Kilpatrick Thislte 3 AC Milanda 2 (HT (2-1)

MILANDA got their cup-tie played on Astroturf at the third time of asking and gave the form team of the First Division a run for their money before bowing out of the GDSML Cup.
Despite being 2-0 down early on and 3-1 behind in the second half, a team minus at least four regular starters fought right to the end and might have forced penalty kicks with a little more luck.

A slick-moving Kilpatrick deserved to win because they created more chances over the piece but their players came off at the end knowing they had been in a game and that is all anyone can ask. It looked as if Kilpatrick were going to have the kind of runaway win they have enjoyed against a number of league sides when they raced into a 2-0 lead after just 12 minutes.
Their first goal came after Milanda gave away possession in midfield. The ball was moved quickly down the left and their No.9 scored with an excellent shot that went across keeper Craig Fawns and nestled in the corner of the net.

Their second came from a counter-attack following a Milanda corner and once again the sheer pace of the move and quality of finish was to be admired. To their credit, Milanda didn’t throw in the towel and got back in the game in the 25th minute. A poor kick-out by the Kilpatrick keeper saw Martin Coyle head the ball forward and Mark Reid pounced to lob the ball expertly over the advancing No.1.

Milanda kept pushing forward in the second half in search of an equaliser and Reid was out of luck when his shot was parried by the keeper and there was no team-mate to take advantage of the loose ball.

But Kilpatrick were still a threat and went further ahead when a good ball behind the Milanda defence saw their No.11 shoot past Fawns from close range.
Again Milanda responded and immediately pulled a goal back. This time Reid was the provider with an accurate corner that substitute Scott Preston headed powerfully into the net.

From then until full-time the bulk of the play was in and around the Kilpatrick goal. As frustration affected both sets of players – Kilpatrick because they hadn’t killed the game, Milanda because they couldn’t get back on terms – there were one or two niggly incidents but referee Dan Boyle sorted them out without having to produce any cards. Milanda came close on a couple of occasions to getting the goal that would forced a shoot-out but, sadly, not close enough.

Still, it was an excellent team effort and the players can be proud of their performance against a very good Kilpatrick side.

MOM: After a sluggish start, every Milanda player came on to a game. Shug Dullaghan caught the eye with some timely interventions at the back and looked more like his old self rather than Rino Gattuso on acid. Craig Fawns looked solid at the back and produced an excellent same early on when Kilpatrick were threatening to run riot. Andy Scott, too, did well in his first full game in a while following injury problems. Coyle and Reid up front probably worked as hard as anyone and Reid just edges the man of the match award for his goal and an assist.