Forth 0 v 5 Bathgate Thistle

League

Saturday 14 February 2015 – Forth

Starting line up; Jake, Leon, James, David, Scott, Connor, Ross, Sam, Bally, Ballie, Aidan.  Subs; Lewis, Harry, Sean

It’s good to be back; after a long winter layoff the U14s are back on league duty away to Forth.  There’s lots of catching up to do because this is just Thistle’s 5th league match this season. Sean starts this one on the sideline as he’s still recovering from a strain

Bathgate are looking good in their black away kit and make a strong start to the match, with just 6 minutes on the clock Baillie and Connor combine well to send Connor clear.  Connor lashes the ball into the net to put Thistle 1 up.  Thistle maintain their momentum straight from the kick off and within 60 seconds their lead is doubled.  Baillie spins his marker near the halfway line and releases Connor with a defence splitting pass, he gets away a powerful shot but the Forth keeper makes a save.  The ball rebounds back to Connor who makes no mistake the second time round.  After just 7 minutes Bathgate are 2 goals up

Bally makes way for Lewis after 26 minutes.  Forth aren’t creating too many chances, which is much to do with James who is playing really well in the centre of defence, but the game could still go either way as it’s a closely fought contest.  Forth win a free kick outside the box, it’s struck with power and accuracy and is heading in towards Jake’s right hand post but he pulls off a great save.  The teams go in 0-2 at half time.  Connor takes a break for the second half and on comes Harry.

Thistle further extend their lead in 54 minutes. Aidan picks up a loose ball in the box, he controls it neatly and accurately slots it past the  keeper.  It’s now 0-3.  Sean comes on to replace Sam.  Leon is making some great attacking runs and scores from a tight angle out on the left, the keeper gets a hand to it, but there’s no way he’s keeping it out; it’s 0-4

Thistle make some final changes to see the game out; Baillie and Ross have played really well, but make way for some fresh legs in the shape of Bally and Connor.   Connor immediately injects some pace in to game leaving Forth defenders trailing in his wake.  With a couple of minutes left on the clock Connor makes a break down the left wing and send a deep cross to the back post for Harry to run on to and head home for Bathgate’s 5th and final goal.

It’s an excellent team performance after such a long lay off and a strong start to 2015.  We’ve seen some great finishing and the defence can be really proud of another clean sheet.  Weather permitting, it’s the County Cup next weekend.