !
Bonnyrigg Rose: Andrews, Brett, Martyniuk, Garcia Tena, Moyes, Stewart, Swanson, Currie, Lough, Nelson, Murrell.
Subs: Turner, McClung, Gray
Haddington Athletic; Aaron Jones, Tufail, Harris, Hamill, Keenan, Cunningham, King, Hill, Sives, Andy Jones, McGarry
Subs: TBC
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