22-Aug-2009

Lossiemouth and Clachnacuddin ground out a goalless draw at Grant Park, with little in the way of chances to write home about. Referee Cammy McKay did his best to liven up the afternoon, booking a dozen players and sending off a man from each side in the second half, but neither team could find a goal and the points were shared.

Martin McMullan and Scott Matheson returned to the Lossiemouth starting eleven, while Jordan Main missed out. Clach were missing new signing Duncan Jones through injury, and Blair Lawrie and Scott Kellacher missed out due to work commitments.

Clach came into the game on the back of an 8-1 against Strathspey Thistle and looked eager to get on the goal trail as quickly as possible. Gordon Morrison was first to try for an opener, heading just over from an Alan Pollock free kick.

Lossie had the ball in the net after quarter of an hour, but good work by Shawn Scott was wasted as Sean McIntosh had strayed offside ahead of firing the ball home.

Decent chances were at a premium throughout the half, and Darren McConnachie had a quieter game than usual. The hyperactive keeper was called upon to punch clear from a John MacAskill cross, and on two other occasions needed to leave his line to catch the ball in the area.

As the players struggled to get going, referee Cammy McKay decided to get involved, repeatedly interrupting play and booking seven players in the last fifteen minutes of a half of football that was far from dirty.

Half time – Lossiemouth 0 Clachnacuddin 0

The second half was only five minutes old when the referee interfered once more. Steve MacDonald was red carded for his reaction to a challenge from Shawn Scott, and the home side regained some optimism following the sending off.

Lossie looked to make the most of the numerical advantage, and were inches from the opener not long after the dismissal. Martin McMullan stormed through the midfield before setting up Sean McIntosh for a shot. The youngsters effort was blocked before being cleared off the line amid shouts for handball from the home side.

With ten minutes left, Lossie threw on youngster Dan Smith and the youngster was soon involved, working with Shawn Scott to set up Kevin Flett for a shot at goal from the edge of the penalty area. Neil Hastie was equal to it, palming it to safety and away from Sean McIntosh who was loitering at the back post.

The game was slowly petering out, with the sides running out of ideas and the referee running out of players to book. There was room for one more moment of drama, when Shawn Scott received his second yellow card following an altercation with the Clach defence. Scott took his frustrations out on the enclosure side linesman with a verbal tirade, and was issued further red cards following the games conclusion.

Full time – Lossiemouth 0 Clachnacuddin 0

Teams

Lossiemouth - Darren McConnachie; Steven Sim, John Urquhart, Craig Donaldson, Scott Stuart, Martin McMullan, Tony Ross, Scott Matheson, Shawn Scott, Sean McIntosh, Kevin Flett
Clachnacuddin - Neil Hastie; Struan Woodhouse, Colin Williamson, Steve Macdonald, Michael Finnis, John MacAskill, Neil MacCuish, Stuart Leslie, Gordon Morrison, Alan Pollock, Adam Naismith

Lossiemouth -  Michael Smith (Scott Stuart, 55), Gary McNichol (Scott Matheson, 70), Dan Smith (Tony Ross, 80)
Clachnacuddin -   Kyle MacLean (Adam Naismith, 56)

Lossiemouth - Shawn Scott (88, second yellow card)
Clachnacuddin - Steve Macdonald (50)