28/08/2026
Scone Thistle 2010s was back on the road on Wednesday evening, taking on 1st Division side Kinross Colts. The challenge ahead was clear from the outset. Kinross had already dismantled Bridge of Earn 9-2, while Scone had edged past the same opposition 4-3 thanks to Finlay's dramatic injury-time winner. This was always going to be one of the toughest tests of the season, and matters were made even more difficult when coach Shiels turned up to find 2 players had pulled out leaving him with no subs! With just eleven players, legs that would inevitably tire, and a strong opponent standing in their way, the boys knew they would need a huge effort if they were to come away with a positive result, or at the very least keep the scoreline respectable.
The game kicked off and it was Scone who started on the front foot, taking control of possession and dictating the tempo. Rather than forcing the play, they showed patience and composure on the ball, frustrating a Kinross side that had clearly expected Scone to press forward recklessly and leave gaps to exploit. Instead, Kinross spent much of the opening ten minutes chasing shadows as Scone moved the ball confidently around the pitch.
Then came the breakthrough 10 minutes into the game.
From a corner perfectly floated towards the back post, Finlay appeared as if he had just teleported in from Platform 9¾, after spending the afternoon with Harry Potter and arriving completely unnoticed by the Kinross defence. Rising highest, he powered a header towards goal. The goalkeeper did brilliantly to get down low and divert the effort away from the net, but the save only fell as far as Daniel on the edge of the 6-yard box, who reacted quickest and rifled the loose ball into the roof of the net. 1-0 Scone and thoroughly deserved.
Kinross' intentions were clear from the outset. Every time they won possession, their lone striker was perched on the shoulder of the last defender, looking like he was about to line up for the 100m final against Usain Bolt. So far, though, his timing was about as reliable as Scottish summer weather. Offside. Then offside again. And again. And just for good measure, one more time.
But football has a funny way of rewarding persistence. As I've said countless times before, if you keep making the same run, eventually one of two things will happen: the referee will get one wrong, or you'll time it to perfection. It's the law of averages in action, and Kinross' striker knew it. He only needed to be right once, while Scone's defence had to get it right every single time.
Twenty-five minutes in, and Scone were still controlling proceedings, albeit Kinross were beginning to increase the tempo and press for an equaliser with a little more conviction. Their confidence was growing, but Scone's back line continued to stand firm. Every attack was met with a tackle, a block, or a clearance, and there appeared to be no route through.
Then came a moment that nearly doubled Scone's advantage.
A move that started deep in defence eventually found Daniel in the middle of his own half. Taking the ball past one challenger, then a second, he looked up and delivered a perfectly weighted pass straight down the middle, over the Kinross back line. Finlay had anticipated it from deep inside his own half and was already in full stride. He burst past one defender, then another, then a third. If he had been a foot taller, wearing sky blue and sporting long blonde hair, you would have been forgiven for thinking Erling Haaland had taken a wrong turn on the way to Manchester.
The ball bounced invitingly some 25 yards from goal, six yards ahead of his path. Without breaking stride, Finlay surged into the penalty area with only the goalkeeper to beat. The keeper stood his ground on the six-yard line, trying to make himself as big as possible. Unfazed, Finlay unleashed an absolute rocket that bent beautifully around the goalkeeper and looked destined for the back of the net.
Then came the noise again. That vibrating hum, that’s now emulating from cross bars all over Fife
The ball cannoned off the crossbar with enough force to wake half of Kinross and rebounded back into play. It was a monumental let off for the home side and a cruel reminder that, sometimes, even when you've beaten the defenders, the keeper, and basic laws of physics, the crossbar still gets a vote.
Was it the thunderous rattle of the crossbar and the sudden realisation that Scone hadn't turned up simply to hand over three points, 11 men or not, that kicked Kinross into another gear? Or had Scone perhaps started to believe their own hype a little too early?
Either way, the momentum began to shift. A loose pass out from the back was quickly intercepted by the Kinross holding midfielder, who wasted no time in sliding a perfectly weighted through ball into the path of the same striker who had spent most of the first half perfecting his offside timing. This time, however, he got it spot on. One touch took him clear of the back line and, with his second, he fired a low shot towards goal. Angus did brilliantly, getting down sharply to make the save, but the rebound spilled dangerously into the six-yard box with the goal gaping. Just when it looked certain Kinross would draw level, centre-back Quinton appeared from nowhere to hook the ball clear off the line, preserving Scone's lead and earning a few grateful nods from his teammates in the process.
Then it happened.
With 40 minutes on the clock, the same striker who had spent most of the first half living in an offside position had suddenly discovered the secret. Whether someone on the Kinross bench had finally explained the rule to him or he'd simply worked it out for himself, his timing was now impeccable. A perfectly weighted through ball split Scone's two centre-backs, who perhaps could have done with tucking in a little narrower given this striker had been threatening that run all afternoon. This time there was no flag to rescue them. Two touches were all it took. The first carried him clear of the defence. The second was guided calmly into the bottom-left corner beyond Angus' reach. After all of Scone's hard work, Kinross were back on level terms. 1-1.
We headed into halftime on a level playing field.
Fifteen minutes into the second half, Scone were left to rue a sloppy pass from left-back that was played three yards in front of centre-back Quinton, forcing him to stretch just to reach it. Managing to poke the ball beyond the onrushing Kinross midfielder, Quinton looked set to recover possession, but the challenge that followed missed the ball entirely and left the Kinross player directly in his path. There was certainly an argument for a foul, with Quinton effectively impeded from continuing his run and reclaiming possession. The referee, however, saw nothing wrong with it and waved play on. With Quinton unable to get to the loose ball, Kinross seized the opportunity in midfield and suddenly found themselves with acres of space opening ahead of them. A quick 1-2 and the Kinross attacker done well squeezing his shot between 2 defenders and into the back of the net. 2-1 Kinross.
With 25 minutes remaining, the confidence that had carried Scone through much of the match was beginning to evaporate. Tired legs were starting to show, the forwards had run themselves into the ground, and suddenly there was no outlet for either the midfield or defence. Every clearance and hopeful ball forward seemed to come straight back with interest.
As the pressure mounted, another defensive lapse proved costly. With both the left-back and left centre-back pushing high up the park, Scone found themselves badly exposed when possession was surrendered in the middle of the pitch. In an instant, Quinton and a stretched right-back were left trying to cover the entire defensive line on their own. Recognising the danger, Quinton had little choice but to step across and engage the ball carrier, desperately trying to slow the attack and force Kinross wide. It was a losing battle. The ball was worked cleverly across the box to an unmarked teammate, leaving what felt like an empty goal waiting to be found. The finish was little more than a formality. A simple tap-in gave Kinross their third of the afternoon and completed a ruthless turnaround. What had once looked like a promising afternoon for Scone was now slipping away from them at 3-1.
It only went downhill from there and, barely five minutes later, Kinross were threatening again. As Scone struggled to regain any sort of foothold in the game, Kinross worked the ball out to their left winger, who took one look up and decided there was no need to get any closer. From just outside the 18-yard box, he unleashed a strike of real quality, bending the ball beyond Angus and into the far corner. There was little anyone in a Scone shirt could do about it. It was one of those goals that, despite the disappointment, you can only admire. The kind that leaves players shaking their heads, muttering "fair play" under their breath as they trudge back towards the centre circle. A brilliant finish from the Kinross winger and, just like that, the game had drifted even further away from Scone. 4-1 Kinross.
With 10 minute remaining Kinross put the final nail in the coffin. A corner delivered into the box was met thunderously on the head and drilled into the net. Completely unmarked, looking like having just teleported from the samr train platform as Finlay earlier and still wearing his slithering hat. 5-1 Kinross.
As the final whistle blew, there was certainly disappointment in the Scone camp, but perhaps an even greater sense of relief. Facing a side of Kinross' quality is a daunting task at the best of times, but to do so with no substitutes available was nothing short of remarkable.
Had Scone even been able to call upon a single substitute, it would have been a welcome opportunity to rotate players, offer tired legs a brief respite, and inject some fresh energy into the game. Whether that would have changed the result is debatable. Kinross were excellent on the day and likely still worthy winners. However, it may have produced a scoreline that more accurately reflected the contest.
Despite the result, there can be no criticism of the effort and commitment shown by every player in a Scone shirt. From the first whistle, they took the game to Kinross, refused to be intimidated by higher-division opposition, and made life far more difficult than the final score suggests.
Ultimately, a handful of defensive lapses were punished ruthlessly and helped inflate the scoreline, but those moments should not overshadow an otherwise spirited performance. The players can hold their heads high, knowing they gave everything they had and represented the club with pride, determination and no shortage of heart.
Next week, Scone have unfortunately had to forfeit the last cup game in the league. With an already small squad and a few players picking up little niggles on Wednesday night it left us short of a starting 11 so a rare free week in the fixture calendar, providing a welcome opportunity to rest some weary legs, recover from a physically demanding encounter, and get back to work on the training ground next week. The focus will now switch to the Regional Cup, where they face a side that needs no introduction: our old friends and favourite rivals, Kelty Hearts.
Motm - team effort
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