League Play-Off

Banchory
Spectators: 35 (Terracing: 27, Seating: 8, VIP seats: 0) Dark clouds were building up when the players entered the field. None of the them looked very eager to play. Nicol Pinkerton started the match with the kick off. 4 minutes into the match, Canonbie's goal looked a bit too open when Nicol Pinkerton came free, but Davie Carson reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. Nigel Aitken charged in rather forcefully in the 4th minute of the match, and managed to knock his opponent down. The referee showed Nigel Aitken the yellow card, and asked the players to shake hands before continuing play. In the 5th minute, Nigel Aitken hit a crossing free kick to the open man running down the field. Nicol Pinkerton received a nice pass, split the defenders, and ran untouched towards the goal. Davie Carson came out and tried to block the shot, but Nicol Pinkerton slotted it home off the left post making it 1-0 in the 7th minute. 11 minutes into the match, Canonbie's goalkeeper Davie Carson had to clear away a ball on his right side after a cunning shot by Robert McNair. Banchory's Euan Caddell played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Wal Dyce in the 18th minute of play. Edmond Torry kicked well hit freekick during the 19th minute of the match. In the 20th minute of the match Gary McPatrick sent off a long shot with destination to the right of the goalkeeper, but Euan Caddell skillfully saved the ball. In the 23rd minute, Wal Dyce ran past the defenders and hit a shot which went straight ahead into goal. Euan Caddell was frozen by the shot and now it was 1-1. Davie Carson made a fantastic save in the 30th minute, when Robert McNair sent off a good shot on target. In the 31st minute, Canonbie's goalie took a deep sigh of relief after Robert McNair fired away a hard shot that went just outside the left post. In the 32ndth minute of the game Nicol Pinkerton who was perfectly placed tried to make a shot on goal, but Canonbie's Davie Carson was lucky and managed to grab hold of the ball. Calum McRaith hit a great freekick 37 minutes into the match. The audience was convinced that Wal Dyce's extremely hard shot when he got free in front of the goal was going in, but Euan Caddell was relentless in the 41st minute of the game. With a little luck, Canonbie's Davie Carson got control of the ball when Robert McNair tried to sneak it across the goal line. If Gary McCrae had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 47th minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. The first half was very even, with the score at 1-1 when the whistle went for half-time. The players welcomed the break and quickly retired to the dressing rooms.

When the second half was about to start, both teams quickly lined up and Wal Dyce made a kick off. Nigel Aitken could have scored with his fast shot on goal in the 52nd minute of the match, but Euan Caddell made a huge save. If Nicol Pinkerton had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 62nd minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. 64 minutes into the match, Canonbie's goal looked a bit too open when Nicol Pinkerton came free, but Davie Carson reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. Wal Dyce sent away a hard shot on goal in the 67th minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. After 69 played minutes Banchory got a freekick which was hit by Edmond Torry. Euan Caddell stood for a superb save when he managed to get hold of Wal Dyce's shot from short distance in the 70th minute. If Nicol Pinkerton had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 72nd minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. In the 76th minute Wal Dyce shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Euan Caddell saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. Canonbie's Davie Carson played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Robert McNair in the 78th minute of play. After some careless play in the Canonbie defense, Nicol Pinkerton kicked a shot that curved into the net to the right of Davie Carson. The Canonbie fans voiced their displeasure as they felt that Davie Carson should have stopped the shot. Robert McNair's shot was meant for the net just under the crossbar, but Davie Carson read the situation well and was quickly in position to make a wonderful save in the 86th minute of play. In the 87th minute, Robert McNair left the goalkeeper for dead before tapping the ball into the right side of the net. The Banchory fans were clearly happy with the effort and the scoreboard reflected the new score: 3-1. Gary McCrae could have scored with his fast shot on goal in the 90th minute of the match, but Euan Caddell made a huge save. Euan Caddell made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Wal Dyce in the 94th minute of play. Gary McCrae fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 95th minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Euan Caddell having to interfere.