Whitehill sunk in last minute drama as Gavin’s last minute penalty gives us the points

Posted on Friday, May 18th, 2012

The Seniors beat Whitehill Welfare 5 – 4 tonight in a dramatic encounter.

The pitch was exceptionally wet but Duncan Smith gave it the green light and we started really well. Dean Hoskins fired a free kick into the top corners the 8th minute to give us the lead but five minutes later Scott Gormley had equalised. The game was end to end, we looked great going forward however Whitehill also looked dangerous from set pieces. Just before half time Chris Anderson finished a great individual effort with his left foot to give us the lead again.

We started the second half well and were causing the Welfare defence real problems. The third came when a great Jack Beesley free kick was knocked home from close range by Dean Hoskins. We looked In control but Welfare broke up the pitch and Stephen Manson scored from a wide position from 15 yards. It took us just a minute to restore our lead, an Ali McKinnon through ball was flicked home by Sean Wringe. Chris Milligan and Jack Beesley passed up chances to extend our lead but with seven minutes left Andrew Kidd pulled one back with a great chip from 25 yards.

Whitehill then surged forward and with only two minutes they equalised when it was Manson’s turn to chip, this time from just inside the box. The Whitehill fans celebrated like they had won the Champions League however there was still a dramatic few minutes to go.

Firstly Gareth Thom was red carded after picking up a second yellow, simply for taking a free kick too soon – very soft. We then broke clear and Chris Milligan was caught by a late challenge from Willie Kidd in the box. It looked a stone wall penalty but Welfare were enraged and Dayne Robertson picked up a red card for arguing. He then volleyed two match balls out of the ground as he stomped off the pitch. Gavin Malin was waiting patiently by the penalty spot. Dramatically his first effort was saved by Darren Walker but he followed in and forced the ball home to trigger big Spartans celebrations. Welfare kicked off and the referee blew his final whistle.

Stirling Uni now need to win by two goals against Vale of Leithen on Monday to win the league, pressure on! Whether the Whitehill pitch will recover for our King Cup Final due to be played there on Saturday 26th we will have to wait and see.

The Malt and Hops man of the match went to Dan Hoskins who scored two great goals and defended well with some great tackles.

Team: Jackson, O’Donnell, Hoskins, Seeley, McKinnon, Grant, Malin, Anderson (Milligan 78), McLeod, Finnie (Wringe 64), Beesley Subs not used: Donnelly, Sclater, McTurk