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Tuesday 29th April 2008
Ellon Utd 3 - 0 Maud
Rainbow International Superleague
Grahams Report
MAUD SEE RED AT THE
MEADOWS
Maud started lively and picking up a loose ball from a wayward Ellon free kick
saw Murray run half a pitch length. Passing over to A Davidson who sent in a
lovely cross into the box but no takers on hand to finish off. Ellon were
awarded the first corner of the game. Crossing in from the right it was well
cleared upfield by Stephen. In the 12th minute, Maud were forced into replacing
Usher who had twisted his ankle with Rae. Almost immediately Rae was called into
action when a launched in ball from an Ellon free kick was sent into the box
area. Scrambled out for a corner it was crossed in and shot straight into the
hands of Kerr. The next few minutes saw Ellon have the best of play as they
forced several corners and free kicks but all to no avail. A short corner by
Maud saw Powell with the opportunity to score but his low drilled in shot was
cleared by the keeper. The next corner by Maud was crossed over to the back post
and only two goal line clearances by Ellon kept the score level. The first of
many weird decisions by the ref came as Murray was booked for dissent only for
Rae to admit to the offence. A long ball upfield was picked up by R Whyte of
Ellon who saw his shot shave past the post. Nil-Nil at half time with both teams
creating chances gave the supporters the opportunity to hopefully see some good
attacking football in the second half.
Again straight from the start saw lively football being played with Battie of
Ellon having the first chance on goal but well held by an alert Kerr. Murray had
a half chance on goal but was denied by a bad bounce causing the ball to hit his
hand and give away a free kick. Ellon finally broke the dead lock when a knocked
on ball from Craigie fell to Ellis who made no mistake from close range in the
55th minute. A further two minutes later saw Ellon double their lead when a
crossed in ball from the corner was not cleared properly. With Kerr on the deck
Chalmers managed to get a toe onto the ball and knock it over the line. Maud ran
into trouble when a well timed sliding challenge by Murray was deemed by the ref
to be dangerous and give him a second yellow and his marching orders. This was
immediately followed by McDonald receiving a straight red for commenting to the
ref about his decision. With Maud down to nine men it was increasingly becoming
harder for them to get back into the game. In the 77th minute Maud replaced
Stephen and Willox with Middleton and Milne to try and freshen things up. With
Maud pushing forward on the half way line, Ellon launched a long ball into
Maud's half to their lone striker. Cries of offside from the defence as Whyte of
Ellon collected the ball at least 5 yards from the nearest defender. But with no
response from the linesman, saw him charge towards goal and calmly shoot past
Kerr for goal number three in the 83rd minute. This was followed by protests
from Maud's dugout which lead to their manager being sent off. A shocking
decision by the ref and the young linesman. Maud battled to the end and good
linking play by Middleton and Whyte who crossed the ball to A Davidson but could
only see his shot go into the side netting. A decent display by Maud not helped
by poor officials but they will surely put the defeat behind them and finish the
season on a high.
ellon