ac milanda afc

MILANDA left it late to record the win they deserved from a hard-fought and sometimes ill-tempered match.
Leading 2-0 early in the second half, they allowed Andrew Watt to get back on level terms as the momentum of the game swung in the opposition's favour. However, the players showed good character to turn things around again and take full points thanks to a late goal from skipper Martin Coyle.

A heavy pitch and tricky wind didn't make life easy for either side but Milanda dominated for most of the first half and should have had more than one goal to show for the amount of possession they enjoyed. Ross Early was the player who scored with a low right-foot shot across the keeper after being put through by Coyle in the 10th minute.

Other chances were squandered, notably when Kevin Grehan did well to dribble along the byeline and then shot into the side netting when a cutback might have produced a goal for one of his team-mates. "Are you Martin Johnstone in disguise?" chanted Coyle before being told to button it.

Andrew Watt came close to equalising from a move that began with Dave O'Neill being caught in possession. The ball flew around the Milanda box before a shot crashed off the bar. It was a lucky escape and the players were told at half-time they needed a quick second goal to kill off the opposition.

With the wind behind them in the second period, they pushed hard for it straight away and were rewarded in the 48th minute. Gerry Evans' cross into the box provided shooting chances for Martin Bradburn and Coyle but it was left to substitute Kevin Williamson, a first-half replacement for the injured Marc McColgan, to steer the ball home.

Unfortunately, this wasn't enough to finish the game because Andrew Watt were handed a lifeline in the shape of a penalty on the hour mark after O'Neill had been judged guilty of a foul in the box. It seemed a harsh award but the visitors took full advantage to cut the deficit. Fifteen minutes later Milanda lost concentration and Andrew Watt drew level when their unmarked striker headed home at the back post.

A bit of needle had crept into the game and referee Dan Boyle would have needed eyes in the back of his head to pick up on everything that was going on. But at least Milanda still had 11 men on the park to fight what would be a tense finale, the match official having only booked Jim Binnie and one of the Andrew Watt players for a bust-up over what the Milanda wing-back had seen as a bad challenge.

Andrew Watt's tails were up as they pushed forward looking for a winner but it was Milanda who got it from a quality move seven minutes from time. Grehan's head flick found substitute Mark Russell on the left and he played a perfect ball into the middle of the box where Coyle stretched to knock it past the advancing keeper. Job done - but it turned out to be a lot harder than it might have been.