Under 15 Scottish Shield Final

Braidhurst High School 2 – Strathaven Academy 1

Braidhurst High School have won the under 15 Scottish Shield after a hard fought battle with Strathaven Academy.  The all Lanarkshire clash saw the Motherwell boys come out on top at a rainy Excelsior Stadium, the home of Airdrionians.  Braidhurst started slowly and were lucky not to lose a goal in the opening few minutes, thanks to a wonderful goal line clearance from Jonathon McCabe.

However, their luck didn’t last.  The Braidhurst captain, and centre half, Rico Quitongo was injured and had to be replaced by Darren Wilson.  He slotted into right back with Dillon McCreath moving into centre half.  A mix up between Darren Wilson and goalkeeper Adam Sinnett allowed the Strathaven forward to get a toe to the ball and knock it into the empty net.  1-0 to Strathaven.

This loss of this goal caused even more anxiety amongst the Braidhurst players as their normal excellent touches and passing looked to have deserted them.  This allowed Strathaven several more chances to increase their lead.  Braidhurst were tenacious, winning themselves a corner.  Dylan Flaconer confidently floated the ball into the box where Jake Hastie was waiting.  He flicked the ball off his boot past the Strathaven keeper bringing the game level.

Half-Time Braidhurst 1 – Strathaven 1

The second half saw Braidhurst start far stronger.  They were soon finding team mates with their passes.  Jake Hastie was unlucky not to score again when his header from a corner was cleared off the line by Strathaven.  Ryan Watt then had a good chance to score when the ball fell to him at the corner of the box, but his shot was too tame landing in the hands of the keeper.  Dylan Falconer’s electric pace was now causing the Strathaven defenders real problems.  He sent several delightful crosses into the box but sadly no Braidhurst player could get on the end of it.  Ryan Watt was replaced by Deryn Lang.  This proved to be a decisive turning-point in the game.  Dylan Falconer again turned the Strathaven defender inside out, passing to Jordan Duncan who chipped the ball through to Deryn Lang who smashed the ball past the despairing keeper, sending Braidhurst into a 2-1 lead.  Later, Strathaven did have the ball in the Braidhurst net but it was ruled to be offside by the assistant referee, much to the relief of all connected with Braidhurst.  Then in the dying minutes of the game Tony Sharkey, who had replaced Adam Sinnett in goal at half time, pulled off a magnificent save, ensuring Braidhurst won the Scottish Shield.

This victory now means that this group of players have won three Scottish Shields in a row, at Under 13, Under 14 and Under 15 levels.  This is an amazing achievement and one which they should all feel incredibly proud of.  Coaches, Andy Madill and Peter Brandon both feel that this is a deserved 3-in-a-row for a very talented group of young players who truly know the meaning of the word team.