LINLITHGOW ROSE v MONTROSE ROSELEA

SCOTTISH JUNIOR CUP 3^rd

ROUND REPLAYSAT NOV 29^th 2014 

Roselea travelled to Prestonfield Park to face Junior giants Linlithgow Rose in a Scottish Junior Cup replay following on from the 2-2 draw at Broomfield Park last week. Roselea would have taken heart from that game considering they had chances to win it however were under no illusions of the task ahead of them having ruffled the feathers of the “Gallant” 

Roselea travelled with almost a full squad with only Liam .Bailey injured however on the work front Paul Taylor dropped out  and Andrew Tringham returned. Prestonfield Park was looking immaculate for the match and decent crowd of around 600 gathered to watch take two of the tie which would go straight to penalties at the end of 90 minutes. Roselea took a healthy support down in two buses and various cars. 

Roselea: Mcleod, Findlater, Whyte, Reoch, R Taylor, Rae, Anderson, Collier, Cruickshank, Reid & Watson: Subs: McDowell, Smith, Thomson, Mitchell & Tringham

Rose were first on the attack with Roselea on the back foot and Coyne played the ball back to full back Tyrell who shot wide from 30 yards. In the 4^th minute Linlithgow hit the bar when Smith headed from a corner a minute later. 

Roselea were looking to keep matters tight however disaster struck in the 6^th minute when WHYTE scored a very unlucky own goal. Smith had cut inside and hit a low shot which Mcleod pushed out to his inrushing defender to agonisingly roll the ball into the net. 

Reid was brought down just outside the Linlithgow box and Collier sent in a dangerous ball which Christie had to beat out with a punched clearance. There was a further blow for Roselea in nine minutes when Jo Reoch pulled up with a hamstring injury and had to be replaced by Aaron Thomson. 

Roselea started to come into things after the early goal and when Watson did well to win a corner and then got his head to the near post ball but Christie again punched the ball clear. In 13 minutes Collier won a header and Dale Reid’s snapshot was blocked. Roselea had a great chance in 17 minutes when Cruickshank crossed to find Rae at the far post, he in turn slid the ball back to Anderson who’s shot was blocked and the ball fell to Reid who had his shot from 8 yards  brilliantly saved by Chrsitie to keep the Rose in the lead. 

Just as Roselea were getting back into things Linlithgow doubled their advantage in 19 minutes. Maclennan picked up a lose ball in midfield before sliding the ball to COYNE and he shot home from 16 yards out to ease the tension for the home side. 

In 24 minutes Watson got past his man at the byeline and squared across the box but O’Byrne was well positioned to clear for a corner. 

There was a controversial moment on the half hour mark when Watson and Ovenstone collided just before the ball came to Watson and saw the defender fall to the ground. The Linlithgow players were claiming an elbow was used however neither referee or linesmen saw the incident. Watson broke away and his near post shot was turned behind for a corner. Ovenstone recovered and continued playing. Both sides had a couple of more sorties into each others boxes but the score remained at 2-0 as half time arrived. 

Half Time: Linlithgow Rose 2 Montrose Roselea 0

It was soon to be 3-0 to the home side as Roselea conceded within 5 minutes of the restart. A short corner was sent to Nelson at the edge of the box and when McLeod beat the ball out it fell to the unmarked OVENTSONE who slotted home from 6 yards. 

COYNE added a second when his header eventually crossed the line to put the tie beyond Roselea. 

Roselea replaced the injured Ryan Taylor with Ross Mitchell in 66 minutes. Mitchell was soon in action as he sent over a cross come shot which almost caught out Christie who managed to tip the ball past with the referee awarding a goal kick. 

Coyne should have scored when he blasted over in 71 minutes then at the other end Christie saved from Watson as it looked more and more like it just wasn’t the visitors day. 

McDowell replaced Collier in 73 minutes. 

There were two late well constructed goals from MaCLENNAN  in 85 and STRICKLAND in the 88^th minute to make the scoreline slighty flatter the home side. 

Final Score: Linlithgow Rose 6 Montrose Roselea 0

The scoreline did not give Roselea any credit for their performance however there was no denying that the home side deserved to win the tie. Had Roselea scored during their best spell on the match in the 15 minutes after the first goal then it would have been a completely different game. The players can hold their heads up however and have competed with one of the best in the Junior game. They will hopefully take that into their upcoming Premier League matches. 

Roselea return to Premier League action on Saturday 6^th December with a home game against Edinburgh Utd who currently sit at the top of the table. The match at Broomfield Park kicks off at 1.45pm