Vale of Clyde FC Scottish Junior Football Club

pre season cup final

vale of clyde v shettleston

Pre-Season 2 Day Tournament fixture : Final

Weekend Venue : Greenfield Park, Shettleston, Glasgow

Date : Sunday 26th July

Kick-off : 3.30pm

Match Report : Full Time

View full sized Shettleston Juniors Football Club - Scotland

View full sized Vale of Clyde Juniors FC. Red away colours.

Vale of Clyde 5 - 1 Shettleston

Mackin (2)

Halliday (pen)

Anderson (2)

Nichol

View full sized Player Manager John Crooks & coach Danny Charters pictured with to-days silverware. Well done boys.

John Crooks & Danny Charters

Shettleston Cup Winners 2009

SCOOP'S CUP FINAL REPORT

Mon July 27th, 2009

VALE won their first trophy under new management with a 5 - 1 victory against Town in Shettleston's two-day Invitation Trophy final at Greenfield Park on Sunday afternoon.

The pair had emerged from two semi-finals on Saturday - Vale opening with a 2 - 0 victory against Kilwinning Rangers, thanks to early goals from Scott Hadden and Alan Jack, while the Greenfield Parkers edged out Cumbernauld United 2 - 1.

More images from to-days Final

Tin Pail rang the changes yet again for the final. Trialists Scott McLean, Jim Scott and Ryan Connelly found starting places in a 4-4-2 formation.

First chance of the game fell to the home side, and Matthew Halcrow should have opening the scoring inside sixty seconds. The big No 11 went through a gap in Vale's central defence, but lobbed the ball wide of the post with only Scott Wilson to beat. Who knows how the game would have panned out if the ball had finished inside the post!

Aldo Mackin replied with a shot which thundered back off the bar with Gary Keenan beaten to the world,but the first goal was only delayed. In 20 minutes the visitors went ahead with a slick passing move up the left-hand side,and when the ball was whipped over, Mackin dived to bullet a header past his one-time team mate.

Vale made it 2-0 after 38 minutes. Derek Anderson was fouled inside the area, and Craig Halliday,who immediately grabbed hold of the ball, indicated he was taking the resultant spot kick. Up stepped the ex-Gantry cup winner, shimmied on his approach to the ball and then rifled a left-foot shot past Keenan.

Within a minute, Town had pulled one back thanks to an early Christmas present from the defence. Scott Wilson and Joe McAlpine were tagged joint favourites for the Father Christmas role as they contrived to serve up a "howler" which Derek Nichol(No 9) took full advantage of as he shot first time into an empty net from around 23 yards.

View full sized Who would be a goalkeeper as Town's Keenan is beaten for a third time.

Derek Anderson beats Town goalkeeper Keenan

to make it 3 - 1.

Shettleston were still celebrating that gift when Vale went up the park and scored their third goal. Derek Anderson, from the left-hand side, cut-back a precise pass for Aldo Mackin to drill a first time shot through Keenan's legs.

You had to feel sorry for the Shettleston 'keeper. He had no defensive cover in front of him, and it went from bad to worse a minute later. Anderson's shot took a wicked deflection off a defender as he went to cover the effort,and the ball went in the opposite direction before hitting the net.

The one-time Vale signing was fishing the ball out of the net again as another two minutes elapsed - making it a remarkable five goals in five minutes.

Lee Morrison turned his marker and shot across goal. Derek Anderson diverted the ball wide of Keenan for his own second and Vale's fifth of the game.

View full sized Shettleston FC Challenge Cup Winners 2009. Vale of Clyde Football Club

The Tollcross club made four changes at half-time, and Shettleston also shuffled their line-up, but in truth the second half was an anti-climax. Not that player-manager John Crooks was complaining afterwards as he looked forward to the start of the new season on the back of silverware.

He told the website. "Yes, we are pleased with that. We hope to announce more signings this week, but now the real action starts.

"Everyone has worked hard. We've had nine training sessions and at first there were a few looking at us because of the amount of running, but it has to be done.

"Staying local (Tollcross Park) during the midweek sessions has also helped. It has everything we needed. Hills, good flat surfaces for passing and ballwork, plus big areas for leg work."

Crooksy also had words of warning for any indiscipline this season. He added: "We wont tolerate it. We are going to monitor talking back to referees or players who want to argue back with their team-mates- it's just not on."

John also confirmed my earlier posting that the dressing room doors were locked at Merkland last Thursday after a 3-1 win over Harestanes. The issue of discpline was spelt out in no uncertain terms!