Dundee West 2012s Reds v Monifieth Athletic Reds - Scottish Cup 3rd Round
The sun was shining, the pitch was perfect and the boys arrived with a spring in their step. That can only mean one thing, today is Scottish Cup day!
We started on the front foot, creating a few half chances for Callan and forcing the Monifieth keeper into action early on. However Monifieth started to grow into the game with some lovely passing moves and a shot off the post which was eventually cleared. That was a wake up call for our boys who then worked through the gears playing some great football of their own.
The scoring was opened by a great strike from Robert Murray, high above the keeper. Within minutes Robert turned from scored to provider, initially curling a great shot off the bar which Lewis McGregor expertly followed in to nod home the rebound. Then a defence splitting pass put Callan through on goal, having failed to convert some of his early chances, Callan had the confidence and audacity to wait for the keeper to dive at his feet before lifting it above it. A touch of class. As half time was approaching Callan again raced through on the keeper and slotted the ball home with a cool and composed finish.
The second half saw the boys come out flying, scoring 3 goals in almost as many minutes. Cody scored first, showing great composure as the ball was pinging back and forth in the box before Cody placed a shot above the keeper.
As has become tradition in our Scottish Cup games, it was time for another wonder strike! Cody pinched the ball off the midfielders toes and proceeded to run down the right wing. He looked up and realised support was coming but he'd have to hold the ball a bit longer, so he went for the spectacular instead and flashed a great strike beyond the keeper. A quite incredible finish! Robert then scored our 7th with a cool finish low beyond the keeper from the edge of the box.
To their credit, Monifieth again had a period of sustained possession, however Max Abbott & Ruari in the centre of defence protected our goal and limited the opposition to strikes from distance. When long range shots weren't having much luck they tried swinging in some early crosses, however Harry was winning the ball in the air and despite taking a knock, continued with the tenacity and drive we see every week.
Max Taylor had slotted in at right back for a bit to help out, and despite being up against a very good midfielder - who was twice his size - Max battled and won every single challenge. On the other side of defence Joshua had slotted and was equally effective in defence and attack. He made sure nothing got past and when driving out was spraying some lovely passes, creating chances for others.
Our 8th and final goal came from Lewis McGregor with a fine finish across the goal, the Monifieth defence could only help the ball over the line as they tried to clear.
The boys continued to push, a shot off post looked to have been cleared as it crossed the line and whilst the boys started to celebrate, the referee was well positioned to judge the ball hadn't crossed the line. We had a number of chances as the game was coming to an end but some impressive defending from Monifieth kept us out and they continued to pose a threat on the counter.
Full time arrived with smiles all around. A clean sheet, eight goals, four scorers and some very impressive performances all over the park.
Today's MOTM was Joshua Cosgrove
We now eagerly await the draw for the next round and hope to replicate the hunger, desire and quality on display today.
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