GFR 2
EDUSPORT ACADEMY 1
FERRARI PACKAGING LOWLAND LEAGUE
Gala Fairydean Rovers left it late to prise victory from the clutches of Edusport Academy at Netherdale in a game the home side dominated despite an early setback. The first action of the game came after five minutes with Edusport wingback Maxime Oulaitoh taking the ball from keeper Ilies Belkacem on the edge of his box and running the full length of the pitch, evading multiple tackles on his way before swinging a great low cross right into the feet of the onrushing Louis Babel who finished with clinical precision, leaving Gala keeper Muir stranded.
Craig Heugh found some space on thirteen minutes and unleashed a wonderful arrowed drive towards the top corner but Belkacem dived acrobatically to his right to make an exquisite stop. The next big chance took its time in arriving with Ross Aitchison’s header just wide on thirty-six minutes the last notable action of the first half. The home side forced the first save of the second half after sixty-seven minutes with Belkacem just scrambling to tip a Rhys Craigie pile-driver wide from twenty five yards. Steven Noble’s men must have been thinking they had finally notched an equaliser on seventy-five minutes when Stuart Noble’s header beat the keeper but an Edu defender managed to get in the way of the ball on the line. Just when it seemed Gala would be consigned to a second home defeat on the bounce, talisman Stuart Noble again popped up with a crucial goal, beating the excellent Belkacem from six yards with ninety minutes on the clock. Some teams may have been satisfied with a single point in a game such as this but to their credit GFR continued to pile forward and it paid off deep into stoppage time, with full back Scott Main’s fizzing shot being spilled back into the danger area right to the feet of Noble who couldn’t miss just two yards out and grabbed his fourth goal in two games. GFR: Muir, Miller, Ainslie (Stephen 75’), Aitchison (c), Main, Heugh, Smith, Gullan (Rose 89’), Noble, Craigie, Watson.