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HARRIS SCORE
SEVEN TO LIFT SCOTTISH U14 SHIELD
Harris 7 St.Ambrose HS (Coatbridge) 2
Harris got off to a dream start when Jon Rosscraig shot from the right
wing outside the box in the 2nd minute - the St.Ambrose keeper misjudged
the shot, it hit his right-hand post and rolled into the net : 1-0. A
minute later Ryan Dow had a shot. In the 4th minute Steven Menzies beat
the offside trap in the centre 20 yards out, drove into the box and fired
home : 2-0. St.Ambrose replied immediately when the dangerous Mark Breen
hit a shot which Matthew Smith could not hold : 2-1. But in the 7th minute
Ryan Dow sprang the offside trap from 40 yards on the right, ran towards
the box with St.Ambrose defenders trying desperately to catch up, and from
10 yards out smashed the ball past the keeper : 3-1. What a start!!
Harris kept piling on the pressure and in the 12th minute Steven Menzies
broke clear from 30 yards, the keeper hesitated and the Harris striker
fired another left-foot shot from 10 yards out : 4-1. St.Ambrose still
posed a threat up front and in the 19th minute Mark Breen hit a hard shot
from just inside the box, which keeper Smith got a hand to, but could not
prevent the goal : 4-2.
After this early goal-fest the rest of the half seemed a little dull in
comparison but just before halftime Breen broke through again but the
Harris defence forced him out to the left - he still managed a shot from
an acute angle which went narrowly past the post.
Halftime score Harris 4 St.Ambrose 2
St.Ambrose started the second half strongly and again Mark Breen had
several attempts in the 37th minute but Matthew Smith made important saves
to prevent St.Ambrose coming back. The game went from end to end till the
57th minute when Steven Menzies set up Ryan Dow with a nice flick - Dow
finished low to the keeper's left : 5-2. Three minutes later a St.Ambrose
cross from the bye-line put keeper Smith in trouble as he collided with
the far post, along with a St.Ambrose forward - the defence managed to
clear and both players recovered after treatment.
In the 63rd minute Steven Menzies completed his hat-trick with a long shot
which bounced through the keeper's hands : 6-2. Harris made sure all their
substitutes got a piece of the action. In the 70th minute Mark Breen hit a
long shot on to the angle of bar and post - substitute keeper Josh
Rosscraig could only watch as it bounced away for a goal-kick. In injury
time two of the subs combined to create arguably the best goal of the
night - Craig Innes picked up the ball on the halfway line and hit a
superb diagonal pass to the right, straight into the path of Warren Hay
who lashed the ball home : 7-2. There was just time to kick off again
before the final whistle blew and Harris were Scottish champions.
Fulltime score Harris 7 St.Ambrose 2
What a great game! A superb performance by the Harris boys, Liam McHugh
was outstanding at the back, the front players were always a threat with
their fast strong running and powerful shooting. The game was played in an
extremely sporting manner by both sides, with hardly any fouls. Once the
players had shaken hands in the middle of the park, it was great to see
the Harris players go up individually to shake hands and have some words
of comfort with Jamie Donnelly, the St.Ambrose goalkeeper, who was still
on his knees in his own penalty area.
Alistair Borthwick, President of the SSFA, presented the medals to the
players and the shield to captain Ian Petrie.
Harris team :
1 Matthew Smith
2 Marc McIntyre
3 Stuart Samson
4 Liam McHugh
5 Dan McCabe
10 Jon Rosscraig
14 Scott McComiskie
8 Ian Petrie
19 Adam Coats
9 Ryan Dow
11 Steven Menzies
7 Warren Hay - replaced Adam Coats (58th minute)
12 Craig Innes - replaced Jon Rosscraig (62nd minute)
17 Sam Kelway - replaced Scott McComiskie (66th minute)
6 Craig McCabe - replaced Ian Petrie (68th minute)
23 Josh Rosscraig - replaced Matthew Smith (69th minute)
Goals
2 - Jon Rosscraig (H) 1-0
4 - Steven Menzies (H) 2-0
5 - Mark Breen (St.A) 2-1
7 - Ryan Dow (H) 3-1
12 - Steven Menzies (H) 4-1
19 - Mark Breen (St.A) 4-2
57 - Ryan Dow (H) 5-2
63 - Steven Menzies (H) 6-2
70+1 - Warren Hay (H) 7-2
Harris played in white shirts, red shorts
St.Ambrose played in red and black stripes, black shorts
Weather - dull and cloudy, the rain stopped just before kick-off
The path to victory :
1st Round : Monifieth 1 Harris 3
2nd Round : Harris 4 Lawside 2
3rd Round : Harris 4 St.John's 0
4th Round : Perth Ac. 0 Harris 10
5th Round : Harris 5 Stranraer Ac. 2
6th Round : Harris 1 Notre Dame HS (Greenock) 1
6th Round Replay : Notre Dame HS 0 Harris 3
Semifinal : Harris 2 Hillhead HS (Glasgow) 1 - played at Renfrew Juniors
Final : Harris 7 St.Ambrose HS (Coatbridge) 2 - played at Tannadice
Harris U14s are now only the third Dundee school team to win a national
trophy - previously Lawside won the U16 Shield in 1968 and Harris won the
Senior Shield in 1976.
A nice moment was when manager Fred McIntosh and George Soutar, manager of
the U18s in 1976, were photographed together with the shield.
(Report courtesy of
Dundee Schools' Football Association)
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