Ellon Thistle v Kingseat United

Division Two East

Ellon Thistle continued in search of their elusive tenth league win on Wednesday with a home fixture against Kingseat United. Thistle recorded their biggest win of the season in the reverse fixture last August but their current form meant this would be another tough assignment. The players who watched the draw with BSFC from the sidelines on Saturday returned to the starting eleven as Cammy Davidson, Graeme Giles and Neil Henderson replaced Steven Beaton, Ryan Birnie and David Anderson.

It was a very scrappy affair from the kick off as neither side retained possession for any length of time. The ball spent the majority of the early stages in the air as both teams bypassed the midfield and there was little goalmouth action. It was arguably the type of game that suited Kingseat and it was the visitors who drew first blood against the run of play. From out of nothing, a Kingseat player found a yard of space and his sweetly struck 25-yard strike nestled in the bottom corner of the Thistle goal.

Martyn Duncan was lucky to only be booked for a vicious tackle on a Kingseat defender. Duncan was to be the victim of countless fouls throughout the game as a result. Thistle drew level before half-time when a long range effort from Neil Murray was awkwardly tipped onto the crossbar by the Kingseat goalkeeper only for Michael Wild to tap home the rebound. Murray fancied another shot from outside the box soon after but this time it was blocked by a defender.

Half-Time: Ellon Thistle 1 Kingseat United 1

The visitors had a chance early in the second half to retain the lead when an attacker picked up a loose ball and found himself through on goal. Selfishly he tried to beat Dickinson, who blocked, rather than square a pass to a team mate who would have rolled the ball into an empty net. However, Kingseat did take a 2-1 lead after some confusion. Mark Cockburn had taken a knock on the far touchline and as Dickinson held the ball waiting for a decision from the referee, the official penalised the goalkeeper for violating the six second rule and awarded an indirect free-kick to the away side. A harsh decision against the goalkeeper and he was further punished as he was left to pick the ball out of the net after the free-kick was smashed into the Thistle goal.

The game was well contested and Stephen Cruickshanks commitment could not be questioned as he flew into a tasty tackle with an opponent and luckily won the ball otherwise he may well have seen red.

Despite their enthusiasm in the tackle, the home sides chances were few and far between although Michael Wild came close to adding his second but his effort bounced off the top of the crossbar. Ellon were punished for not making the most of the few chances they created when Ryan Birnie was caught in possession and the Kingseat forward raced towards goal. This time the ball was squared across the face of the goal and was tapped in from close range to kill off any hope of an Ellon revival.

Final Score: Ellon Thistle 1 Kingseat United 3

Ellon Thistle: A Dickinson, N Henderson, S Cruickshanks, B Alexander, G Giles (D Anderson), N Murray, M Duncan, C Davidson, M Cockburn (R Birnie), M Wild, R Longmuir (S Beaton). Subs Not Used: