Stewarton Annick 97s League Cup Match Report

14 February 2010

Stewarton Annick approached this game with high hopes of a result only to be beset with 6 call offs prior to the weekend. So it was a shadow squad that arrived at Amswell for this cup game.

Stewarton's makeshift defence came under pressure from the start. McPherson playing with an injury bravely struggled to compete with Celtic's attackers which in turn left Williamson having to mark constantly. The breakthrough came in the 21st minute when the Celtic striker nipped in before the diving Millar and toe poked the ball under his body.

Shortly after Stewarton conceded another via a somewhat lucky cross which Millar misjudged only to watch the ball soar over his head and into the net. McPherson came off and was replaced by Milne.

The second half started well for Stewarton as Pioli started to dominate the midfield with power and pace. Beveridge was having a blinder and Williamson was coping well in an unfamiliar role. Stewarton were robbed of 2 golden opportunities with the referee blowing for offside when Carruth was clearly on.

McMaster and Cooke (playing against their old team) started to come into the game more when luck failed Stewarton one more time. Milne cleared a long ball only to be caught on the follow through. The injury was severe enough that the game was stopped for 10 minutes while a watching doctor applied medical attention. Milne off saw Cooke revert to centre half and Mallan on up front.

Celtic broke shortly after this with Williamson's tackle on the last man earning him a talking to by the referee. The warning signs were there and a long Ball from Celtic's midfield was not dealt with by Muir and even though the player clearly controlled the ball with his hand the referee did not see it and the player went on to score.

Despite the set backs the boys kept at it and a goal looked likely as Mallan was released by McMaster only to see his shot smothered by the Celtic keeper. Another attempt by Carruth saw his shot go marginally wide. Nesbitt was unlucky with a few powerful runs but it was to be Celtic's day as the score finished 0 -3. The team are still gelling with the recent signings but undoubtedly based on the last 2 weeks' performances with a full squad we should fear no one.

Squad: Millar(GK), Williamson, Nesbitt, Beveridge (C), McPherson(Milne 24/Mallan 44), Carruth (4), Muir, Seaman, Pioli, McMaster, Cooke.