Johnstone Burgh cruised into the fourth round of the South Region Challenge Cup after a fine 7-1 win over WoSFL Division Three side Eglinton FC at Keanie Park, Johnstone.
Burgh manager Stevie Farrell made four changes to the starting XI that beat Newton Stewart 3-1 in last Saturday's (3rd October) Scottish Gas Men's Scottish Cup first-round tie at Blairmount Park. Out went Brett Long, Mark Durnan, Ian McShane and Max Kerr, and in came Luke Scullion, Scott Williamson, Lewis King and Aaron Mason.
The first scoring chance came early on for the home side in just the 3rd minute. The ball broke to Mark Barrowman in the box three yards from goal, but his low right-foot shot struck the outside of the right-hand post.
The Burgh had made a good start and had the next chance to open the scoring in the 7th minute of the match when Thomas Orr laid the ball off to Stuart Faulds, but his first-time left-foot shot from 19 yards was saved by Eglinton goalkeeper Ross Lundy.
Eglinton opened the scoring against the run of play in the 12th minute with a well-worked goal. Aidan Ferris played a lovely right-foot pass for Sean Davis to run on to, and Davis showed great composure as his low left-foot shot from 14 yards found the bottom right-hand corner of the net.
The Keanie Park side came close to an equalising goal in the 17th minute as Aaron Mason's cross from the left-hand side found Mark Barrowman, but his first-time right-foot volley from 10 yards went just over the crossbar.
Johnstone Burgh levelled the match in the 20th minute when Broque Watson's pass found Thomas Orr on the edge of the box. Orr then showed brilliant movement as he turned past his defender and fired a right-foot shot from 12 yards into the back of the net.
The Johnstone side kept up the momentum and took the lead in the 27th minute as Aaron Mason superbly controlled Stuart Faulds's long-range pass on the right-hand side. Mason then went on a driving run into the box before putting the ball across the face of goal to find Thomas Orr at the back post. Orr had the simple task of stroking a right-foot shot into the back of the empty net from 2 yards.
The Burgh almost scored their third goal of the match in the 30th minute when Aaron Mason ran through on goal, but his powerful right-foot shot from 10 yards crashed off the crossbar.
The home side were not to be denied for much longer, though, and they scored goal number three in the 33rd minute. Adam Livingstone's left-foot cross from the left-hand side found Thomas Orr, who then made no mistake as he fired a low first-time left-foot shot from 8 yards into the bottom left-hand corner of the net to secure a 13-minute hat-trick.
The Keanie Park side continued to push for more goals and had a chance in the 43rd minute when Kristopher Kerr created an opening for himself 20 yards from goal, but his low left-foot shot was saved by Ross Lundy.
Johnstone Burgh didn't wait long to add to their lead as they went on to score their fourth goal in the 44th minute, with the final attack of the first half. Stuart Faulds's right-foot pass from just inside his own half put Aaron Mason through on goal, and he made no mistake as he fired a right-foot shot high into the centre of the net from 16 yards.
Half-time: 4-1
The Johnstone side created the first chance of the second half in the 50th minute as Kristopher Kerr's left-foot cross from the left-hand side found Broque Watson, but his first-time right-foot volley from 7 yards was brilliantly tipped over the bar by Ross Lundy.
The Burgh scored their fifth goal of the match in the 57th minute when Aaron Mason collected the ball on the halfway line and then went on an incredible solo run to put himself through on goal. He then showed great composure as he poked a low right-foot shot into the left-hand side of the net from 16 yards. Take a bow, Aaron.
The home side had the Jousters pinned back in their own half and almost scored goal number six in the 59th minute when Thomas Orr's cross from the right found Broque Watson at the back post, but his header from 6 yards was well saved by Ross Lundy.
Despite being 5-1 down, Eglinton continued to fight and almost scored their second goal of the match in the 66th minute when Sean Davis's pass found Matthew Porter at the edge of the box. Porter then ran in on goal, but his low right-foot shot from 16 yards went just wide of the right-hand post.
The Keanie Park side came close to a sixth goal a minute later when Broque Watson's pass gave Zak McKay a clear sight of goal, but his right-foot shot from 18 yards went just wide of the right-hand post.
Johnstone Burgh scored their sixth goal of the match in the 73rd minute with a superb team goal. Noah Grady's right-foot pass from just inside his own half released Scott Williamson in acres of space down the right-hand side. He then put the ball across the face of goal to pick out U20 development player Ben Brown, who made no mistake as he stroked the ball into the net with his left foot from 6 yards to score on his debut for the first team.
The Johnstone side never stopped attacking and they almost scored again in the 78th minute as Stuart Faulds's corner kick from the left found Lewis King, but his powerful header from 6 yards was saved by Ross Lundy.
The home side came close to goal number seven in the 81st minute as Max Kerr won the ball on the left-hand side. He ran into the box and, from 14 yards, fired a shot with the inside of his left foot that looked to be heading into the top right-hand corner of the net, but Ross Lundy made an outstanding save.
Johnstone Burgh made it “The Magnificent Seven” in the 89th minute of the match when Max Kerr showed some brilliant skill on the left-hand side before he passed the ball to Noah Grady, who hit a low first-time right-foot shot from 8 yards which was saved by Ross Lundy. The ball then fell to Zak McKay, who rolled it into the back of the net with his right foot from 6 yards to score his first goal for the club.
The referee blew the full-time whistle to confirm Johnstone Burgh's place in the fourth-round draw.
Full-time: 7-1
Johnstone Burgh FC goals: Orr 20, 27, 33; Mason 44, 57; Brown 73; McKay 89.
Eglinton FC goals: Davis 12.
Man of the match: TBC
Johnstone Burgh FC: Scullion, Williamson, Livingstone, Barrowman (Durnan 58), King, Esplin (C) (Grady 64), Mason, Watson (Brown 71), Orr (McKay 64), Faulds, K. Kerr (M. Kerr 64). Unused subs: Long (GK).
Eglinton FC: Lundy (C), Buchanan (Hamilton 73), Kulinich, Cochrane (Duffy 81), Grier, Duncan, L. Davis, McGinn, S. Davis, Jumba (Porter 46), Ferris (McElroy 81).
Unused subs: Johnstone (GK).
A huge thank you to the supporters of both Johnstone Burgh and Eglinton FC who attended today's match at Keanie Park. We would also like to wish our visitors, Eglinton FC, all the best for the rest of the season.
Next up for Johnstone Burgh is a trip to Raydale Park to face Gretna 2008 FC in the Scottish Lowland League West on Saturday 17th October. Kick-off is at 3pm.
#MonTheBurgh
By John Armour
