Carnoustie vie to build on brilliant cup triumph

CARNOUSTIE U/16s are eyeing sustained future success after their Chuck McGowan Cup Final triumph over Brechin.

Carnoustie lifted the trophy after a 4-1 victory. Brandon Black hit a brace, while Matty Strachan plucked a volley out of the sky for the third, with Michael Nobes also getting on the scoresheet.

And official Phil Hope was delighted with his side’s display in an enthralling encounter.

“I’m proud to bits of every single one of them,” he told the Tele. “They are ecstatic, absolutely over the moon and rightly so.

“The boys have worked really hard and we’ve built a strong side as the season has developed through some great coaching.

“We got to the final last year but lost on penalties so we were adamant not to got through that again. Thankfully, our plans came to fruition.”

The 4-1 scoreline doesn’t tell the whole story, however, as Hope alluded to a game fought in the best of spirits.

“It was a great game, even for the neutral to watch, but we played really well,” he said.“We know Brechin well and they complimented us on the victory afterwards.

“Everyone gets on really well in the league and games are always played in a real sporting spirit.

“Sometimes they beat us, sometimes we beat them — it’s all good natured.”

The cup is a treasured accolade to pencil in to the team history books but, had it not been for a sticky start, the campaign’s close could have potentially boasted even more excitement.

“It was a slow start for us,” Hope said. “We had some key players missing and encountered a few defeats early on which didn’t set us up in the best way.

“Everyone worked hard, though, and we built up over the course of the winter. We’ve only lost twice since Christmas and it looks likely that we’ll finish fifth in a very tight league.”

The cup victory will live long in the memory for all involved but focus is already shifting to bigger things.

“We’ve set a target of winning the league next year,” Hope said. “That’s the ambition from the boys and we will match it. We won’t push them to do anything they don’t want for themselves.

“But we’ve told them — we need to knuckle down in pre-season, work hard and start with the intent that we can succeed.”

Carnoustie players celebrate scoring their first of four second-half goals as they went on to beat Brechin 4-1 in the Chuck McGowan Cup at North End Park.

More action from the Jim Duffy Cup Final as a Pitfour player (yellow) strides forward.

A Dundee Argyle player (purple) shields the ball in the DSAFA league win over FC Polonia.

An Arbroath U/14 player (maroon) looks to break in the 2-0 Jim Duffy Cup Final loss to Pitfour.

A Brechin player (red) glides past his man in the 4-1 Chuck McGowan Cup Final loss to Carnoustie.

DUSC (tangerine) beat Dryburgh in an U/19 DDYFA President’s League match at Craigie 3G.