Brave Maroons come close

Report by Derek Brien
The Maroons and the A’s met at Colinton Road for an 11am bus depart to Tweedbank this morning, as both teams were playing their respective counterparts from Fjordhus Reivers down at Tweedbank. It was a gloriously sunny day with barely a cloud in the sky, but my goodness it was cold!
As the A’s warmed up to play their game first, the Maroons retreated to the warmth of the clubhouse to devour their packed lunches.
Following the A’s 3-0 win, we got the girls warmed up and coach Andy Malloch passed on some last minute instructions.
The first ten minutes saw play switch from end to end as each team tried to exert their authority, but a quick break by Reivers in the 11th minute saw some slick passing down the right and the ball ended up in the goal. The girls dug in as they tried to find an equaliser and Maroons debutant Yazi Murray had a good shot on goal in the 18th minute which was well saved by Reivers goalie. A few minutes later, following a highly unorthodox clearance by Maroons goalie Emma and a great pass right through the middle, Ellie Simpson struck an absolute beauty agonisingly an inch or two the wrong side of the post. Tails up, the girls continued to put pressure on the Reivers defence and were rewarded a few minutes later with a lovely move from the edge of our own ‘D’, out through midfield via Ellie and onto Ailsa on the right wing. She took off like a scalded cat and made her way to the bye line before beautifully cutting the ball back to a grateful unmarked Yazi who swept the ball into the goal. The half time whistle blew - 1-1.
The second half got underway and Reivers were immediately on the attack. Emma made an amazing four saves in a row in what can only be described as a ‘stramash’ in the D.
Midway through the second half the Reivers keeper made a great stop from a Maroons short corner and Ellie Simpson rocket. A couple of minutes later we found ourselves behind again, after a nice move through the middle and some quick Reivers passing saw the ball tucked away in the Maroons goal.
The girls pressed for another equaliser, but in doing so left themselves a bit exposed at the back and conceded a third goal on the break just before the end of the game.
The final whistle blew and we’d lost 3-1, but the girls took great heart from a much improved performance compared to the 5-0 loss we suffered against the same opposition only a few weeks ago.
Thanks to Reivers for a superb match tea after the game and a huge well done to Cara Buttery, Ailsa Gibb, Ellie Simpson, Emily Shade, Lucy Topley, Ellie Hall, Emma Brien, Yazi Murray, Rachel Mackenzie, Anna Morrison, Neve Jardine and Megan Dunlop. Quite a few of the girls played in positions unfamiliar to them and they acquitted themselves superbly.
Thanks, also, to coach Andy and umpire Rhona.