Brothers star in victory
RIVERSIDE AMATEURS ................... 6 MLS LEEDS ........................................ 0
Riverside kept their first clean sheet of the season in a convincing league win against Coatbridge side MLS Leeds.
On the front foot from the start, the only surprise was it took 25 minutes to open the scoring and it came when Matt McCleary played a lovely pass over the Leeds defence and Mark McDowell took the ball in his stride to fire home off the post.
Next to score was veteran Mundo Anderson who headed home from six yards and he scored again before half time after great work down the left by Callum Parry.
The coaching staff asked for more of the same in the second half and they duly obliged when McDowell was rewarded for a fine performance when he scrambled home after Oxburgh’s shot was blocked.
Parry made it five after great work by Mundo and the veteran completed his hat trick near the end.
David Oxburgh played an excellent match in his first match back in a defensive midfield role.
He and his brother Craig played in the same team after many years playing for different sides and you could see what it meant to them.
The third race in Central Athletic Club’s 2019/20 Cross-Country Series was held in excellent conditions on Saturday at Fintry.
With good conditions underfoot on the rugby pitches, the 1.5km course saw a field of some 31 youngsters showcasing the local talent.
Connor Bell was again to the fore to finish in overall first place in 4.51 and lead home the Under 15 Boys age group ahead further gutsy runs from Euan Docherty (5.15) and Ross Lawrie’s (5.37).
This was Catriona Kane’s first race in this season’s series and here she led home the girls to finish as top Under 15 on the day in 5.41. Zosia Paddon has been an ever present so far in the series and was rewarded with her best placing as second Under 15 Girl (6.04) while Scarlett Roy (6.26) also added to her reputation with third place in this age group.
There was another good turnout of Under 13 boys with Aaron Middleton (5.34) showing great form to lead from Alex Dunlop (5.58). Fergus Young (6.01), Logan Bell (6.49), Scott Hill (6.52) and Conall Paterson (6.55) while newcomer Logan Paterson showed good determination to finish with 7.53.
The Under 13 girls age group again proved to be competitive with Niamh McKinlay taking first in 6.15 closely followed by fine efforts by Leah Brown (6.20) and Emma Anderson (6.26). Loren Stewart (6.29) finished close-up while Robyn McKerracher (6.54) showed further improvement.
Jake Drummond reversed previous results to win the Under 11 boys category in 6.06 and with Finlay McGregor (6.11) and Joel Gillan (6.14) finishing in close order this is turning into a competitive age group. Cole Johnston (6.50) and Noah McIntyre-Sim (7.24) proved the strength in depth.
Fia Watkin (6.26) was the pick of the Under 11 girls age group ahead of further strong runs from newcomer Lucy Ronald (6.36) and Dara Clark (6.41). Ciara Middleton (6.57) had another good run and Nora Thompson showed advancement with 8.08.
Jessica Walker led home the under nine category with a strong 8.04 run ahead of another fine effort from Summer Johnston (8.09) and it was Zachary Walker who pushed into the rankings with his 8.22 effort in the Under nine boys race.
Thanks are again due to David Eckersley and Raymond Milne and the small army of helpers who provided another excellent event on behalf of Central AC.