Lifeline despite loss of late goal

David Knox 1607 - 1607 • Published 30 Apr 2008 10:00 0 Comments

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Lothian Thistle 1 v Selkirk 1

SELKIRK"S struggle for Premier League survival was given a glimmer of hope against archrivals Thistle.

Fraser Lothian"s side are in a three-way fight to avoid the drop along

with the Saughton side and Easthouses Lily.

And they were due to face Lily last night while they go head-to-head with

Lothian again on Thursday at Yarrow Park.

The manager told the Border Telegraph: 'Every game this week is a six pointer.

We can"t afford to lose ground on either of these teams - it"s as simple

as that.'

An injury and suspension crisis isn"t helping the Souters as keeper John

Dodds and influential midfielder Craig Tyson are both likely to be out until

the end of the season.

Top scorer Craig Livingstone was also missing on Saturday and is fighting

to be fit for this weekend"s match with Edinburgh City.

And both Craig Lothian, who is serving a three-match ban, and John Waldie, who starts his suspension this Saturday, also add to the manager"s woes.

Despite the player problems Selkirk looked the brightest in the opening

exchanges with Lee Stephen and Michael Romanes dominating the right flank.

The blustery conditions, which are synonymous with Saughton, didn"t allow

either team to play much football.

And the first real chance came on 17 minutes when Stephen picked out Ryan Pritchard with a tremendous cross field pass, but the tall striker"s attempted turn and shot flew a couple of feet wide of the target.

Selkirk"s stand-in keeper Lenny Clark was called into action five minutes

later after Craig Hume evaded the offside trap, and the Musselburgh-based

stopper did well to smother the ball at the striker"s feet.

The opener arrived on 35 minutes when Pritchard"s flick on looked as though it would be gathered safely by keeper Paul Cadger, but his hesitation allowed Andy Brown to steal the ball and the keeper hauled him to the ground.

Surprisingly the goalie only received a yellow card - and it was for dissent.

Alan Jackson scored the penalty kick.

Selkirk should have doubled their lead on the stroke of half time when

Pritchard stormed clear with Romanes in support.

But rather than square for his unmarked team-mate he attempted to round the keeper allowing Cadger to save.

Lothian Thistle came out fighting in the second half and it took some expert

clearances from Barry Milven, John Waldie and Stuart Anderson to keep them at bay.

Selkirk"s lack of fitness was exposed as the half wore on and Thistle dominated possession.

Mark Lothian skipped through the defence on 70 minutes only

for the magnificent Ian Potts to backtrack and make a vital block to prevent

the equaliser.

Mark Boggie"s cross was blown against the cross bar a couple of minutes

later as the home side threw players forward.

The equaliser arrived with 10 minutes to go. Keeper Clark made a tremendous point blank save to prevent Phil O"Neil"s header crossing the line but the rebound was stabbed back across goal for O"Neil to nod into the net.

Clark pulled of a great save a few minutes later from O"Neil.

Some desperate defending earned Selkirk a point but an even greater effort will be needed on Thursday when these two teams clash again.

Selkirk. L Clark, L Stephen, B Milven, S Anderson, J Waldie, I Potts, M

Romanes, A Jackson (E Pritchard 74), G Lothian (A Sczezniak 83), R Pritchard & A Brown (C Evenden 66).

This article appeared in Border Telegraph 30 Apr 08

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