Lochore Welfare 1 Hill of Beath Hawthorn 4 - 14/03/2015

While I was paying to get into this match and buying a ticket for the half-time raffle, a guy and two girls were quibbling about the entrance fee (a fiver each) and almost decided not to bother going to the game. They begrudgingly paid and I heard one of the girls exclaim 'that's ridiculous!'. Conclusion: they don't know they're born in Lochore.

The game started off at a hundred miles an hour. The tackles were flying in. On one occasion a Hill of Beath player about to control a pass on the wing received the shout of 'time!' from a team mate, only to be clattered before he'd even touched the ball.

In the first half Lochore looked the better side and you wouldn't have guessed there were two divisions between the teams. After some early pressure they took the lead from a header at the back post. The response to the goal was somewhat muted, which made me think the majority of the fans in the ground were Hill of Beath followers.

It was almost 2-0 when the 'Lochore Messi' (no idea which player it was, sorry) nutmegged the Hill of Beath right-back and skipped past a couple of challenges in the penalty area, before losing his composure and blazing wide.

Lochore had another chance to extend their lead a few minutes later - although this time it was self-inflicted from Hill of Beath. Under pressure, a defender played a pass back to the keeper (I'm sure I heard the goalie shout 'fuck off, I don't want it') and from my vantage point I could see the old advice about always aiming a pass back off target had been disregarded. The ball bobbled just as the keeper went to howf it, skiffed his boot, and ended up millimetres wide of the post.

Against the run of play Hill of Beath equalised. A defence splitting pass lead to a one-on-one sprint between defender and attacker, and it was clear to see the Hill of Beath forward was too quick for the Lochore defender.. The keeper also realised this and opted to come sprinting off his line, Manuel Neuer-style, but unfortunately for him the attacker got there first and slotted the ball into an empty net. The response to this goal was also quite muted, which made me think the majority of the fans in the ground were neutral.

This local derby had some added spice due to veteran Hill of Beath midfielder Kevin Fotheringham previously being player-manager of Lochore. I heard an old dear tell some fellow fans how she'd exchanged views with Fotheringham on the sidelines and he'd called her an idiot. According to her version of events she replied 'I'm nae mair of an idiot than you' which was as good a response as any, I thought.

Two early goals in the second half for Hill of Beath killed off the game. Both of the goals came on the break, and I'm pretty sure the Hill of Beath number 11 was involved both times. Lochore rarely threatened again, although they did come close when a free kick from the edge of the box was palmed wide by the keeper.

Fotheringham then rounded off the victory with a touch of class. Hill of Beath again countered down the right wing, the ball was squared to Fotheringham on the edge of the box and he sized up the keeper before dinking the ball into the top corner with his left foot. A comprehensive win for Hill of Beath after starting the game so poorly.

 

Attendance: circa 120