BAD DAY ON HOME TURF

Blair suffer defeat to Lochee Harp at Davie Park

Blairgowrie suffered a day of frustration on Saturday as Lochee Harp left east Perthshire with three points.

The Davie Park men failed to show the flair and creativity which has been evident in the majority of their performances this season.

And that resulted in the visitors from Dundee bagging a 2-1 victory despite a late goal from Blair forward Gordon Norrie.

It proved to be a slow start from Mark Brash’s side and Harp stormed into the lead in the second minute as appeals for offside went unanswered.

In truth, Blair never recovered from this and, although they dominated possession and territory for the remainder of the match, the away goalkeeper was rarely tested.

Matty Adam did blaze over from a tight angle and a Steven Findlay header looped marginally over the cross bar.

Blair were finding space to break forward and Darren Neave soon broke through on goal before being chopped down on the edge of the box. The Harp culprit was fortunate in the extreme to escape with merely a caution. From the free-kick, Ian Plenderleith’s chipped effort struck the crossbar.

As half-time approached a visiting defender appeared to punch a Findlay cross in the goalmouth, but penalty appeals were ignored.

Blair continued to press after the interval and a net-bound header was cleared off the line in the 47th minute. Adam then broke through but his shot struck the keeper and flew just over the bar. Then Ryan Menzies headed just wide.

Ominously for Blair, Harp began to look more dangerous midway through the second half, enjoying a larger share of possession and building some potent attacks.

And it was no real surprise when a looping header made it 2-0 - and it was almost three but Gordon O’Brien made a brave block.

Blair switched to a more attacking formation and took the game to Harp in the closing stages. With two minutes left Gary Axworthy found Norrie on the left who cut in to score with a well-place low shot.

That was as good as it got as crosses repeatedly landed too close to the visiting keeper, to the dismay of the home support as Blair just did not do enough against a well-drilled Harp side.

Blairgowrie: O’Brien, Menzies, Scott, Millar, Simpson, Findlay, Dempster, Plenderleith, Gray, Adam, Neave. Subs used: R. Brown, Axworthy, Norrie.

This Saturday, Blairgowrie face Premier League side Downfield in the preliminary round of the GA Engineering Cup. Kick off at Davie Park is at 2.30pm.