TOP
GAME
Linlithgow Rose triumphed against
Hutchison Vale in a fantastic game
of football at Ainslie Park.
Ten goals were scored in the final of the Hayley Lauder
Cup with Linlithgow ultimately holding on to a six-four lead
to lift the silverware. Rose had to work hard for their win
however, as a determined Hutchison Vale team drew level
from a goal down three times in the match, taking the lead
once albeit very shortly.
Hutchison Vale started the game perhaps the sharper
of the two teams and created chances through Amy Hay
and Georgia Hunter. However, the Linlithgow defence
were alert to the danger a great tackle by Anna Johnstone
followed by a strong block by Zoe Miller kept Vale at bay in
the opening stages of the game.
Kirstie McIntosh showed her ability with a great run on
the right wing. Wrong-footing the Hutchsion Vale defence,
she cut inside but saw her effort on goal cleared by
Shannon Troup; resolute defending from Troup and a sign
of things to come from McIntosh. The first real glimpse of
a goal however came for Linlithgow’s Paige Salter when
her free-kick rattled off the underside of the crossbar. The
Hutchison Vale defence managed to clear the danger but
Rose looked inspired as they began to press for the opener.
McIntosh came close for Linlithgow when she struck a low
and powerful drive at goal. However, much to her dismay
the ball came rebounding back off the post. Another
chance for the number nine was quelled by quick thinking
from the Hutchison Vale keeper Eve MacFadden, as she
rushed out to collect a loose ball on the edge of the area.
MacFadden also did well to stop another well placed freekick from Salter.
Linlithgow continued to push however and were
rewarded for their spell of pressure on twenty-five
minutes when McIntosh opened the scoring. Picking up the
ball on the left wing from a Lucy McEwan pass, she skilfully
dribbled past a Vale defender before turning inside and
hammering the ball past the keeper, giving her team the
lead in the cup final.
The lead was to be short lived however as Hutchison
Vale equalised soon after. Tina O’Hara found herself with
options on the right wing. However instead of delivering
a cross, which she had demonstrated the ability to do
several times in the first half, she opted to have a shot
on goal and rightly so as she thumped the ball over the
50 | YFS Magazine | Issue #1
SIX
FOR
THE
ROSE
head of the Rose keeper and into the roof of the net.
O’Hara’s goal had came at just right time, giving the team a
confidence boost just before the break after a fairly evenly
contested first half. The second half was to provide more in
the way of competitive football with the game swinging in
both sides’ favour before full time. McIntosh was again the
threat for Linlithgow, almost scoring straight from kickoff. Salter, now in goal for Vale, managed to stop the shot
with an outstretched leg however. It was not long before
McIntosh was on the search for another goal though and
soon scored after picking up the ball on the left wing.
Showed inside by the Vale midfield, she took one touch
before firing a shot into the bottom right corner of the net,
restoring Rose’s lead early in the second half.
Finding themselves a goal down for the second time