Ellon Thistle v Tarves

Dickie Trophy Semi Final, North Lodge Park

North Lodge Park, home of Formartine United, hosted the Dickie Trophy semi final clash between local rivals Ellon Thistle and Tarves. Thistle were in bullish mood having recorded home and away victories over their opponents this season although Tarves were desperate for revenge having been the butt of good natured humour in a report by an unnamed website.

Having missed the league encounter two weeks ago, Neil Murray returned to take Cammy Davidson’s place in the starting eleven. This was the only change in the now familiar 3-5-2 Thistle formation. In a change from a fortnight ago, Dave Leslie, took up his role at sweeper for Tarves despite the firm going.

The match itself was of poor quality throughout and it was hard to believe both sides were competing for a cup final berth. Ellon took longer to settle but once they had overcome fifteen minutes of nervous touches and loose passes, they looked more likely to open the scoring. Billy Dailly fired over before a weaving run by Martyn Duncan was brought to an abrupt halt in the Tarves penalty area. Despite loud claims, the referee was happy for the game to continue.

Kris Dear, who was the thorn in the Thistle side a fortnight ago, was largely anonymous in the first half apart from a crunching tackle on Duncan. It was not the first meaty tackle Duncan has been on the end of this season and he gave as good as he got alongside Stephen Cruickshanks in a competitive midfield battle.

In a closely fought contest, it would take an error to break the deadlock. A stray Neil Murray pass was pounced on by Massie just inside the Ellon half. He picked out Massie who made no mistake from a tight angle. 0-1.

Half-Time: Ellon Thistle 0 Tarves 1

There was little improvement in the quality of football in the second half resulting in minimal goalmouth activity. However, another error in the Ellon defensive third offered Tarves the opportunity to stretch their lead. Some fancy footwork from Graeme Giles backfired when he was robbed by Dear. The Tarves midfielder darted into the box where he was scythed down by Bruce Alexander. Dear confidently dispatched the penalty himself and gave his side a two-goal advantage. 0-2.

Thistle’s seven match unbeaten was now in jeopardy and despite late changes to personnel, they were incapable of affecting the score line.

Final Score: Ellon Thistle 0 Tarves 2

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