TRANENT COLTS edged a thrilling under-14 Paladin Cup final, with two extra-time goals all that could set them apart from a courageous Currie side.
With the teams locked at 3-3 after 70 minutes of normal time, Tranent, on "home turf" at the Juniors ground at Forester's Park, struck twice in the second period of extra time to deflate their buoyant opponents.
The Tranent forward Connor Fairgrei
ve is hewn from a similar mould to that of a younger Wayne Rooney – prematurely adult, but slimmer in his physique and therefore powerful in possession of the ball. A trademark run on four minutes, bypassing two defenders en route to the bye-line, ended with Fairgreive cutting the ball back to Steven Reid, but he lacked composure and blazed over from less than ten yards out.
At the other end, Scott Henderson proved a thorn in the side of the Tranent defence all evening, the diminutive striker offering tireless chasing and constant menace throughout.
His deft flick on to Ewan Cooper caught the opposition defence cold, and Cooper ran in on goal only to see his shot deflected wide by Tranent goalkeeper Danyal Walthew.
Henderson picked up on a loose ball in the penalty area midway through the first half, but his shot smacked the inside of the right-hand post before agonisingly shooting right across the line as Tranent cleared to safety.
In the tight opening stages, both sides, though impressive up front, lacked a predatory instinct and the first period looked to be petering out to a goalless stalemate.
Cue Henderson, stage right, who cut in from the side of the penalty area shortly before the interval and flicked the ball inside to the unmarked Ryan Montgomery, who finished neatly with a strike into Walthew's right-hand corner.
Tranent emerged from the break determined to match a Currie side that had enjoyed the lion's share of first-half possession, but whose profligacy in front of goal was to prove costly.
On 38 minutes, Jen Pullar, Tranent's tricky left winger, found himself with space to set himself inside the box and coolly plant the ball into the bottom left-hand corner, 1-1. A long kick from goalkeeper Walthew further punished Currie and meant Tranent assumed the lead on 47 minutes. The ball eventually found its way to Fairgreive and he slotted the ball under keeper Christopher Beattie.
In a see-saw next 15 minutes, the balance of the game swung no fewer than three times.
Firstly, on 48 minutes, Scott Duffy nipped in to reach Lewis Cockburn's cross and wrong foot Walthew to equalise for Currie.
Then, on the hour-mark, Ryan Brown shot goalward and the ball fell to Fairgreive, who dispatched it into the net for Tranent to regain the lead.
Two minutes later at the other end, Pullar failed to connect properly with the ball as he tried to clear. Henderson was quick to capitalise, taking the ball forward before lobbing Walthew and squaring the game at 3-3.
Walthew was a hero for Tranent shortly before the full-time whistle, ensuring his side would have a chance of winning in extra time with a superb tackle on Henderson outside the box.
With the Currie defence at sea on 81 minutes, during the second period of extra time, Craig Purves found Ryan Stevenson in the box and he tucked the ball under Beattie to send the partisan home crowd into raptures. Victory was made certain when Fairgreive nodded a right-wing cross into the top corner to set the score at 5-3.
Michael Casey, part of the Tranent coaching team, paid tribute to Currie, saying: "
Currie did very well and they pegged us back a lot of the time.
"It was sheer guts and determination that saw us through. And, of course, some cracking goals. I thought when Ryan Stevenson came on in the second-half he made a big difference to the way we played.
"It's our first trophy of the season, and it's great for the boys after being beaten in the league decider against Dalkeith on Sunday."
Tranent Colts: Danyal Walthew, Ryan Montgomery, Christopher Easby, Connor Fairgreive, Steven Reid, Jamie Wright, Stefan Casey, Jed Pullar, Colin Kilday, Craig Purves, Liam Dryburgh, Ryan Brown, Marc Johnston, Lee Barclay, Ryan Stevenson, Jamie Kinross.
Currie: Christopher Beattie, Christopher Nairn, Alex Wardle, Ewan Cooper, Lewis Cockburn, Adrian Clark, Scott Duffy, Shaun Miller, Ryan Finn, Scott Downie, Scott Henderson, Nathan Leicester, Aaron Yule, Cem Usyal, Eric Williamson.
The full article contains 757 words and appears in Edinburgh Evening News newspaper.
