Burgh welcomed Edinburgh College to East Shore Park for their first League game following three consecutive Cup games.
It was a slow start for the hosts, capitalised upon by Edinburgh as they took the lead in the 6th minute when a long ball to the wing was met by the unmarked Alexander who ran on to get his shot away before being closed down and beat Jack Foster to give them the lead.
In the 12th minute a corner from the right was played short to El Yamani who slid a through ball past the sleepy Burgh defence to Dempster who turned and rifled home from 10 yards out to double Edinburgh’s lead.
Bad went to worse in the 25th minute with a double-whammy as Dempster’s free kick curled round the wall and beat Foster’s dive to make it 3-0. In the keeper’s dive, it appeared Foster had injured his ankle or Achilles. After some treatment, Foster attempted to continue was succumbed to his injury and hobbled off the field on 32 minutes to be replaced by Joe Russell between the sticks.
In the 35th minute Burgh were thrown a life-line when a long throw from the left was flicked across the Edinburgh College area by a defender to be met by Mitchell Sharp who ran on to fire low into the corner off the post with a smart finish.
As has been the case in many games this season, it takes the side to go behind before Burgh come to life. This was another of those moments as Newburgh sought to match their opponents – and they did – for the rest of the game.
The visitors were still posing a threat, though, and a header from a corner in the 37th minute hit the bar. Whilst at the other end, another long throw from the left posed danger and Cameron flicked on. The clearance fell to Ronan Hall who played forward to the returning Cameron, who played through Sharp whose shot ricocheted off two defenders and was cleared.
As the second half progressed, Burgh were coping with anything ‘College’ had to offer. Harris Mitchell went close with a free kick in the 63rd minute, while moments later the wind was playing havoc and Burgh won possession with Jake Stewart who played forward to Sharp who played a one-two with Owen McNally to run on but he couldn’t find the target with his effort.
Edinburgh were being restricted to long range efforts and a shot from Murray was well saved by Russell who was putting in a commanding performance in goal. On 75 minutes another Murray shot was deflected by Snedden and looped upwards but Russell was more than equal to it.
Newburgh were unable to get themselves back into the game, but it was a much better 65-70 minutes after a costly opening 25 minutes that did gave the hosts a mountain to climb. If that performance could have been extended across the full game, it would have been a much different outcome.
Injuries continue to hamper an already thread-bare squad, losing Foster and Kellar Harris to injury is a concern, as was the injury time second yellow card for skipper Andrew Cameron. Hopefully the injuries aren’t serious enough to miss too much action and the players who missed Saturday are able to return to fitness soon.
Man of the Match: Lewis Stevenson.
