Insch v Ellon Thistle

Division Two East

For the second week in a row, Ellon were faced with a vital game in the race for promotion with Insch the opponents at a slough of a pitch after a bad night of rain. Visible puddles were to be seen in various areas of the pitch and it was inevitably going to make for interesting viewing. A real battle of the “Teuchters”.

The first ten minutes were “even stevens” as far as possession was concerned with the hosts having the best chance after a decent ball in beat Adamson, the striker had time for a touch before firing home but opted for striking first time only for the ball end up closer to the corner flag than the back of the net. Definitely a let off for the Jags.

On the quarter of an hour mark Mikey WILD was to find the net after some choice work from Keith Duncan in the centre circle with the ball eventually finding the hitman who finished with aplomb.

But the glory was to be short lived as not long after, Insch had beaten Adamson. Much to the disgust of the Ellon sideline, due to the fact the two Insch strikers were so far offside you would have thought there was no referee on the park. An absolutely scandalous decision by the man in charge. People climbing Benacchie in the distance saw the two men were in illegal positions.

That was to be just the start of this calamitous performance by the official who would go on to boil the blood of both teams over the course of the game, continuing with booking Henderson for a perfectly timed challenge in the centre of the park. Clearly the referee forgot that it’s a man’s game.

Insch took the lead through another astonishingly offside goal. Even without the help of linesmen the referee had made another error of cataclysmic proportions; it was so bad he would have been just as well kicking the ball in himself.

Insch made it 3 just before the half after a decent effort into the corner of the net with Adamson helpless at full stretch.

Half-Time: Insch 3 Ellon Thistle 1

Ellon came straight out of the starting blocks and halved the deficit with a noteworthy finish from GIBSON which sailed past the keeper into the top corner from twenty-five yards.

Insch were obviously rattled by this start to the second half from Ellon who were a completely different squad in the second period, this possibly down to a change of diet at the interval with oranges being provided by one of the Thistle Wags. It was not long before Ellon found level pegging after a “bread and butter” save from the keeper turned into a catastrophe when the ball squirmed free from his grip into the path of the onrushing pair of Gibson and Henderson, but it was the unlikely foot of HENDERSON who albeit took his time, placed the ball home.

Ellon were lucky to finish with eleven when the referee failed to send Mikey Wild for an early bath after no holds barred verbal attack in protest at disastrous officiating. Wild was to be deemed offside when his starting position was the halfway line. Maybe the official showed leniency because of his realisation of his bloomer.

If coming back to level terms wasn’t good enough for Thistle they were to take the lead for the second time in the game when the comeback continued courtesy of a Michael GIBSON boot. A brace for the midfielder who is on one pound per goal from a certain report writer.

But the comeback was ruined by none other than the referee who awarded a nonsense throw in to Insch in a dangerous position when the ball blatantly struck the home player on the way out. From the resulting throw-in the ball was knocked past Adamson for the fourth time, a good finish.

The rubbish refereeing wasn’t to end there when Ellon were refused a stone wall penalty when Wild was clattered by a combination of keeper and defender, leaving the striker knocked out in the goal mouth and with vague recollections of the game after the final whistle due to the head knock he received.

A great game for the neutral to watch but Ellon manager Kennedy will have to be disappointed with scoring four goals away from home and failing to win for the second time this season. Insch will be disappointed to have thrown away a two goal cushion and the referee probably took his undeserved money and smiled all the way to the bar.

Final Score: Insch 4 Ellon Thistle 4

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