Derek Hall’s report Easthouses Lily v Edinburgh United

Report 9th July

Easthouses Lily 3-6 Edinburgh United
A first visit to Easthouses this season with their visitors not having too far to come from their Paties Road base and both teams set about serving up one of the most open and chance laden games I’ve seen in a while. The first opening arrived on six minutes as a long ball almost found S Scott on the edge of the home penalty area but Dunsmore was quickly off his line to clear and immediately at the other end, Elliot fed Russell who turned his man nicely before firing over from about 24 yards. After eight minutes, a lovely Utd move was started by Swanson who passed to Lamond and he then picked out S Scott whose first time pass saw McKinley go in on the angle but from 14 yards, his low drive was brilliantly blocked low to his right by keeper Dunsmore. However on ten minutes the visitors went ahead from the spot after Swanson again released Lamond down the left flank and his cutback looked to be a tap in for McKinley but Kearney clipped his heels and referee Mark Harris won’t have a more straightforward penalty kick award all season, K Scott then stepping up to bury the ball in the keepers bottom right corner. Two minutes later, K Scott then had another shot deflected behind and then the same player had another drive go over the top of the postage stamp corner after latching on to a defensive clearance. It was still mostly Utd in charge and S Scott went into the box on the angle and managed to sit keeper Dunsmore down before cutting the ball back to Lamond but his goal bound effort was brilliantly blocked by a last ditch tackle from Smith. Easthouses then got themselves forward and McQueenie played a nice one two with Janczyk before getting to the bye line where his cutback was blocked behind by Dowie, and the resultant set piece again fell to McQueenie whose shot was once again blocked. After 22 minutes, Elliot found Sives with a nice pass and his 22 yard drive saw Smith in the visitors goal diving low to his right to make the save before Utd then broke upfield and the lightning pace of S Scott saw him in on Dunsmore who stood up and stayed big to beat the shot away. Then a nice cross in from Brockie saw Black’s header just drift wide of the Lily goal before S Scott then played in K Scott and Dunsmore again rescued the home side using his foot to block what looked a certain goal. However after 27 minutes, the home side manufactured a lovely equaliser as Smith found Knight on the edge of the box and he laid the ball back into the path of Smith who didn’t break stride as he stroked home a lovely 22 yard drive right in at the base of keeper Smith’s left hand post. Utd’s response was immediate as K Scott found S Scott and his chipped effort from the edge of the box went just over before an errant back header from Black missed keeper Smith but rolled wide for a corner to Lily which Janczyk placed onto the head of Hunter but it was too high to trouble Smith. With 32 minutes gone, the visitors restored their lead as S Smith dug the ball out from under his feet before curling a lovely 20 yard drive round his defender just inside the keepers left hand post and just seconds later the keeper was in action again, blocking and then holding at the second attempt from Lamond. On 36 minutes, Easthouses fashioned a very decent chance as Elliot was onto a loose ball and rounded keeper Smith but he was driven wide and his angled recovery shot allowed Smith back to make the save which fell for Knight but his follow up was blocked. At the other end, a Swanson effort was turned behind and when the same player swung the corner to the back post, Clarke looped round the back unmarked to head the visitors third from an acute angle. However Lily showed their character by going straight upfield from the restart and as the Utd defence backed off, Russell kept moving forward before stroking home from 20 yards past a possibly unsighted keeper who moved late and couldn’t get near the ball, 2-3, what next ? The answer was almost a Lily equaliser as L Smith picked out Elliot and his shot brought out a good save from Utd keeper A Smith before the sixth goal of the half arrived in the 40th minute as Swanson set up S Scott, his shot bringing out yet another outstanding save from Dunsmore but first to react was Clarke who tapped in for his second of the night. A minute before the break and perhaps the defining moment in an incredible first half as a long ball from Brockie escaped the Lily defence allowing S Scott to race in on Dunsmore and the striker made no mistake from the edge of the box. A Hunter header for Lily into the arms of Utd keeper Smith brought an astonishing half of football to a close and in amongst many thoughts as we all tried to catch our breath was how unfortunate Lily keeper Dunsmore was to have conceded five goals after having produced a string of simply outstanding saves.
After a quick lie down in a darkened room, the second half began as the first ended, with Hunter this time heading over Smith’s crossbar before one of a number of half time substitutes, Robertson, also went close for the home side. However on 51 minutes, Robertson had better luck and he certainly didn’t hang about as he gleefully smashed the ball home past Smith from around 14 yards to once again cut the deficit and the score was now 3-5. S Scott was still a thorn in the side of the Lily defence and it was from one of his blocked efforts which saw Bolochoweckyj fire in first time from all of 28 yards which Dunsmore got right behind to make the save, before the same player then beat the Lily offside trap and tried to flick the ball past keeper Dunsmore but once again a fine one handed block kept his goal intact on this occasion. However almost on the hour, Utd’s three goal advantage was restored with Swanson firing a magnificent cross field diagonal pass to S Scott who got to the goal line before squaring to Bolochoweckyj who took one touch and then lashed the ball high into the top corner from around eight yards past a keeper who once again had absolutely no chance with a tremendous finish. The scorer then almost turned provider as he cut back from the goal line and home defender McQueenie performed a minor miracle in somehow turning the ball over the crossbar whilst facing his own goals about five yards out with Scott right behind him waiting for the tap in. On 66 minutes, Robertson played Elliot in and keeper Smith did well to make the block low to his right before at the other end, Utd’s Clarke saw his hat trick denied as Dunsmore tipped his 25 yard drive over the bar. On 76 minutes, McBeth of Lily found himself in referee Mark Harris’s book after what could only be described as a somewhat meaty midfield challenge. On 82 minutes, Smith found Robertson and there were muted claims for handball from a few Lily locals but the referee was unmoved. Four minutes from time the home side came so close to claiming the tenth goal of an amazing game as Elliot pulled the trigger inside the box and the ball smashed off the underside of the crossbar with keeper Smith beaten and as Knight tried to get to the rebound, the Utd defence somehow scrambled the ball behind, with the final chance of the match then also falling to Knight but he could only find the side netting. Great entertainment for the fans who were in attendance, not exactly defences on top which probably won’t please either manager, but on the creative side, it was hard to fault either team with chances all over the shop, particularly in a fairly bonkers first period which barely gave anyone time to draw breath.