Bervie Caledonian v Ellon Thistle

Division One North

A point gained as opposed to two points dropped as Ellon Thistle salvaged a draw against Bervie Caledonian at Gourdon on Saturday. The Jags should have made the long journey home on the end of a heavy defeat had the home side taken half of the chances they created. However, it was trialist Matthew Cowie who grabbed an unlikely equaliser in the dying seconds of the game.

Thistle claimed maximum points in both fixtures against Bervie in a dismal season last year but the home side had started this campaign encouragingly and they promised to be a much tougher proposition this time round.

The Jags were still without a vast number of first team regulars but the majority of the side that schooled Alford in their previous outing were available although Martin Tremlett wore the gloves in place of the suspended Daniel Adamson and Matthew Cowie replaced Steven Beaton who was struggling with a knee injury.

Ellon began the first half playing uphill but this would to be an uphill struggle for the visitors throughout the ninety minutes. Bervie opened the scoring in the first half when their number 9 found space and time in the Ellon penalty area to volley beyond Tremlett. It should have been two soon after when Henderson blocked a goal bound effort with his arm before scrambling to hook the ball off the goal line via the post. The home side could easily have had a penalty for the hand ball and perhaps should have been awarded a goal as the ball appeared to cross the line. However, without the aid of hawkeye, the referee waved play on and the score remained 1-0.

Thistle's best chance of the first half fell to Stephen Cruickshanks who collected his own pass before firing a left footed strike off the crossbar. Mark Kennedy had efforts at the Bervie goal, getting closer with every attempt but still he failed to trouble the goalkeeper. A fortuitous bounce prevented Bervie from extending their lead when Tremlett spilled a cross from the left.

The best of the second half chances fell to the home side but they could not extend their advantage. Bervie's front two were causing Ellon problems but Tremlett had an answer for anything that threatened the Thistle goal.

Deep into injury time, the visitors won a corner and packed the penalty area in one final attempt to claim a point they barely deserved. Striker Matthew Cowie, who had ploughed a lone furrow for the majority of the game, grabbed an unlikely equaliser after Bervie failed to clear Greg Gillan's cross. The hosts were visibly stunned as they saw two points slip away with almost the final kick of the match while The Jags remain undefeated since the opening game of the season.

Final Score: Bervie Caledonian 1 Ellon Thistle 1

Ellon Thistle: Tremlett, Gillan, Anderson, Henderson, Alexander (Beaton), Stephen Cruickshanks, C. Duncan, Kennedy, McNeil, Davidson, Cowie. Subs not used: Simon Cruickshanks, Cockburn.

Man of the Match: Matthew Cowie