Sunday 27 November 2011

Auchinleck Talbot 6 Penicuik Athletic 0











So inevitably it was the end of the road for the Cuikey. Talbot are a very fine side and as better teams than Penicuik have discovered they have quick, strong, skilfull players - good defenders and mobile midfielders and forwards who have an eye for goal. They are the current Scottish Junior Cup holders and I imagine they will either retain their trophy or come close to doing so because it is hard to imagine that there are any better Junior teams out there. They may even give my beloved Hearts a few problems in the Scottish Cup in January.


The match started in driving rain of biblical proportions on a good pitch that did cut up as the afternoon wore on. In the first ten minutes the Cuikey keeper Bald made 4 fine saves (icluding a remarkable double save) to keep Athletic in the tie but by half time inevitably 'The Bot' had assetred their superiority with 3 goals. Three more followed in the second half but Penicuik were unlucky not to get a late consolation when sub Jonny Harvey cut in from the left and tested the Auchinleck onion-bag custodian with a rasping shot. The final score was a bit generous for the home side with two of the goals coming from a relatively soft penalty and an award of the fifth goal being confirmed by the linesman after the ref had judged that a drop by the Cuikey keeper Bald had crossed his own goal line - it had not. Perhaps 4-0 would have been kinder and more representative.


Half time provided a great non-league highlight when the Penicuik sub Dean Knight was spotted retreiving a ball from a local garden protected from the stadium by barbed wire at the top of it's perimeter fence. I am not sure how he got into the said garden but his exit route seemed to require him climbing over a few fences and going through a number of Auchinleck residential gardens.


The catering was of a reasonable standard with a nice greasy scotch pie costing only a quid. An interesting item on the menu was 'lentil soup' which on this occasion I did not sample but as I am likely to be back at 'The Bot' I will no doubt succumb to temptation on a future visit.


The journey was good and I was relieved to find out before I set off that the home of Talbot is not in Dumfriesshire but in East Ayrshire. I didn't realise that there were two Auchinlecks ! So, only the 64 miles to get there ! I am looking forward to returning in January if Talbot are drawn at home in the next round. This is a club with loads and loads going for it. A great infrastructure, a great wee stadium and a very good team.


Journey miles 128


Total Road to Hampden miles 372

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