West Calder youngsters prove deadly

Jan 15 2009 by Eric MacKinnon, West Lothian Courier

WEST Calder cut the ribbon on their all-new home last weekend to take on the future stars of Rangers.

The South Division team rolled out the blue carpet for Rangers Under-19s on Sunday as the young Gers’ visit officially opened Hermand Park.

More than 200 hardy souls braved the awful weather to enjoy the sight of a local player becoming a bit of a hero by netting against the Light Blues.

Steven ‘Ting’ Johnstone grabbed a little compensatory glory on a day in which the Ibrox youngsters were in superb form to see off the county Junior side 6-1.

Archie Campbell was star man for the Glasgow visitors with a superb hat-trick, while Gregg Wylde, Stephen Stirling and Kyle McAusland were also on target.

But the game wasn’t as one-sided as the final score suggests as the West Lothian club compared well to the cream of the Murray Park crop.

Youth team boss Tommy Wilson left out wonderkid John Fleck and hotly tipped Jamie Ness, with the former training with the full squad and the latter carrying a knock, but the Gers did not appear to miss the pair and enjoyed a perfect start to the game, opening the scoring after just 10 minutes.

There seemed to be little danger when Campbell picked up the ball wide on the right, but he cut inside and curled a perfect shot into the top corner from 25 yards with his left foot.

It was all action and no football in the opening stages with the blustery wind and driving rain causing havoc on the field.

West Calder’s first chance came from a free-kick after McLeod had been chopped down by Chris Scott but Andy Seaton blasted wide.

Rangers doubled their advantage on the half-hour mark when left-back Wylde carried the ball infield before passing the ball into the bottom corner.

The hosts should have halved the deficit nine minutes before the break in a move that had the West Calder crowd on their feet.

A fizzing cross was flicked goalwards by McLeod but blocked by Grant Adam in the Gers goal. The ball bobbled back into the six-yard box and sat up for Scott Mitchell, but the midfielder hesitated and his shot was charged down.

It was a missed chance they were left to rue as Rangers added a third after 38 minutes with another goal from the top drawer.

This time it was Stephen Stirling who was on target as he picked up a loose ball, took two strides and unleashed an unstoppable effort into the top corner.

Two minutes later it was four when Campbell grabbed his second with a shot on the turn from the edge of the box which was parried into the top corner by keeper Watson.

The second half saw West Calder play with the wind instead of against it and they almost scored within a minute of the restart.

Stuart McLeod whipped in a corner that was met by the completely unmarked Scott McLellan but he headed harmlessly over the bar.

It was a good start for the Junior side who began to ask questions of the Glasgow youths but they handed the initiative back to them on 61 minutes when they conceded a penalty.

There was no disputing the decision and Campbell fired it straight down the middle to complete his hat-trick.

At the other end life-long Rangers fan Steven ‘Ting’ Johnstone was played clean through on goal.

It was the first time the Gers defence had been caught napping and left Ting with just the keeper to beat but he shot straight at Adam.

West Calder conceded a sixth after 72 minutes when Kyle Hutton hit the byline and picked out McAusland unmarked in the middle of the six-yard box.

But a minute later the ball was in the back of the Rangers net as Hermand Park’s new stand was graced on its opening day with an eruption of cheers.

It was typical of the many ironies in football that Ting would score against the club he has always supported and in flicking the ball past Adam with the outside of his foot from eight yards he made amends for his earlier miss.

Ting celebrated as though his strike was a cup-final clincher, which seemed to delight boss Ritchie Hastings who smiled from the bench.

West Calder would have had another goal before the end but for the acrobatics of Adam as he clawed away a goalbound drive from Stuart McLeod.

Should Ibrox chairman Sir David Murray decide to sell the clubs crown jewels from among their playing squad this month then the fans shouldn’t worry too much.

The Ibrox club demonstrated that they have a handful of ready-made replacements waiting in the wings as Murray Park begins to bear fruit.

West Calder: Wayne Greig, Gary Watson, Scott McLellan, Andy Seaton, John Gerrard, Keith Paton, Douglas Black, Daniel Wolfe, David Reid, David Paris, Brian Quinn, Craig Boddell, Scott Mitchell, Bryan, Russell Browning, Chris Dunsmore, Martin Murphy, Stuart McLeod, Gary Hamilton, Steven Johnstone.

Rangers U-19s: Grant Adam, Chris Scott, Danny Wilson, Kyle Hutton, Gregg Wylde, Craig McShea, Stephen Forbes, Stephen Stirling, Kal Naismith, Archie Campbell, Isa Bagci. Subs: Arturs Vaiculis, Rhys McCabe, Kyle McAusland.