North Region Superleague

MAUD Cowe, Rae, Powell, Arthur, B Davidson, McDonald, McKechnie, Ligertwood, Willox, Jamieson, A Davidson.

Subs Middleton, Walker, Stott, Reid, Whyte,

MAUD COME OUT ON TOP IN LOCAL DERBY

This local derby kicked off and it was the visitors that settled the quickest and for the first 5 minutes they had the best of the game. Good defensive play by Longside denied A Davidson who had managed to cut into the box off a long throw in from Rae. Finally the game came alive in the 16th minute when Willox was fouled inside the box by Black. Penalty said the ref to which McDonald duly converted. It took the pace of A Davidson and what you would deem to be a professional foul to stop Longside on a run up the right. The resultant free kick was crossed in but cleared for a corner by Powell. This was crossed in a total of 3 times all to which Maud dealt with. Poor ball control by McDonald gave the ball away and allowed Longside to break up field but could only fire past the post. McDonald redeemed himself and sent a great ball out to A Davidson who set off on a run up the wing. Sending in the cross it was dealt with by Longside for a corner which came to nothing. Maud were being closed down quickly by Longside not allowing them time on the ball. Cowie of Longside slipped past his marker and cut in goal wards but his snapped shot flew past the post. Both teams created chances in the final minutes off this first half but none really troubled either keeper.

From the restart the play flowed from end to end but again neither team found that killer instinct. Good interlinking play from Longside saw them break through Maud's defence but the final shot was a let down as it was deflected over the bar. In the 57th minute Maud won a corner from the right. Crossed in by McDonald it was cleared as far as Powell who sent it back in courtesy of a overhead scissors kick for Ligertwood to get a final touch and send it into the back of the net to double Maud's lead. A poorly delivered free kick from Maud half way inside the Longsides half was cleared allowing longside to break up the middle forcing Cowe into conceding a corner which was headed over the bar. Maud were caught offside several times as Longside played a high line in defence. Longside won a free kick about 22 yards out. Sending in the shot past the wall it forced a good save from Cowe in goals to maintain Maud's lead. Willox nearly got onto the score sheet when a lovely ball in was chested down and rifled straight into Thompson's arms. A free kick by Maud 25 yards out straight in front of goals was sent in low but Thompson got a hand to it and deflected for a corner to nothing. As the clock ticked down Maud upped the tempo and forced Thompson to make some excellent saves to keep the score line at 2 nil. Maud ran out the winners this time in a fiercely contested local derby with a vast improved performance than last week. Next Sat(15th) Maud are at home in their last game of the season to Sunnybank with a 2.30pm KO.