Saturday 18th March Bucksburn S2 vs Westhill S2 Match Report

Report on Bucksburn Academy Second Year v Westhill Academy Second Year, CNR International League, Saturday 18th March 2023, by Walter Craig

Three Goal Sam Does the Trick for Westhill

Bucksburn Academy Second Year
Toby Catto, Jack Fordyce, Logan Taylor, Tyler Cosgrove, Lewis Mair, Alex McMurray, Samuel Deans, Miller Giles, Thomas Jehano, Clark Whyte and Ethan Reid. Subs Noah Sahar, Ashley Munjoma, Fraser Bruce and Harry Goss.

Westhill Academy Second Year
Max Blackwood, James Scott, Gabriel White, Finlay Mitchell, Abhi Gubbala, Connor Stuart, Calum Bell, Javier Da Camara Piccone, Ireyan Onaivi-Arbilosho, Samuel Dennis and Matthew Rangel. Subs Owen Forbes, and Seif Fahmy Mahmoud.

Referee A. Carroll

A year to the day since they last met at this venue, Bucksburn Academy met Westhill in an eagerly awaited CNR International League Division 1 fixture. It was a fixture neither team would want to lose as both schools were in the age group top three last session when they were in First Year.

The early morning mist had cleared by kick off time, but it had been replaced by continuous rain. Bucksburn forced the first corner after sixty seconds but it came to nothing.

Down to the other end went the visitors led by Samuel Dennis, but his shot could not find the net from the edge of the box.

Connor Stuart had a chance on the Westhill right wing but keeper Toby Catto rushed out of his goal to clear.

The play was end to end but the defences were coping well with the attacks. Good play again from Dennis on the Westhill left on the twenty-minute mark saw the home defence eventually clear his effort.

Bucksburn did not take heed of the warning, and Westhill took the lead in twenty-two minutes albeit in somewhat fortunate circumstances. A clearance from Catto rebounded from a home defender back to Dennis. He took the ball round the keeper and a couple of defenders before slotting it into the empty net.

A second Westhill goal arrived just before the interval. Stuart sent a curling cross from the right which looked like it would go over the head of Catto. The keeper jumped well to prevent the ball falling over the line. The ever alert Dennis was waiting to pounce and did just that before Catto could get his hands back on the ball and tapped the ball home from a yard.

Bucksburn were pressing as the half came to an end and a Lewis Mair close in shot was well turned round the post by the legs of keeper Max Blackwood.

Westhill were just managing to hold out. The game reached the interval with Westhill ahead with goals from unexpected sources if not an unexpected scorer.

The home team, while feeling that the two goal deficit was a trifle unfair on them, have thirty five minutes to retrieve the situation.
Half Time: Bucksburn Academy Second Year 0 - 2 Westhill Academy Second Year

Bucksburn came out for the second half determined to pull a goal back and Clark Whyte tested the keeper in the first thirty seconds.

Immediately Westhill raced upfield and Stuart on the right set up Rangel but the ball went out of play.

The visitors went chasing a third with a long ball over the heads of the home defence but Catto was quickly off his line and the danger was cleared.

Approaching the ten-minute mark a fine run down the right from Miller Giles saw the ball passed inside to Whyte but his shot was just off target.

It was end to end stuff again now, which was a tribute to both sides as the heavy and wet conditions made it very difficult to get the ball down and play.

Westhill’s use of the long ball seemed to be having more of an affect on proceedings and they were able to create a number of chances as the game entered its last quarter.

Bucksburn were fighting hard, though, and Logan Taylor nearly did the trick with a header from a corner.

Try as they might, Bucksburn could not find a score to give them a chance in the match despite coming very close when Whyte shot narrowly wide of the post after good work by Jack Fordyce on the right.

Sam Dennis completed his hat-trick with the last kick of the game. He collected the ball just inside the Bucksburn half and ran past the defence before moving into the box.

The keeper came out quickly and blocked his first attempt but the winger was first to the rebound and was able to dribble past Catto and place the ball into the vacant net.

Congratulations to both teams for their efforts particularly in the second half. Conditions were against good football but the players produced an exciting encounter nevertheless.

It would be fair to say that three goal Sam Dennis was one of the players who seemed to cope best with the challenges provided by the elements.

This CNR International S2 League Division One has already been a topsy turvy one with three of the main contenders, Westhill, Portlethen and Bucksburn going on a sequence of win one game, lose the next. Oldmachar, after their big win today at Portlethen, will also be looking towards the top of the table.

Final Score: Bucksburn Academy Second Year 0 - 3 Westhill Academy Second Year