Scone Thistle Blacks 2011’s

Final match report of the season!

Actually 3 match reports as we need a wee catch up.

We played Arbroath a week ago, we came out on top, 4-3 winners. Given the chances we had, we were dissapointed not to score more.

Goals from William, Leo, Harvey, Benjamin
Assists from Jake, Harvey
POTM - William

On Tuesday we headed out to play Dundee Sporting, a game we're we rued our missed chances, the post and crossbar were not on our side. We were dissapointed to walk away losing 3-1 when the lads played so well.

Goal - William
Assist - Harvey
POTM - Eryk, Benjamin, Stephen (yes 3, could have been 6!)

Finally, our last game of the season vs Drybrugh. And this game really summed up our season. Balls not breaking for us, deflections always seemed against us, the frame of the goal being a 12th man. People say luck isn't real, in our case, we never see any of it so maybe they're right! We probably should have been close to scoring double digits today and from a 3-1 lead looking comfortable, we found ourselves losing the game 5-3! Not burying our chances gave our opponents the chance to get back at us. Despite the scoreline, the lads were good today, it's a shame not to finish on a win, but that's football.

Goals - Jake, Harvey, Aaron
Assists - Oliver, William
POTM - Jake

And with that, the games are done! It's been a long season and the lads have kept us entertained throughout. Some great performances, goals and saves to reflect on. Just the presentation night to come before the curtain drops on another season.

Thanks to our sponsors and parents for ensuring the lads had a team and equipment week in week out. I'm sure your all ready for the break too!

The week of comebacks! We've had a busy midweek with a game on Tuesday and a game on Thursday this week.

On Tuesday we were away playing Douglas Youth, a very physical game with both teams leaving everything on the pitch.

We found ourselves behind after 12 minutes, not the start we had hoped for. However 15 minutes later, Eryk had the ball fall into his space outside the box and he slotted the ball away from 20 yards. To make it 1-1. Before the half was out our opponents netted again to make it Douglas 2 Scone 1 at HT

Second half the lads came out with a real purpose about their play, 15 minutes in Harvey netted from a corner 2-2. This was followed shortly after with a Harvey assist for Aaron inside the box. Scone now 3-2 up. Momentum stayed with us and Harvey bagged another 2 goals. Our opponents did find another goal 30 seconds from time and the game ended Douglas 3 - 5 Scone. A great second half comeback.

POTM - Aaron
Goals - Eryk, Harvey & Aaron
Assists - Oliver & Harvey

Thursday night we were away to Jeanfield, when we met earlier this season we played out a 1 - 1 draw.

This game was a real end to end game of football with both teams going for the win. The first half was a great contest, both sides creating chances and but for some great saves and squandered chances it was set to end nil nil. However a penalty was rightly awarded for a foul on the Jeanfield player in the box. They slotted it away and it was 1 nil Jeanfield at HT. A harsh end to the half.

2nd half ran the same course with both teams contributing to a highly competitive game, 15 minutes in we finally got ourselves on the scoresheet. A deserved goal for the efforts so far, William assisting Oliver. 1-1. 15 minutes later Jeanfield got themselves a 2nd to retake the lead. The Scone players never gave up, never looked out of the game and were creating plenty of chances. As the 80th minute drew in it looked like we were going to walk away with nothing for our efforts which would have been harsh. However, as with the first half, there was another goal just minutes from the end of the game, this time Leo assisting Aaron on his first game back. Players, coaches and supporters all celebrated what was a deserved goal to tie the game. FT Jeanfield 2 - 2 Scone. Both teams absolutely deserved something out of the game but either could have taken the win. A great game for the neutral.

POTM - William
Assists - William & Leo
Goals - Oliver & Aaron

Today we headed back to Blairgowrie in the cup. Our meeting 2 weeks ago led to a 4-4 draw.

Unfortunately today we weren't at the races, too far off our men, overplaying at times and the lads were far too respectful. At times not being brave enough to just go and make a tackle. This suited our opponents as we weren't closing them down and allowed them to play through to their strikers all day, as a result we lost 7-1.

At times we did play football from back to front and we did have chances to score possibly 4 or 5 today. However, even if we had finished our chances, there was too much that went wrong on the pitch today to win.

Goal today scored by Aaron

On Sunday we were at home to Arbroath Youth Blues, it's been a long time since the first game of the season!

We started this game at 100mph, 1 nil up within 30 seconds. We didn't let up there, tackling the opposition straight off the resulting centre kick we made it 2 nil within moments. An amazing start from the team, we thought we were in for a storming performance! For the remainder of the half we defended reasonably well, limited our opponents time on the ball and attempts on goal. We offered good spells of attacking play and went in at the break 3 nil up.

HT Scone 3 - 0 AYB

Second half didn't have quite as much pace about it from our point of view. We didn't play badly but we weren't sparkling either. We still created decent chances and scored another 2 goals, but conceded a couple of goals ourselves.

FT Scone 5 - 2 AYB

Overall it wasn't a bad team performance, they went through the motions and got the win. We said to the lads after they were all 6 or 7 out of 10 which led to a decent level performance (which we're all happy with) but we missed a bit of something special from any individuals. Nice to get the win and we go again on Thursday

⚽🔴⚫

This morning we had an early start out in Blairgowrie. I dont remember our last 10am kick off! 😴😴

Unfortunately some of the lads were sleeping after the first whistle as Blairgowrie went straight up the park and scored in the first 30 seconds. Not an ideal start against top of the table. Thankfully the lads woke up pretty sharp after that, stringing quick passes together and moving up the park as a unit. Defensively we were looking good. We hit back twice and were leading 2-1 as the last action of the half was taking place, a Blairgowrie corner. Unfortunately for us we didnt keep the lead as they scored with the last kick of the half. A dissappointing start and end to the half!

Half time 2 - 2

There wasn't much to ask of the lads at half time, they had played really well despite the even scoreline. They went out and gave another really good showing of themselves in the second half, looking more like the team that started the season. Despite the good football we found ourselves 4 - 3 down with 10 to go. The lads heads never dropped and they kept playing their own game, linking up well with each other through the thirds. We did find a 4th of our own and at full time it was honors even, 4 - 4. The least the lads deserved today.

Goals - Harvey, Jake
Assists - Archie, Aaron

POTM - Yet again, Harvey! On form - scoring a hat trick today, a real nuissance for the opposition. Great to see him really enjoying his football at the moment.

On Tuesday evening we were playing away to Blaigowrie. Coming off the back of a disspointing game at the weekend we were hoping the lads would really come into this game fired up. We asked the same of them in terms of keeping the ball and playing from back to front as we firmly believe they are capable of it!

The first half was a difficult watch, loose passes, missed tackles and an invitation for lots of pressure we were getting stuck in the middle third, Sundays game all over again! Thankfully we didnt conceed any goals and we did manage to get up the pitch a few times but didnt really trouble the goalkeeper.

Half time 0 - 0

Second half, the lads came out better. Tightened up the passes, made better runs, supported each other on and off the ball, they had a bit about them again. We broke the deadlock when Jake latched onto a corner, a well timed volley. This was the catalyst for a really strong 2nd half where the lads got better and better as their confidence and belief grew. They pushed for more goals with possession and build up at the heart of their attacks. They got their reward with another 3 goals this half. Harvey scored from inside the box following a strong run from Jake, Harvey then went on to score a really good freekick, Alex followed up a goalkeeper spill and netted our 4th.

A much better 2nd half performance which we hope to carry forward into this weekends game.

Full Time Scone 4 - 0 Blaigowrie

Goals - Jake, Harvey, Alex
Assists - Harvey, Stephen

POTM - In a rich vein of form, Harvey was a real danger. 2 goals and an assist can't be overlooked. A real attacking threat working hard and it shows

POTM - Jake, came on as a substitute today and made a real impact with the first goal. He was working hard in defence and attack supporting his team mates and creating chances through clever runs and a real determination to win his 1v1's

Well done to both

Today we were at home vs Tayport.

Our ask of the lads today was building from the back. Try and keep possession and progress up the pitch. The lads certainly gave it a go moving the ball from defensive to middle third time and again, but never found the right ball to threaten Tayports goal today.

When our opponents midfield and forwards won the ball back, they carried it over large distances to pepper our goal multiple times and could have got into double figures if not for a really strong performance from Evan in goals today.

FT Scone 0 Tayport 6

Whilst we offered very little in attack today there are still positives in how the lads kept and moved the ball from defensive to middle third, playing as a team and stringing passes together.

POTM - Evan. He was an obvious choice today. Without exaggeration, he probably made 20+ saves today and some them were absolutely top drawer. He was out fearless and fast to get out at players feet and made some fantastic saves.

POTM - Stephen. Had his stand out game of the season so far. Covered a lot of ground in midfield, broke down several attacks and linked up well with players around him making some clever passes and combinations. Showing determination and timing in tackles was a big plus today.

No rest for the lads this week, straight into another game on Tuesday night.

Today we headed to Arbroath for the first round of the cup. The weather was gusty and pitch bumpy, difficult conditions for both sides.

We asked the lads to attempt to retain possession today, let the ball do the work. We tried a new formation and experimented with several players in different roles/positions. In the first half the lads moved the ball well on a tricky surface, kept a decent shape and applied themselves to the new formation well. It was nice to see them playing together with confidence, creating several goalscoring opportunities through different avenues and angles. We opted for some early subs to keep everyone warm and rotated and the subs fitted in really well without disrupting the flow of the game. Half time Scone 4 Arbroath 0.

Second half, playing against the wind added an extra challenge and a long ball over the top ended up with us taking down an opponent in the box. Evan saved it well to make it 2 penalty saves in 2 games! Unfortunately the resulting corner was caught by the wind and went straight in the net 🤦 As we got deeper into the second half we continued making regular subs and moving players around positions which hampered the flow of the game for us. We did however score another 3 goals whilst conseeding another 1.

FT Scone 7 - 2 Arbroath Harps

Assists - Simon, Harvey, Conor
Goals - Harvey, Leo, Archie

POTM - Archie, came off the bench to get 4 goals today. Fantastic game for him, showing some real quality on the ball with quick feet and smart finishes. Hopefully he can get an injury free run of games and build on this impressive performance🤞

POTM - Harvey, is really enjoying his football at the moment and had another fantastic performance today, 2 goals and 2 assists. In a rich vein of form you can't help but notice his attacking contributions on the pitch.

Overall a great team performance, very pleased with how all the lads adapted to a new formation and we're through to the 2nd round of the cup! 🔴⚫⚽ 🏆

On Sunday we were back in action on the Park for the first time in several months. We welcomed Luncarty for our second meeting this season.

We started this game really well, defending as a team and hit our opponents on a quick break to open the scoring early doors, a Harvey cross finished by Leo. 1 nil Scone.

The lead only lasted a few minutes as Luncarty capitalised on a rare GK error, a fumble of the ball when it skiffed up off the dirt. 1-1.

The remainder of the half was played well by both sides, each cancelling the other out.

Second half was just as entertaining as the first, both sides playing their part in a really competitive game. Evan pulled off a penalty save to keep the scores level and the goal post kept Leo out at the other end. The game really could have gone either way, a draw would probably have been a fair result. Unfortunately for us, Luncarty managed to find a second goal and we lost this one 2-1.

Honours even this season, a win a piece.

POTM - Harvey, has become a real threat on the ball of late and showed great pace and skill delivering some great balls into the box for the team today.

POTM - Harry, his first touch today was on point, plucking the ball out the sky several times before driving the team forwards. Showed composure and confidence in decision making throughout the game.

Assist - Harvey
Goal - Leo