Burgh No Match For Rampant O’s

Newburgh took a break from League action with the first of two Cup competitions in the space of 4 days with a daunting trip to Premier League Oakley United at Blairwood Park.

The last thing the thread-bare Burgh side needed were a couple of absentees to make the task even more ominous. Inside the opening 18 minutes the tie was effectively over with the visitors 2-0 down and already using their first substitute.

Oakley were a much stronger side from start to finish, much to their credit, and bombarded Burgh in the opening period of the game with a chance in the first minute going wide from a free-kick. Josh Doyle was forced into a last ditch tackle to force a corner in the 6th minute and the signs were not looking promising.

Aiden Kemp opened the scoring in the 13th minute when he was allowed too much time on the ball in the box and his shot took a deflection on the way in to beat Mark Robertson. Two minutes later it was 2-0 with, again, too much time being afforded to the home side in the opposing penalty area and Reece Bernard curled into the far corner.

There were brief moments of Burgh stemming the tide with Calum Anderson shooting just wide after a promising move in the 21st minute and Andrew Reade shooting over in the 26th minute. By and large, Burgh managed to hold their own for the remainder of the opening 45 minutes and debutant Struan Grieve had a good effort blocked after a neat move from Paterson and Anderson on the left.

The third came in the 53rd minute with a slick move from Oakley and close range passing at pace with Murray slotting home from about 12 yards out.

The Burgh had a close call on the hour mark when a back pass from Doyle fell short and McAdam latched onto it before rounding Robertson on the right side of the area, but with pitch space running out and goal space, he slipped as he attempted to lay off for a team mate to tap home and the ball ran safely for a goal kick.

The reprieve was short-lived as a moment later Bernard slammed home his second of the game from the edge of the area after a lay off. Number 5 came in the 70th minute when Robertson forced Murray wide and the ball fell to Yapoudjian to tap home.

The final goal of the game came in the 83rd minute when another substitute McAdam slammed home a rebound from 10 yards out. The match ended with Burgh with 10 men after Reade was helped off the pitch with a nasty looking ankle injury after turning it on the bobbly surface.

A disappointing performance and result against much-superior opposition who barely got into their top gears. Best wishes to Oakley for the rest of the season.