Canniepairt gets a 5 star review

Match Report: Tayport 5 - 0 East Craigie - By Iain Brough

Nick Mann opens the scoring to seconds before the first half comes to an end.

Canniepairt Fortress Holds Strong as Port Hit Five

Tayport stormed to a convincing 5–0 victory over East Craigie at the Canniepairt this afternoon, extending their unbeaten run to eight matches and further cementing their home patch as a real fortress.

The game began brightly for the Port, who enjoyed the majority of possession from the outset. The first big chance came early, when Nick Mann rattled the bar with a clean strike. After this week’s club Crossbar Challenge on TikTok – where not a single player managed to find the frame – Nick might just have been showing the boys how it’s done!

Craigie were soon reduced to ten men midway through the half, giving Tayport even greater control of the contest. Still, the breakthrough proved stubborn. Just as it looked like both sides would head into the interval goalless, Jamie Gill whipped a dangerous ball into the box. It ricocheted off a Craigie defender and fell perfectly for Mann, who made no mistake in firing home in the 45th minute. The referee blew for half-time almost immediately after, sending Port into the break with a deserved 1–0 advantage.

Half Time: Tayport 1 - 0 East Craigie

East Craigie looked to rally after the restart, but the extra effort took its toll and the visitors couldn’t keep up with Port’s tempo. The second goal came courtesy of a fantastic team move: Jamie Timmons’ pinpoint delivery found Ethan Samson, who nodded across goal for Mann to head home his second of the day.

From there, the floodgates opened. Samson turned scorer minutes later, battling with the Craigie centre-half before coolly finishing past the keeper to make it 3–0. Almost instantly, Tayport had a fourth: Owen Lunan’s strike looked goal-bound, but James Simpson was on hand to make absolutely certain his head got it over the line.

With the game comfortably in hand, Tayport still had time to showcase a rehearsed set-piece routine straight off the training ground. Manager George Shields had instructed Samson to pull wider at a free-kick, creating the space for a clever move. Sam Simpson spotted the gap, picked the perfect pass, and Samson slotted home calmly to complete the 5–0 rout and secure his brace.

It was a difficult afternoon for East Craigie, but a five-star display from the home side. The Canniepairt continues to live up to its reputation as a tough place to visit, and with this latest result, Tayport march on unbeaten in eight.

Full Time: Tayport 5 - 0 East Craigie