MATCH REPORTS
This week's Match Reports from :- Blackburn United,
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Rab Brown prepares to burst forward from his defensive duties at Park View 5/5/08 East Region South Division Fauldhouse United 3 Blackburn United 2 On a warm spring evening at Park View, with the midges biting, it was the home side who started the livelier and went ahead after only four minutes, an over hit cross found DOLAN wide on the left and he gathered to step inside Rab Brown before hitting a cross-cum-shot which surprised Francis Carlin and crept just inside the far post. It took Blackburn a wee while to recover from this bad start but on eighteen minutes Martin Stewart and Peter Lynch combined well on the right, Lynch sending in a low cross which found David Fowler but his snap shot flew just wide. On the half-hour mark Alan Brown and Lynch played a clever 1-2 on the left to let Brown set up Fowler on the edge of the area but his effort again flew wide. The home side went immediately up the park and created a chance of their own, Dolan finding himself free inside the area but Carlin blocked his shot. Blackburn then forced several corners and free kick’s which came to nothing and went in at half-time a goal down. As in the first half, only four minutes had passed of the second period when a goal arrived, Alan Brown putting Lynch free inside the left side of the box and his cutback found the incoming FOWLER who crashed the ball past Connolly in the Fauldhouse goal. Blackburn at this stage were playing some neat football and pressing Fauldhouse back without creating anything of note. On fifty six minutes the Park View men nearly regained the lead when Smith broke free of the visiting defence and pushed the ball onto the lively Dolan but Carlin blocked his shot and although the loose ball fell to Ross McGeachie his effort was scrambled away. Stewart then had a chance moments later but his shot flew wide. As the play flowed from end-to-end, Scott McGeachie saw an effort also fly wide a minute or so later. The lively Stewart was then forced to limp off after treatment and shortly afterwards, on sixty five minutes and perhaps against the run of play, Fauldhouse took the lead, a long ball out of defence slid off the head of Jordan Rintoul and fell to Ross McGEACHIE who suddenly found himself with a bit of space and he fired a half volley past Carlin. Shortly thereafter Fowler too had to limp off and on seventy four minutes it got even worse for Blackburn when the ball was given away cheaply to Ross McGEACHIE deep on the left from where he stepped inside the box and crashed an angled drive into the far corner of the net. Andy McQuillan had a sight of goal on seventy eight minutes when fellow substitute Scott Livingstone slipped him the ball inside the box, but under pressure from the Fauldhouse defence his first time stab flew over. With just five minutes remaining however the game descended into farce. Livingstone’s drive hit the post but eventually the ball landed back at his feet and, with the Fauldhouse defence scrambling, he again drove the ball goalwards where centre half Shanks dived to save it. Referee Mr. Dickson, who had been getting a rough time from the home support throughout the game, correctly awarded a penalty kick and showed Shanks a red card despite Shanks’s protests that the ball had hit him on the chest. David SNEDDON remained calm though and coolly sent Connolly the wrong way from the spot but as Rintoul ran into the net to collect the ball and get on with the game, Connolly lashed out at him with his leg and the referee had no option but to also show him a red card. It took quite some time to get Connolly to leave the field as Fauldhouse eventually threw on replacement keeper Weir. The game finally restarted but despite almost constant Blackburn pressure they could not find a way past the nine men before the referee inexplicably blew for full-time having added on little, if any, injury time. To add to the rather distasteful events, the end of the game saw the match official require an escort from the park amid strong protests from the Fauldhouse players, coaching staff and fans. Blackburn United Line-up: Carlin, R.Brown, Sneddon, C.Spence, Graham, Fowler (McQuillan 65), Stewart (Livingstone 62), A.Brown, Lynch, L.Docherty (Williamson 78), Rintoul Subs (not used): R.Docherty, Thomson Fauldhouse United Line-up: Connolly, Storrar, Borrows, Shanks, Cooper, Cunningham, Dolan, Meechan, Smith, R.McGeachie, S.McGeachie Subs: Howley, Bryce, McDonald, Wardlaw, Weir Referee: Mr. David Dickson Ian McGinty Click here to read more about Blackburn United

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