5th June 2022 Tranent 2 Linlithgow Rose 3

 

Well it’s Sunday and the last competitive game in the East of Scotland takes place today. It is the final of the Lowland League cup between Tranent Juniors and Linlithgow Rose at New Victoria Park in Newtongrange. An early kick-off at 13.00 in anticipation of Scotland playing Wales in a World Cup play-off in Cardiff at 17.00. Sadly Ukraine will take the place of Scotland but the final kick-off time remains unchanged meaning an early start to get to Newtongrange. I decided to walk for as I could be bothered. I walked to Moredun, 6.3 miles, before jumping on a 29 to Newtongrange at 11.40. The bus arrived in Newtongrange at 11.55. I had a walk around. Newtongrange Park before heading to the ground at 12.15. I paid my £5 entry and one once inside bought a £2 programme. After a walk round the ground which is an excellent non league venue, see photos below, I headed back to the entrance where I met Jim. We decided to stand in the sunshine opposite the covered enclosure and took up position on a grassy embankment ahead of the match starting.

 

It promised to be an interesting game today with Tranent having won the East of Scotland Premier Division and Linlithgow finishing third. Last week Tranent won the play-off to move up to theLowland League while Linlithgow won the East of Scotland Qualifying Cup so both sides are in good form. Tranent have a strong Hearts connection with manager Calum Elliot, keeper Kelby Mason and striker Rory Currie all having spent ime at Tynecastle. Tranent were forced into a late team change when Ben Miller picked up a minor injury in the warm-up and was replaced by the ‘Bingham Bull’,Martin Maughan. Linlithgow made a couple of changes to last weeks starting eleven with both Mark Stowe and Jack Ogilvie coming back into the side. Stowe has scored forty-two goals this season but has been on the bench recently as his scoring has dropped off from earlier in the season.

Tranent started the game well and Rorie Currie had a shot deflected off a Linlithgow defender into the hands of keeper lewis McMinn. Tranent took the lead in fifteen minutes with a penalty. A clearance from keeper Kelly Mason bounced over Linlithgow defender Liam Allison. Maughan ran onto the ball and was taken down in the penalty area by the onrushing McMinn. After the keeper was yellow-carded Jamie Docherty stepped to take the penalty. His low shot into the corner of the net give McMinn no chance as he dived the wrong way. Linlithgows Sean Heaver forced an excellent save from Mason when his shot from around fifteen yards bounced upwards to allow the keeper to push it over the br. After thirty-one minutes Tranent were awarded a second penalty. Maughan was trying to reach a Doherty cross but was pushed in the back by Cammy Thomson. Thomson was booked and again Doherty took the resulting penalty. He sent his shot into the opposite corner of the net from his previous attempt with McMinn again diving the wrong way.  Four minutes from halftime Linlithgow pulled a goal back from yet another penalty. This time Allison leaped to head a corner over the Tranent crossbar but the referee blew his whistle for a penalty as Gary Thom had been pulled back before the ball reached Allison. I have to admit I did not see the foul at the match as it happened behind Allison and none of us could understand why the kick had been given until seeing reports after the game. Top scorer Mark Stowe stepped up to take the kick and gave Mason in the Tranent goal no chance with a powerful low shot. 

I don’t know what Linlithgow manager Gordon Herd said to his side at halftime but they came out with a completely different attitude. Mark Stowe had a free-kick from outside the area tipped round the post by Mason before Linlithgow equalised after sixty minutes. Tranent's Darren McCormack dallied in possession on the right hand side of his penalty area and Alan Docherty took the ball off his toes and ran into the area before shooting low across Mason into the the net.  After around eight minutes Linlithgow went ahead. From a corner the ball was cleared out to the right. Doherty picked up the ball and beat a defender before heading towards the byeline. His cross  found Linlithgow central defender and captain Thom on the edge of the six yard box and he dived to head the ball past Mason. Shortly afterwards there was a strange incident wen the referee spoke to Tranent's Wayne McIntosh.  McIntosh had been booked in the first half when he kicked the fallaway over the social club and to of the ground after being called up as offside. He had an altercation with Linlithgow’s Allison with minutes to go and the referee called him across. the conversation went slithery like this, “ you have already been booked and if you do anything like that again I will show you a red crd even with only nine minutes to go”. McIntoh was never seen for the rest of the game and after Linlithgow’s Jack Ogilvie headed over the bar from a knock-on the referee blew the final whistle. After six years without winning a trophy Linlithgow had. Ow won two Cups in a week!

After the final whistle we headed towards the exit,. The trophy presentation was taking place at that end but I decided to leave and head towards the bus stop back into town. When I got there the 29 was due in 29 minutes but a Borders Buses X95 came after five minutes. I got that back into town and changed to a 30 at the Commonwealth pool. I got home around 17.00 after my 104th and final game of season 2021/22.

Teams

Tranent Juniors: Mason, McCormack, Bauld, Murphy, Currie, Docherty, Greig, Anderson, McIntosh, Maughan, Sonerville.

Subs; Miller, Renton

Linlithgow Rose: McMinn, Thomson, Thom, Allison, Stowe, Heaver, Docherty, McMullen, Ogilvie,  McKenzie, Allan.

Subs: Hare, Sneddon, Bremner.