Ellon Thistle v ARI Thistle

North of Scotland Cup 1st Round

The Jags were sent packing from their second cup competition in successive weeks after this “see it to believe it” match. From start to finish Ellon dominated proceedings, but with a combination of good goalkeeping and numerous scorned opportunities Ellon saw themselves tumble out of the North of Scotland Cup.

The game started the way it was to continue for the duration of the ninety minutes with Ellon having almost all the possession and chances galore. The first opportunity fell to Steven Beaton who had a sight of goal but could only hit a feeble “worm burner” at goal. Mikey Wild was unlucky not to be on the score sheet early on when he got in between the defender and the hesitant keeper only to see his cheeky intervention squirm harrowingly wide. Ryan Birnie was next in line to get a chance but he completely miscued and sent the ball so far in the air it came down with snow on it.

Then in true Thistle fashion, A.R.I took the lead with their first sniff of goal when a corner was whipped in and the A.R.I man rose totally unchallenged to head home.

Ellon went straight on the attack again looking to even things up and after some decent work from Ironside, Wild sclaffed a decent chance. Even with all the possession Ellon seemed to be making life more difficult than it should have been by trying to play the impossible ball when simpler options were on, and it was from a simple ball that The Jags were denied a stonewall penalty for the umpteenth time this season. Martyn Duncan was bearing down on goal when he was callously brought down, this sparking a war of words between the midfielder and the A.R.I man mountain defender, (man mountain not in the Ultimate Warrior sense but in the Yokozuna sense), which then transpired into a bout of “handbags” with Ironside stepping in to help his mate and possibly saved him from being eaten by the elephantine A.R.I sweeper.

Ironside was involved again straight away this time again this time acting as an A.R.I defender when he got in the way of a goal bound Beaton strike. Ellon were to squander another handful of chances before the half time whistle was blown.

Half-Time: Ellon Thistle 0 ARI Thistle 1

In the opening minutes of the second period the referee was forced to brandish a yellow card to the A.R.I keeper for pushing Martyn Duncan at a corner, then straight after that a defender showed his clever side and pushed the Ellon man to the ground and followed his team mate into the book. Not the “sharpest tool in the box” the full back.

Keith Duncan should have opened his Thistle account when he found himself open at a corner but headed over the bar, and he was to repeat the miss soon after almost identically. Ryan Birnie was kicking himself for the next miss of the game when he was clean through with only the keeper to beat but shot straight at him. Hell was to freeze over soon after when within seconds of each other when two of the most predominantly left footed players Anderson and Beaton fired decent right footed efforts that weren’t far away leaving the Thistle faithful astounded at this rare historical moment. Beaton pulled a decent save from the keeper who got down well to block the eighteen yard crack. Ironside should have tied the game but saw his glancing diving header go past the post, and he had another effort saved by the so far unbeatable keeper.

Up to this point Ellon had had enough chances to win a league let alone this cup tie and it didn’t get any better for the remainder with Wild, Ironside, Martyn Duncan and Longmuir failing to convert from decent openings.

It was a decent performance but it just wasn’t The Jags’ day, it was the A.R.I keepers’ day. He may seem unorthodox but it worked for him and he has helped get his teams name in the hat for the next round.

Final Score: Ellon Thistle 0 ARI Thistle 1

Ellon Thistle: D Adamson, D Anderson, B Alexander, N Henderson, M Duncan, K Duncan, R Birnie (M Cockburn), S Beaton, S Cruickshanks (R Longmuir), P Ironside (A Kerr), M Wild. Subs Not Used: D McGill