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Overnight sub-zero temperatures and a hard morning frost put
paid to this East of Scotland Premier Division clash at Muirhouse,
along with most other East of Scotland games. Only three fixtures
- King Cup First Round clashes at Eyemouth and on the 3G pitches
at Spartans and Gala - went ahead.
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It was another late show from Vale in this East of Scotland
Premier Division match, although this time they went one better.
A late penalty from Jordan Hall had gained a point at Tynecastle
the previous week, but on this occasion strikes from Scott
Devlin and Jamie Paterson in the final three minutes of normal
time made sure of maximum points. With Ryan McKenzie suspended
after his red card the previous Saturday, there was a defensive
reshuffle, with new signing Steven Robertson coming in for
his first start at the centre of defence, Paterson moving
across to right back and Jamie Lauder, who had played the
last few games in the centre of midfield, filling in at left
back. The gap left by Lauder in the middle was plugged by
Scott Devlin, while Stephen Sproule once again deputised on
the right side of midfield for Andy Martin, who was unavailable
due to work commitments. The game was ten minutes late in
kicking off after the referee expressed concerns over the
clash of Vale's navy socks with Lothian's black ones. Hence
there was a delay as Vale unearthed some red socks to avoid
problems. No sooner had the game kicked off than Vale's game
plan suffered a blow - just seconds into the action, Jordan
Hall went in for a challenge and picked up an injury in the
process. After some treatment it was obvious that Hall couldn't
continue, so Chris Beaton joined the action a bit earlier
than he would have anticipated in what was a straight swap
position-wise. Both teams demonstrated that they had brought
their shooting boots with them as a long-range drive from
Lothian's Alan McDonaugh hit the outside of the post, while
Vale's John Fergsuon sent in a drive that was beaten away
by keeper Kevin Swain and fell just wide of Scott Moffat following
up. Vale appeared to be carrying slightly more of an attacking
threat though and Ferguson shot over after a nice turn to
lose his marker, before they had the ball in the net when
Paul Greenhill threaded a ball through for Moffat to find
the target, but a late flag for offside ruled the strike out.
Lothian were not out of it by any means and a Joe Murray free
kick was well held by Vale keeper Chris Hill after it bounced
awkwardly in front of him before Lothian made one count in
the 34th minute. A corner was only partially cleared and a
ball chipped back into the penalty area caught the Vale defence
on the turn and fell to Murray, whose powerful strike was
blocked by Hill but rolled into the path of McDonaugh following
up, who stroked the ball into the net to send Lothian ahead.
The start of the second half saw Moffat find the net again,
only for another offside decision to go against him. Sproule
set Ferguson racing off down the right, but his cross was
met in the middle by Paterson, who scooped the ball over the
bar. At the other end, Murray did well to get a cross in despite
the attentions of Greenhill and found Kevin Lee in the middle,
but his effort was met by a good save from Hill. The rebound
fell to Lloyd Dignan, but he sent his shot over the bar. A
good run by Vale's Moffat ended with him feeding the ball
out wide to Lauder and his cross was headed over by Steve
Radzynski. The end-to-end action continued as Lothian substitute
Craig Stewart sent in a dangerous cross, but Hill came of
his line well to snatch the ball from the feet of Murray.
Lee then hit a great shot that was swerving into the postage
stamp before Hill leapt acrobatically to turn it behind. It
was starting to look like Vale's efforts might be in vain,
but the Innerleithen side have never failed to score at least
once in a competitive match this season and in the 87th minute
they found an equaliser as Ferguson hammered a cross towards
the back post and Devlin was there to volley home. The clock
was showing exactly 90 minutes when they grabbed the winner.
A Lauder free kick was floated into a crowded penalty area
and fell for Paterson. You have to say that Swain did extremely
well even to get a hand to Paterson's drive towards the bottom
corner but such was the ferocity of the shot, he could only
divert it into the roof of the net. It was Paterson's first
goal for the club and it left Lothian, having come so close
to getting something from the match, utterly deflated.
Vale of Leithen: Chris Hill; Jamie Paterson, Jamie Lauder,
Steven Robertson, Paul Lee, Paul Greenhill, Stephen Sproule
(Steve Radzynski 63), Scott Devlin, Scott Moffat, John Ferguson,
Jordan Hall (Chris Beaton 3).
Lothian Thistle Hutchison Vale: Kevin Swain; Scott Wallace,
Kevin Lee, Conor McDiarmid, Paul Crawford, Richie Wilkes,
Lloyd Dignan (Craig Fell 76), Fraser Lynes, Joe Murray, Alan
McDonaugh (Craig Stewart 68), Craig Stevenson (Connelly 84).
Referee: Alan Mulvanny. Assistant Refrees: Frank Campbell
& Steven Queen.
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A Jordan Hall penalty three minutes into injury time rescued
a point for Vale at Fernieside in this incident-packed East
of Scotland Premier Division clash to ensure that it wasn't
a losing start for new Vale boss Jamie Burrell. In truth,
both teams would have been disappointed with only a point,
as Tynecastle must have thought they had done enough for a
win after being reduced to nine men. For Vale, a failure to
capitalise on spells of intense pressure in either half, particularly
when they spent the final 38 minutes of play with a numerical
advantage was hard to bear. But this was one of those games
where it was impossible to predict what would happen next.
The order of the six goals saw Vale in front twice and Tynecastle
pegging them back each time before edging ahead with 12 minutes
remaining. Add an own goal, a goalkeeping error, two penalties
and three red cards into the mix and you had a game that may
not have been a classic in terms of the football played, but
it was certainly never dull. Vale showed one change from the
team that lost to Spartans the previous week, with Andy Martin
available again and replacing Stephen Sproule on the right
of midfield. The Fernieside pitch was a bit bumpy in places
but otherwise conditions were perfect with no wind and the
temperature relatively mild for a January afternoon. Vale
made a good start to the game, with John Ferguson chipping
a chance just over before Scott Moffat tested Tynie keeper
Steven Vannet with a low shot. In the 17th minute Vale went
ahead, when a Jamie Lauder corner was flicked on by Moffat
and Ferguson was there to glance a header inside the far post.
It didn't look like it was going to be the only goal of the
game either as Vale continued to put pressure on the home
side's goal, forcing a series of corners which were causing
Tynecastle no end of problems. A superb 20 yard rocket by
Ferguson was met by a tremendous save from Vannet, the goalkeeper
showing a strong wrist to tip the ball over. Moffat was brought
down by Darren Aird at the edge of the area and as Lauder
took a free kick that flew over, Eddie Mearns was booked for
encroachment. The retake saw Lauder this time put it wide
of the post. Another free kick by Lauder was punched away
by Vannet, falling to the inrushing Martin, but the Tynecastle
keeper did well to block Martin's powerful follow-up strike.
Tynecastle hadn't been seen as much of an attacking force,
so when they grabbed an equaliser in the 33rd minute, it could
certainly be described as against the run of play. A free
kick from wide on the right was hit low and hard across the
goalmouth by Robbie Arthur in the hope that some sort of contact
might bring a goal, and he was correct as the unfortunate
Lauder stuck out a foot and could only watch in horror as
the ball flew into his own net to make the scores level at
the break. Vale started the second half in much the same fashion
as the first, with Ferguson cutting inside from the left to
curl a shot onto the post with Vannet beaten. Tynecastle replied
with a Kevin Brown shot that drifted wide. However, the second
half was only seven minutes old when Tynecastle's Ewan MacIntosh
received a straight red card following an off-the-ball incident
with Moffat. Vale retook the lead seven minutes later when
Vannet rose unchallenged to collect a Lauder corner and unfortunately
fumbled the ball to allow Ferguson to nod home his second
of the afternoon from a couple of yards out. Tynecastle's
challenge appeared to be on the brink of collapse, but they
equalised just two minutes later as the Vale defence were
slow to react to a break of the ball that allowed Arthur to
take possession inside the box. Arthur took advantage of the
space afforded to him by spinning to hit a superb shot across
keeper Chris Hill and into the far corner of the net. At the
other end, Vale's Ryan McKenzie ran onto a Hall lay-off to
crack a shot on target, but Vannet again did well to divert
the effort behind. The resulting corner was floated into the
goalmouth by Martin and appeared to be sneaking in, but Aird
was handily placed on the line to head clear. The clearance
fell to Lauder, but his attempt on goal flew narrowly over.
With the clock showing 70 minutes, Mearns brought McKenzie
down just outside the area and earned his second booking from
referee Wes Boulstridge to leave Tynecastle with only nine
men on the pitch. At this point Vale were obvious favourites
to go on and win, but Tynecastle upset the odds by showing
great determination to get back into the game and put themselves
in front for the first time in the 78th minute. A Daniel MacAleavy
cross from the right fell invitingly for Aird, but as he stretched
to reach the ball McKenzie clattered into the back of him
and the result was a red card for the Vale defender and a
penalty for the home side, which was easily converted by Arthur.
Tynecastle's only thought now was to protect their lead and
a superbly organised defence seemed to have done its job until
the 93rd minute when Kevin Morrison sent Ferguson crashing
to the deck as he worked his way into the penalty area and
Mr Boulstridge again indicated a penalty. Hall was entrusted
with the spot kick and sent it high into the net to bring
the teams level for the third time and ensure a share of the
points.
Tynecastle: Steven Vannet; Ewan MacIntosh, Daniel MacAleavy,
Kevin Morrison, Jamie Speed, John Williams, Eddie Mearns,
Charles MacAleavy, Kevin Brown (Jordan Caddow 52), Darren
Aird, Robbie Arthur (Ousman See 89).
Vale of Leithen: Chris Hill; Chris Beaton, Ryan McKenzie,
Jamie Paterson, Paul Lee, Paul Greenhill, Andy Martin, Jamie
Lauder (Scott Devlin 70), Scott Moffat (Steve Radzynski 79),
John Ferguson, Jordan Hall.
Referee: Wes Boulstridge.
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Manager Robbie Horn has left Victoria Park after being appointed
assistant manager at SFL Third Division side Berwick Rangers.
The move sees Robbie return to the club he spent six years
at as a player before joining Vale in the summer of 2010.
Initially arriving at Victoria Park as player/coach, within
a month at the club he found himself manager following the
exit of Stewart Churchill and took charge of the side for
the first time on 24th of August 2010 when Vale were defeated
2-0 by Spartans in Edinburgh. Ironically, Robbie's final game
in charge last Saturday was also at Ainslie Park. In total,
Robbie oversaw 50 competitive games as manager, with the team
winning 24 of those games, drawing 10 and losing 16. Earlier
this season, the team embarked on a memorable 11-game winning
run which included Scottish Cup victories over Girvan and
Cove Rangers. The approach from Berwick was described by Horn
as, "an offer I couln't turn down," and he now becomes
assistant to Ian Little at Shielfield. While disappointed
to lose Robbie, everyone at the Vale is delighted at the chance
this has given him to step up a level and continue his managerial
development and it goes without saying that everyone wishes
Robbie all the best in his new role. The club have moved quickly
to appoint Robbie's former assistant Jamie Burrell as manager,
where he will be assisted by coach Colin Affleck. Having now
spent over a year at Vale and with previous managerial experience
at Bonnyrigg Rose U-21s and East of Scotland club Craigroyston,
Jamie was considered the only candidate to take over and we
are delighted that he has accepted the job.
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Vale kicked off 2012 with a defeat in this East of Scotland
Premier Division clash at Ainslie Park that was largely attributable
to a disappointing first half performance which saw the home
side all but secure the the three points inside the first
45 minutes. Although it was a much-improved display by the
Innerleithen side after the break, the league leaders never
really looked in danger of giving up their advantage. Vale
were without Mark Wilson, Ricky Miller and Andy Martin, while
midfielder Liam McKenna had returned to Newtongrange Star
following the end of his loan spell. John Ferguson was preferred
upfront to Steve Radzynski, who joined Scott Devlin on the
bench and Stephen Sproule was pushed forward to a place on
the right side of midfield, with Chris Beaton coming back
into the starting line-up at right back. Spartans were not
at full-strength themselves, with Donal Henretty out and Gavin
Malin and Jack Beesley only fit enough for the bench, although
they handed a first start to former Alloa Athletic midfielder
John Grant. Spartans pushed forward from the first whistle
and took an early lead when Omar Kader chipped a cross from
the left onto the head of Robbie Manson, who glanced a header
into the far corner. Although taking nothing away from the
execution of the goal, from a Vale point of view the lack
of a challenge on the Spartans captain when the cross came
in made Manson's task easy. Manson was off target shortly
afterward, when a defensive mistake let Spartans' Keith McLeod
in. His ball into the middle was allowed to run by Kader into
Manson's path, but his attempt flew well wide. Chris Anderson
then crossed for McLeod to rattle the crossbar with a volley.
The difference between the teams was amply illustrated when
they weren't in possession. The home side defended from the
front, every player hunting the ball down and pushing Vale
back to defend deeper than they wanted to, while Vale were
content to stand off Spartans until the ball made it into
their own half. In the 36th minute, Spartans extended their
lead when Ali MacKinnon headed a Dean Hoskins corner into
the net. MacKinnon had to contend with slightly more attention
than Manson had received at the first goal, but it was still
a disappointing goal to concede from a set-piece. Vale at
last started to get forward a bit and make Chris Flockhart
work, with the keeper coming out well to claim a free kick
floated into the area by Jamie Lauder. Another Lauder free
kick was only half cleared and fell to Vale captain Paul Lee
at the edge of the area, who hit a fizzing volley on target
which was met by a tremendous save by the Spartans number
one, diving smartly to his left to tip the ball behind. But
with five minutes of the first half remaining, Spartans took
a three goal lead when an Anderson shot took a wicked deflection
to wrong-foot keeper Chris Hill, who could do nothing to prevent
the ball from crossing the line. In the sides' Qualifying
League meeting on the opening day of the season at Victoria
Park, Vale had clawed bacl a two-goal Spartans lead for a
draw, but a second half recovery from three goals down on
Spartans' own patch looked unlikely. Even so, Vale showed
a much better appetite for the game in the second period,
with Paul Geenhill sending a ball into the Spartans area for
Scott Moffat to run on to, but as the striker tried to work
out space for a shot he was crowded out. Vale did pull a goal
back on 57 minutes when Moffat was hauled down just outside
the area by Kevin Sivewright and Lauder stepped up to superbly
curl the resulting free kick over the wall and in off the
bar. Unfortunately Lauder had to leave the action due to injury
shortly after, with Scott Devlin taking his place. Vale also
withdrew Sproule and threw on Radzynski in an effort to find
a second goal which would have caused Spartans a bit of concern.
Jordan Hall set up Radzynski for a run on goal, but the substitute
snatched at the shot and it flew over. Ferguson then went
closer with an angled drive that cleared the crossbar by a
matter of inches, but ultimately there was no way through
for Vale.
Spartans: Chris Flockhart; Danny O'Donnell, Dean Hoskins,
Kevin Sivewright, Ali MacKinnon, John Grant, Omar Kader, Robbie
Manson, Kerr Dodds (Jack Beesley 53), Keith McLeod, Chris
Anderson.
Vale of Leithen: Chris Hill; Chris Beaton, Ryan McKenzie,
Jamie Paterson, Paul Lee, Paul Greenhill (Steven Robertson
89), Stephen Sproule (Steven Radzynski 70), Jamie Lauder (Scott
Devlin 67), Scott Moffat, John Ferguson, Jordan Hall.
Referee: Michael McGill. Assistant Referees: Darrel Lamb &
Gavin Kennedy.
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