Happy Hebridean hunting for Linlithgow schoolboy footballers

Mar 24 2011 by Eric MacKinnon, West Lothian Courier

LINLITHGOW ACADEMY’S under 15 side braved a long trek, rough seas and a stubborn Hebridean defence to book their place in the quarter-finals the Scottish Shield.

The West Lothian schoolboys had been handed a tough away trip to Stornoway’s Nicolson Institute on the Isle of Lewis for this fifth round tie.

And their fears of a difficult match were proved correct as neither side managed to find the net in the regulation 90 minutes which forced extra-time.

But the game opened up in extra-time and Linlithgow shattered Hebridean hearts with a devastating display of finishing.

This was epitomised by a stunning hat-trick by player-of-the-match Linlithgow’s Michael Currie.

The West Lothian schoolboys had started the game well but found Nicolson keeper Jack Maclennan an agile last line of defence.

The keeper produced a string of stops to keep the hosts in the hunt.

Connor Adamson almost gave Linlithgow the lead before the break but his header was blocked on the line.

The second-half was a different affair with the side from the isles dominating the early exchanges.

However, the Linlithgow back line held firm and the county side were able to regain a foothold in the match.

They were then handed a golden opportunity to break the deadlock when they were awarded a penalty kick.

Despite sending Maclennan the wrong way, Steven Bryant rattled his effort off the base of the post and the sides remained deadlocked at the end of normal time.

The game moved into extra-time where Linlithgow struck two-goals in quick-fire style, courtesy of some sloppy defending from the Niccy boys.

Both goals were scored by Currie who plundered another before the end with a solo effort to complete his hat-trick.

This excellent win for the academy tees up a quarter-final clash with Holyrood on Wednesday, March 23 which the youngsters are already eagerly looking forward to playing.