29th July 2023 Penicuik Athletic 5 Kinnoull 1

A number of good matches locally today but I finally decided to head to watch Penicuik at Montgomery Park. The ground and the surrounding public park has been renamed in honour of Adam Montgomery a local councillor who was instrumental in the revival of Penicuik Athletic in 2002 after shutting down in the late 1980s due to financial problems. With the match having a 14.30 kickoff I left home just after 12.30 as I wanted to have a walk to get some exercise before heading out to Penicuik. I arrived at the Bernard Terrace bus stop and saw that the next 47 was due in five minutes so I decided to walk to the next stop at Newington to catch it. I was around ten yards from the stop when the 47 passed. However I was lucky as passengers were getting off so I ran the last short distance before boarding the bus. I checked the bus app and saw it was due at the stop nearest the ground at13.38. This was slightly too early for me to enter the ground so I got off at Mauricewood and walked from there arriving around 14.05. I paid my £5 entry and bought a £2 programme. With Penicuik at home to Hutcheson Vale on Tuesday the programme was a double issue covering both matches. I took a up a position in the covered terracing and read my programme while the teams were warming. As always the programme was a good read with a variety of articles and now includes a quiz. 

Penicuik have gone through a tough spell this year. Manager Stephen McLeish resigned in February following a poor run of results. Calum took over in March but resigned in April to take over at Lowland League. Caretaker managers were in place until David Hannah took over in May. He however resigned in July and was replaced later that month by Lewis Coult, formerly at Edinburgh United. During Hannah’s short reign fourteen experienced first team players had left the club after not being offeeed new contracts. Players have been promoted from the U20 side to cover and Coult has now signed Liam Hall(from Falkirk) along with Ben Wardllaw and Srchie Roue from his old side Edinburgh United. Kinnoull were promoted from the East of Scotland First Division at the end of last season. Their managerial duo of Alan Cameron and Jason McCrindle have since resigned and former Oakley manger Barry Cockburn has taken over. He has signed some new players including Fyn Connor (Whitehill Welfare);and Jon Clark (on loan from Jeanfield). It will be interesting to see how the side adapts to the higher level 

Kinnoull started well and scored in the first minute. Clark broke down the right and sent a low ball across the edge of the penalty box where Jamie McKenzie sent a shot into the corner of the net past the diving Kyle Leiper. Penicuik equalised after around ten minutes when a ball from defence found Cammy Fraser in midfield. He lifted the ball over the top of the Kinnoull defence for Wardlaw to run on and shoot past the advancing goalkeeper Sam Townsley from around fifteen yards. Midway through the half Leiper made an excellent save when he dived to push away a header from I think Mark Mooney. The game continued to be quiet eve but Penicuik went ahead shortly before halftime, a pass from Fraser found Wardlaw on the right. He ran towards the penalty box and sent a low ball across goal. Aaron Somerville met the ball at the far post around eight yards from goal and shot into the net past Townsley.

Penicuik looked a different team in the second half as they pushed forward looking to clinch the game. A header from a corner by Andy Forbes was well saved by Townsley before Wardlaw broke free on the left. On the edge of the penalty area he tried a shot but completely misfit the ball which trickled past the post. Somerville, who looked back to better form than last season,  then had a shot saved by Townsley. Cuikie got a third goal around sixty-seven minutes. Wardlaw chased a through ball and Kepler Townsley rushed off his line. Both players jumped for the ball just inside the penalty area. Townsley collided with Wardlaw who fell to the ground and the referee awarded a penalty kick. I thought it was a bit soft given both players were going for the ball but Wardlaw did not care as he slammed the spot-kick into the net. Cuikie made five changes throughout the second half but only one due to injury. Josh Laing (on loan from Spartans) limped off before the third goal and was replaced by Sean Calder. Goal number four and Wardlaw hat-trick came after a god run down the right by full-back Andy Forbes. He beat a defender and sent a low ball across goal for Wardlaw to tap at the far post. Two substitutes linked up for the fifth goal. Tony Robertson just outside the penalty area flicked the ball to Josh Philp inside the box on the right. The striker took a touch and shoot across Townsley into the far corner of the net from about fifteen yards. The final whistle blew shortly after to give Penicuik a good start to the league campaign.

After the match ended I headed out of the ground to the bus-stop on the main road. I saw a Borders X62 coming and signalled for it to stop. The X62 follows the Lothian 47 route back into Edinburgh but does not stop often in Edinburgh unless passengers wanting to alight. I took the X62 to Surgeons Hall then a 2 home and was in the flat around 17.20 after stopping at Tesco for a bottle of wine, my first since Monday.

Teams

Penicuik Athletic: Leiper, Forbes, Munro, Young, Laing, Thomson, Eardlew, Roue, Fraser, Somerville, Furness.

Subs: Calder, McManus, Philp, Robertson, C. Miller

Kinnoull: Townsley, Antoniovich, Woollcott, Bernard, Mooney, McKenzie, Regan, Clark, Scott, Connor, Shaw

Subs: None used