Sauchie Juniors…3

Colville Park…4

SAUCHIE came up against Amateur Cup holders Colville Park in a friendly as they continued their preparations for Saturday’s Scottish Junior Cup clash with Renfrew.

The Juniors lost out to their amateur opponents in a thrilling encounter, but manager Fraser Duncan will just be pleased to have been able to give his players some game time after their league fixture at Dundee Violet was postponed.

Duncan also used the opportunity to hand a debut to former Stirling Albion forward Moses Olanrewaju, who featured as a trialist and could be set to sign for the club in the coming weeks.

Colville Park had already endured a training session on Saturday morning but showed no sign of fatigue as they went ahead inside the opening minutes. Darren Miller picked the ball up in acres of space 35 yards from goal, and with no challenge forthcoming, the midfielder tried his luck and was rewarded as the ball sailed into the bottom corner.

The amateur side had come out all guns blazing and they added a second goal moments later. The ball was chipped through and Alex Cleary raced onto it before slotting it confidently past Greig Maitland.

That seemed to spark Sauchie into life, and Darren Cummings’ superb free kick was only kept out by an equally good save from the Colville keeper.

But shortly after that, it was 3-0 to Colville Park, and it was a nightmare moment for Sauchie goalkeeper Maitland. The stopper was fooled by a bouncing free kick and could only fumble it into the path of James Miller, who beat everyone to the rebound and netted confidently.

At the other end, there were strong appeals for a Sauchie penalty following what looked like a handball in the box, before Stephen Higgins lashed a shot wide after good play from Olanrewaju and Josh Flood had played him through.

The striker was having no luck in front of goal and was then denied by another stunning save from Colville Park’s goalkeeper, who was having a fine game.

But there was a glimmer of hope for Sauchie when they pulled one back through Darren Cummings. Olanrewaju was again involved, cutting in from the left before sliding the ball across to Cummings, whose first time finish gave the keeper no chance.

And they were right back in the game minutes later when a training-ground routing worked to perfection. Gary McCulloch shaped to shoot from a free kick but played the ball to Cummings, who got to the byeline and cut back for Jordan Tapping, who couldn’t miss from close range as he brought his side back to within a goal.

But the visitors restored their two-goal advantage just before half time, and it was another poor goal from Sauchie’s point of view. A corner was driven in and beat everyone, and Cleary, who was arriving late at the back post, made no mistake as he claimed his second of the game.

The second half was a much quieter affair, the first incident of note arriving when Tapping was shown a red card for dissent after taking exception to a heavy challenge.

Colville Park almost extended their advantage further midway through the half, but Maitland made amends for his earlier blunder with a fine save, racing off his line to deny the visitors’ centre-forward who was bearing down on goal.

And with only a few minutes left on the clock, Sauchie again reduced the deficit to one goal. Substitute Ryan Millar raced onto a lovely slide-rule pass which took the entire Colville Park defence out of the game, and the forward finished with aplomb to add his side’s third of the game.

However, there was not enough time for the Juniors to find an equaliser, and the referee’s whistle signalled an end to what had been an entertaining game of football, despite strong winds and a difficult surface.

It may not have been the victory he craved, but the game will have given Fraser Duncan plenty to consider ahead of Saturday’s huge cup tie.

Kick off at New Western Park is at 2.15pm.

Sauchie Juniors: Maitland, McCulloch, Syme, Tapping, Fleming, McTaggart, Olanrewaju, Shields, Higgins, Cummings, Flood. Subs: Morrison, Sharp, Millar, McFarlane, Hutchison, Dolan.