SCOTTISH CUP WINNERS 2008
FINNART STAR AFC
FINNART 4 V 0 CASTLEMILK DYNAMO
Finnart retained The Scottish Cup today with a 4-0 win over Castlemilk Dynamo. The holders put in a great performance to overcome the hard working Glasgow Sunday league team. Castlemilk have had a great season and the players and managers will be disappointed in their performance today at Almondvale, as they know they can play better. Maybe the occasion got to some of their players and Finnarts experience of playing in the past 3 finals was the difference. Both teams brought through a large support for this big day which helped create a great atmosphere. The impressive crowd also included many officials from the SAFA , league officials from Carluke and district and also from the Glasgow Sunday league. Also spotted in the crowd were players from teams that play in both Finnart and Dynamos leagues. However, special mention to the Finnart support who were amazing. With their banners, flags, t-shirts, hats and balloons, they didnt stop singing from the first minute to the last. With the Finnart under 13s in Southport for a tournament, it was left to the 21s and soccer sevens teams to get vocal and they sure did. ( with a little bit of help from the wives and girlfriends, oh and of course Big Toby).
Brian Blair then led the team out , with a little bit of help from the 2 mascots, Rhys Caven and Jamie McGowan from the soccer sevens team, who looked smart in their Finnart strips. The team looked relaxed but ready as they lined up;
GK - BRIAN PATON RB- SCOTT McEWAN LB- PHIL McCABE CH MIKEY BROWN/ PHILIP BLAIR
MF- ZANDER SIMPSON MF- ALEX CLEARIE MF- BRIAN BLAIR MF- ALLY RUSHFORD
ST- BRIAN SMITH ST- CRAIG HEGGIE
SUBS- MARK SAVAGE, DANNY TAYLOR, ALAN TEMPLETON, DAVID BLAIR, MATTHEW CAMPBELL
Finnart controlled the game from the start and took the lead in the 10th minute when a great finish from the impressive Alex Clearie made it 1-0. It could have been 2 within minutes when skipper Brian Blair rattled the bar from close range. The Dynamo strikers were keeping busy and tried to get in behind the Finnart defence but they held firm.
Finnart made it 2-0 on the half hour mark when Brian Smith was put through on the right side of the box and cut back for Shifty to stroke home with a cool finish. 5 mins later it could have been 3 when Alex Clearie had a great efort saved by the Dynamo keeper. Paton was then brought into action when the Castlemilk no.9 had an effort on goal but the keeper saved easily.
HALF TIME 2-0
Second half started much the same as the first had with Finnart having most of the possesion and on the 50th min Phil McCabe had a free kick effort just go over. Finnart had most of the ball still and they were awarded a penalty in the 65th minute when Smithy was upended in the box. Skipper and man of the match Brian Blair kept his cool and slotted home. 3-0 The Star.
It was to be 4 -0 five minutes later when Smithy was again put through and this time he stroked it into the path of Alex Clearie to get his second of the game. Manager Phil Blair had begun ringing the changes that seen last years cup final hero Danny Taylor come on for the Impressive Brian Smith who led the frontline well. Alan Templeton came on for Zander Simpson and the final change was Math Campbell coming on for Ally Rushford. "The Hammer" could have made it 5 near the end but for a last ditch tackle from a Dynamo defender.
FINAL SCORE 4 - 0
MAN OF THE MATCH AWARD - BRIAN BLAIR, led by example as always and coolly scored the penalty at a crucial time to finish Castlemilk off. Well done skipper.
Well done Finnart, another little bit of history is wrote by 'The Mighty Star'. Every player played there part on retaining this magnificent trophy. Not just today but in the previous rounds against Drumchapel Ath, Auchengill, Pavillion, Crosskeys, Station Buffet, LBC, and Dundee Social. Each and everyone of us should be proud of what we have achieved. Big well done to all the management on a great achievement, Phil Blair, Stuart McKechnie, Johnny Walker and Alex Campbell. Also a big thank you to all our hard working sponsors for their continued support of our club, Jackie Mitchell at The Scotsman, ASC taxis, "Big Lex" and George Redmond.
'MON THE STAR
SUNDAY 4TH MAY
SCOTTISH CUP FINAL
FINNART V CASTLEMILK DYNAMO
ALMONDVALE, LIVINGSTON
2.30PM KICK OFF
SUPPORTERS BUS LEAVES THE SCOTSMAN BETWENN 1.15 - 1.30
BE SHARP IF YOU WANT A SEAT!
ADULTS £5, KIDS AND OAPs FREE
FINNART MASCOTS ON THE DAY WILL BE JAMIE MCGOWAN(jnr) AND RHYS CAVEN WHO BOTH PLAY FOR FINNART SOCCER SEVENS AND BOTH THEIR DADS ARE PLAYERS IN THE FINNART SENIOR TEAM, JAMIE MCGOWAN AND DANNY TAYLOR.
'MON THE STAR
FINNART, 3 FINALS IN A ROW
Dundee SC 2 V 5 Finnart, aet
'WE JUST DONT KNOW WHEN WERE BEAT'
MON THE STAR
Finnart showed their true character once again in the Scottish with a great battling performance against a strong Dundee Social Club. Going behind but coming back into with a last minute equaliser from Shifty before eventually running away with it in extra time as the Dundee side were reduced to 9 men.
A tight first half finished 1-1 with Alex Clearie scoring for Finnart after DSC had took the lead. DSC again took the lead again in the second half but were then reduced to 10 men. Shifty then got the last minute equaliser to take it to extra time.
DSC were then reduced to nine when Shifty was brought down in the box and Danny Taylor coolly scored from the spot. 3-2 Finnart. Mikey Brown was soon to make it 4 before Alex Clearie capped off a fine display from the holders with the 5th.
Final score DSC 2 V 5 FINNART. Well done lads. We shut a few people up with this result and performance today. True Finnart spirit and character yet again. We never know when were beat and lets make a wee bit of history and go on and retain it.
Big well done to Phil, Stuart, Alex, Johnny and all the players for a great result.
MON THE STAR
FINNART WIN SEMI PLACE
FINNART 4 V 3 LBC
Finnart progressed to the semi finals of The Scottish Cup with a 4-3 win over LBC from Edinburgh. The first half was easily the best Finnart have played all season as they took a 3-0 lead into half time with goals from Alex Clearie, Brian Smith and Alan Templeton. They also had numerous chances to kill the tie completely but some poor finishing kept the score at just three.
Into the second half and Danny Taylor, recalled to the starting line-up coolly slotted a penalty away to make it 4-0 to the holders. Game over?? Well maybe thats what the home side thought but a great comeback from LBC gave them a scare. The Edinburgh side got a break when the officials gave a goal that appeared to go through the side netting . That gave them the lift they needed and scored again . Their third came too near to the end to cause Finnart any great concern and the Bridgeton side seen out the match to progress to the semi finals where they will face either Castlemilk dynamo, Dundee SC, or conquerers of fellow league members Swinton, Cutty Sark. Then draw will be in the next few days .
Man of the match
Alex Clearie
Outstanding first half from all players although they turned off in the second but 'Beanzy' stood out for Finnart. A special mention to Keeper Brian Paton who had a few top class saves.
BIG WELL DONE TO FINNART, and heres hoping we have another Final to look forward to, THREE in a row. Lets keep playing the way we did in this first half and finish games off but we need to keep going to the final whistle. 'MON THE STAR
TEMP DOUBLE KILLS OFF BUFFET
Finnart progressed to the last 8 of The Scottish Cup with a 3-0 victory over Station Buffet from Fife. Alan Templeton was a double scorer with Brian Smith scoring the third.
Manager Phil Blair rang the changes after the team not being at their best recently and also due to injuries. Mikey Brown, Math Campbell and John Colhoun missed out through injury from last weeks squad. In came Tam Murray, Alex Clearie, Paul Murdoch. Danny Taylor started on the sidelines as Alan Templeton partnered Smith up front.
The home side were to have the better of the early stages with positive attacking play with some excellent deliveries from debutant Tam Murray on the left. Brian Blair had a couple of half chances with a header and a quickly hit shot but to no avail.
Station Buffet then pushed their no.7 further up field to support their front man and this seemed to rattle Finnart as the away side had 3 good chances to take the lead and they should have took the lead when their striker beat the offside trap and had Paton to beat but the keeper stood up well and blocked his effort and left back phil following up cleared the danger.
This shook the home side and they soon took the lead when a cross into the box was knocked down by Blair to the back post were Temp was waiting to knock home. As the half drew to a close Paton pulled off a great save as the opposing left back rattled a shot from 35 yards that was heading into the top corner.
HALF TIME 1-0
The second half was all Finnart and they could have extended their lead when Alex Clearie cut in from the left and struck a good shot that the keeper done well to save. They were to score on the hour mark only for the Ref to disallow for pushing on the keeper by Brian Smith. The Scottish Cup holders could have scored a few more with Blair coming close on a few efforts and Tam Murray cracked the bar with a free kick. But they were not to be denied and scored twice in 3 mins when firstly a quick free kick by Phil to Beansy was knocked in to the back post where Temp was waiting to finish. 2-0, double for Temp. The third was to quickly follow when the Buffet keeper , who struggled with his kicking all day, cleared the ball directly to Man of the Match, Brian Smith to coolly finish. Well done to big Smudger for leading the line well and getting back into something close to what we know he can do.
The last action of the game was to see the Ref produce a second yellow and then a red to a Buffet sub for dissent. Maybe a wee bit of frustration from the visitors full back.
WELL DONE FINNART, produced something close to the football we can play, but need to finish teams off early . Good performance from all the players against a well organised and fit young team. Station Buffet created some good chances and if they had took any of them , then the outcome could have been so different.
Manager Phil Blair was reasonably happy with some of the football but knows we need to be better in the next round against LBC from Edinburgh who beat Fourways 4-2 today. The date expected for this game will be 3rd march and will be at the Green.
'MON THE STAR
CROSSKEYS 1 V 3 FINNART
Finnart progressed to the last 16 after a hard fought battle through in Edinburgh. Crosskeys kicked and hassled their way through the game but Finnart got the goals to take them through.The goals came from Danny, Brian Blair and Stuart. Finnart suffered 3 injuries with Math, Johnny Colhoun and Mikey B all having to go off. Johnny suffered cracked ribs.
Not the best performance from Finnart and we will have to up our game against Station Buffet in the next round this sunday.
Man of the match;
to follow
'MON THE STAR
FINNART 5 V 1 PAVILLION
FINNART progressed to the last 32 of the Scottish Cup with a win over a hard working Pavillion side from Edinburgh, but they need to play a lot better than they did when they travel through to Edinburgh this coming Sunday when they face Crosskeys from Edinburghs Prison officers 1st division. They currently sit third in their league which is the second division in their set up.
Finnart started brightly and for the first 10minutes they totally outplayed the away side and the support fancied a rout! But after these initial 10mins they slackened off a bit and the game became a bit scrappy. The Edinburgh side done nothing much to threaten the back four of Finnart but crept into the game and had wee bits of possesion.
The holders finally took the lead with a good header from Alex Clearie after a great cross from Brian Smith, who is usually the one on the finishing end. However the Edinburgh side were to shock the holders with their first real attempt at goal. They took a dreadful corner that seemed to bobble all the way through to the back post were the big striker 'kneed' the ball over the line. A terrible goal to lose and unusual to see Finnart lose a goal from a corner. This gave Finnart the kick up the backside they needed and were to score a second when Alan Templeton when on a run cutting in from the left and clip the ball past the keeper.
Half time and 2-1 to the home side and the management were happy to get the boys in to have words of encouragement for them!!
After the break it was much the same however and the football wasnt really flowing, but a moment of madness from the opposing goalkeeper gave away a pen when he brought down Smith when he was running away from goal and with the ball seemingly going behind for a goal kick. Man of the match, Alex Clearie claimed the ball and coolly made it 3-1. That was the goal that seemed to take the fight out of Pavillion and Finnart created a few more chances and went on to score another 2.
Top Goalscorer Brian Smith was to get his goal to make it 4 before Beanzy got his hat trick soon after with a chip over the keeper that he could only get his fingers to.
Man Of The Match
Alex Clearie- Great hat trick, well done Beanzy
Final score 5-1 to Finnart , good result but not the flowing football that were all familiar with when we see Finnart. Lets put it down to rustiness after the long break and hope to see the 'Real' Finnart Star back to their best next week against Crosskeys.
FINNART 3 V 1 AUCHENGILL
FINNART moved into the last 64 of the Scottish Cup ,where they will face Pavillion from Edinburgh, after easing past Auchengill at Glasgow Green. This tie was originally a home tie for the Glasgow Sunday Amateur team but due to 3 cancellations the tie automatically switched to a home tie for the Scottish Cup holders.
The game started evenly with both teams sizing each other up but Finnart were soon to stamp there authority on the match and play some football. They took the lead after a great free kick by Phil, was parried out to Danny Taylor who made no mistake from close range. Finnart were to score a second before half time when a wicked corner from the impressive John Colhoun was whipped in at the near post where Philip Blair had made a great run to smash a header home.
Half time 2-0
The second half should have been wrapped up straight from kick off but Danny Taylor missed a good opportunity. The home side missed a few throughout the game but eventuallt got there third when John Colhoun scored from a free kick. The away side scored a late consolation but the outcome was never in doubt and Finnart held on comfortably.
Man of the match
PHILIP BLAIR
For his great goal and no nonsense defending
Well done lads.
'MON THE STAR
SCOTTISH CUP
3RD ROUND
AUCHENGILL V FINNART
1.30pm kick off
meeting at 11.45am, leaving @ 12pm
AUCHENGILL play in the GLASGOW SUNDAY AMATEUR LEAGUE and are currently sitting 5th in the top division. They usually do well in the Scottish and will prove to be a bigger test for Finnart than Drumchapel Athletic that they beat in the previous round.
MON THE STAR !!
