6th July 2019. Edinburgh City v East Kilbride 5-2
I had a choice today either Whitehall Welfare v Hearts XI or Edinburgh City v East Kilbride. As the majority of the Hearts first team squad were in the training camp in Ireland I decided to go to the Edinburgh City match at the Oriam. I was child-minding in the morning but got home just before 14.00 and caught a 35 bus at 14.06 out to Heriot-Watt. Arrived at around 14.25 and walked round to the outside pitch at the Oriam. Paid my £6 admission and noticed there was no programme on sale. Asked the guy taking the gate money and he apologised. He writes the programme but had been ill during the week and was unable to complete his copy in time go to the printers. Met Jim in the ground and we took up position against the fence near the entrance to watch the match.
This is the final of the 2018 City Cup. The cup is contested by the two East of Scotland SPFL teams, in 2018 these were Edinburgh City and Berwick and the finalists in the East of Scotland Lowland Cup, won by East Kilbride in 2018. The semi-finals of the City Cup were contested in September 2018 but the finalists were unable to lay the final last season, hence today's game. City fielded a strong side, only missing goalkeeper Callum Antell, centre-back Conrad Balatoni, who were both on the bench and top scorer Blair Henderson, who is still recovering from injury, from what I would consider their first choice eleven. East Kilbride have made several new signings following unsuccessful attempts to step up to the SPFL in the past two seasons. Their side included new signing Darren O'Dea formerly with Celtic and Dundee among others and Rhuari Paton from Hibs who scored thirteen goals on loan to Gala Fairydean last season.
The game started fairly evenly and East Kilbride took an early lead. Graeme Holmes won the ball in midfield and sent it on to centre forward Ross Kavanagh on the edge of the penalty box. He flicked the ball to his right to Sean Winters who was racing into the box and sent a low shot past Ryan Adams for the first goal of the game. The lead only lasted a minute as Alex Harris raced onto a cutback from Callum Crane and shot past Jacob Kean from around twelve yards out. The turning point of the match came in twenty minutes when O'Dea made a high tackle on Craig Thomson on the right touchline. The referee had no option than to produce a straight red card for dangerous play although the East Kilbride fans standing near us did not agree with the decision as they shouted "that was never a red card Darren" as O'Dea walked towards the dressing rooms. Despite going down to ten men East Kilbride were still in the game and regained the lead in thirty-one minutes. Paul Woods was fouled just outside the penalty box. Paton stepped up to take the kick and curled the ball over the wall and past Adamson in the City goal. As the first half moved into injury time City equalised. From a Harris cutback on the left Scott Shepherd bundled the ball past Sean from six yards out.
City however made their extra man count in the second half. From a corner on the right taken by Thomson on fifty minutes Johnny Court rose highest in the penalty box and headed strongly past Kean. Five minutes later City won another corner, this time on the left. Jordan Sinclair was closest to the ball and waved from some-one else to take the kick. However he was told to take it himself which turned out to be a good move. His ball into the box came to Court around eight yards out about a yard of the ground. The striker volleyed the ball past Kean to put City two ahead. After this East Kilbride seemed content to see out time and although City pressed forward they were having difficulty in creating clear chances. The final goal came after seventy-five minutes when a Josh Walker cross-field pass found Harris racing into the penalty box on the right. He took a touch and then shot low past Kean to clinch the cup for City. The remainder of the game was played out with little incident although the East Kilbride fans provided some entertainment with their moans about "Edinburgh referees" and the lack of "pies and bovril in the ground". There is a cafe in the Oriam about a minutes walk from the pitch and your re-admission ticket lets you back into the ground but this was not enough for these fans. Albeit the cafe does not, I think, sell bovril although the coffee is excellent. A good win for City and I think they will have another good season in League Two.
We did not stay for the presentation and Jim gave me a lift back into town, dropping me off in Morrison Link minutes from home. I was home in plenty time to shower and change before heading out to meet friends in the Shakespeare bar at 18.00.
The game started fairly evenly and East Kilbride took an early lead. Graeme Holmes won the ball in midfield and sent it on to centre forward Ross Kavanagh on the edge of the penalty box. He flicked the ball to his right to Sean Winters who was racing into the box and sent a low shot past Ryan Adams for the first goal of the game. The lead only lasted a minute as Alex Harris raced onto a cutback from Callum Crane and shot past Jacob Kean from around twelve yards out. The turning point of the match came in twenty minutes when O'Dea made a high tackle on Craig Thomson on the right touchline. The referee had no option than to produce a straight red card for dangerous play although the East Kilbride fans standing near us did not agree with the decision as they shouted "that was never a red card Darren" as O'Dea walked towards the dressing rooms. Despite going down to ten men East Kilbride were still in the game and regained the lead in thirty-one minutes. Paul Woods was fouled just outside the penalty box. Paton stepped up to take the kick and curled the ball over the wall and past Adamson in the City goal. As the first half moved into injury time City equalised. From a Harris cutback on the left Scott Shepherd bundled the ball past Sean from six yards out.
City however made their extra man count in the second half. From a corner on the right taken by Thomson on fifty minutes Johnny Court rose highest in the penalty box and headed strongly past Kean. Five minutes later City won another corner, this time on the left. Jordan Sinclair was closest to the ball and waved from some-one else to take the kick. However he was told to take it himself which turned out to be a good move. His ball into the box came to Court around eight yards out about a yard of the ground. The striker volleyed the ball past Kean to put City two ahead. After this East Kilbride seemed content to see out time and although City pressed forward they were having difficulty in creating clear chances. The final goal came after seventy-five minutes when a Josh Walker cross-field pass found Harris racing into the penalty box on the right. He took a touch and then shot low past Kean to clinch the cup for City. The remainder of the game was played out with little incident although the East Kilbride fans provided some entertainment with their moans about "Edinburgh referees" and the lack of "pies and bovril in the ground". There is a cafe in the Oriam about a minutes walk from the pitch and your re-admission ticket lets you back into the ground but this was not enough for these fans. Albeit the cafe does not, I think, sell bovril although the coffee is excellent. A good win for City and I think they will have another good season in League Two.
We did not stay for the presentation and Jim gave me a lift back into town, dropping me off in Morrison Link minutes from home. I was home in plenty time to shower and change before heading out to meet friends in the Shakespeare bar at 18.00.
Teams
Edinburgh City: Adamson, Thomson, McIntyre, L.Henderson, Kane, Crane, Walker, Sinclair, Court, Shepherd, Harris.
Subs: Balatoni, Handling, Watson
East Kilbride: Kean, Reid, Brownlie, O'Dea, Winters, Cairns, Holmes, Bell, Woods, Paton, Kavanagh.
Subs: Stevenson
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