Hazlehead take Bank of Scotland shield

Elphinstone gets winner

Published:

CHAMPIONS: The victorious Hazlehead celebrate with the Bank of Scotland shield at Stenhousemuir.

Hazlehead Academy won the Bank of Scotland Shield by beating Auchinleck Academy 1-0 in the final.

In a titanic tussle at Ochilview in Stenhousemuir, Hazlehead came through a nerve-shredding 70 minutes of enthralling action to defeat a strong team from Auchinleck Academy.

A solitary strike from Cameron Elphinstone saw the name of Hazlehead go on the Bank of Scotland Shield for the first time, but only after a frantic finale.

Try as they might, Hazlehead could not add the second goal that would have finished this game as a contest.

Ryan Cameron missed a late penalty having been brave enough to pick himself up off the artificial turf and take on the responsibility of trying to score from 12 yards out under intense pressure.

The tall forward won the spot-kick by smartly drawing Auchinleck’s Caughie into a foul, only to see his low effort well saved by keeper Clark.

Auchinleck took inspiration from their goalkeeper’s display and threw all they had at Hazlehead in the closing stages.

But a watertight defence, with captain Gregor Milne and the excellent Connor Adam at its heart, held firm to earn a deserved victory.

The groundwork for Hazlehead’s success was done in the first half, when they built on a positive yet composed start by breaking the deadlock in 21 minutes.

Nicol Christie showed pace, determination and skill to surge towards the Auchinleck bye-line.

The tricky winger kept his composure when it mattered most and from his cut-back, ELPHINSTONE took a touch before scoring the goal every boy dreams of – the winner in the cup final.

Almost immediately Elphinstone came agonisingly close with a header, while strike partners Kai Ross and Cameron both had drives from distance saved by an assured Clark.

Auchinleck improved following the interval, although Christie almost pounced to score in an amazing goalmouth scramble after his initial close-range effort had been blocked by Clark.

At the opposite end of the park, Hazlehead keeper Camran Knowles was perfectly placed to preserve his side’s lead by gathering testing shots from Mark Shankland and Scott Baird.

With five minutes remaining, panic arose in the Hazlehead rearguard and Knowles had to again thwart the lively Baird.

But the gallant team from the Granite City survived those scares and finished on the front foot.

The unlucky Cameron was thwarted three times by Clark, including from the penalty spot and although Auchinleck’s McCubbin fired over in injury-time, Hazlehead emerged as top of the class at under-13 level in Scotland.