Dominating Doune move a step closer
Castle on the brink of silverware after comfortable win
East of Scotland Amateur Cup Semi Final MEADOWBANK ........................................ 0 DOUNE CASTLE ........................................ 3
Doune secured their place in the East Cup final with a composed and confident display.
The Castle controlled the match throughout, with Meadowbank threatening only sporadically.
When they did enjoy those rare attacking moments, the Edinburgh side found the Doune defence in defiant mood, with Allan Pacitti again the foundation of a comfortable win with an assured display in goal.
After dominating the early exchanges, Doune made the breakthrough on 20 minutes with an outstanding finish from Grant Craig.
Pacitti’s long ball through the middle turned the Meadowbank central defenders and Grant Craig darted between them, drove forward into the box and, with the outside of his foot, curled a precise shot beyond the advancing keeper and into the corner of the net.
Doune should have doubled their lead on 28 minutes after the best attacking move of the match. Grant Craig shot over from close-range after wonderful link-up play down the Castle right.
Against the run of play, the Edinburgh side almost equalised two minutes later.
Pacitti made a fantastic, close-range block, but could not stop the ball rebounding straight back to the striker.
The Meadowbank forward’s followup shot looked netbound until Tam Nelson appeared from nowhere to make a remarkable, sliding, goal-line clearance.
Early in the second half, Lukasz Duszynski had a shot on the run that flashed across goal and wide.
Doune essentially sealed the tie with a wonderful Christopher Macdonald finish on 67 minutes.
Macdonald took possession wide on the right and cut into the penalty area. He then powered a curling drive that beat the keeper all ends up to nestle high into the net at the far corner to make it 2-0.
In the final quarter, Doune introduced several of their substitutes, all of whom made telling contributions.
Andy Innes came close to adding a third when he burst through the middle. He struck his shot cleanly, but the keeper continued his good form with another confident save.
Doune were not to be denied and made it 3-0 a minute into added time.
Calum Scott was felled as he weaved his way through inside the box. Tam Nelson confidently drove the resultant spot-kick high into the net, ensuring the final score-line was a fairer reflection of Doune’s dominance of the game.
Doune can now look forward to the East Cup final at the Falkirk Stadium on Friday, March 31 against the winner of Alva and Steins Thistle.
Doune Castle – Pacitti, Gillespie, Mcrae, Manson, Nelson, Macdougall, Wardrope (Wilbert), Hurst, Duszynski (Paterson), Craig (Scott), Macdonald (A Innes).
Subs – Gibson, Campbell, Smith.