Tayport FC 0 - 4 Dundee Downfield FC (Match Report 05/11/22)

Tayport FC 0 - 4 Dundee Downfield FC

05/11/22

1.45pm Kick Off

The Canniepairt

Midlands Football League

Match Report by Charlotte Wilde

Photographs by Ryan Masheder

After a disappointing exit from the 3rd round of the Scottish Junior Cup the week before, Tayport were hoping for a better result as they welcomed Dundee Downfield FC to The Canniepairt. The club were looking to put their recent poor performances behind them and claim 3 points at home. With Captain Jamie Hume, amongst other key players, out with injury, last minute changes were made to the Port squad.

Tayport started the game the stronger side with an early chance to take the lead only 5 minutes in. A Callum Walls throw in found the feet of Ryan Paterson who then controlled the ball well in the box before taking a shot on goal. Unluckily, the ball just skimmed past the left hand post. Kyle McMulkin also had a shot but the ball was easily caught by Downfield keeper Mark Stewart.

As the first half progressed, Downfield began to take their own chances to claim the first goal of the match. Greg Breen collected the ball when it rebounded off of a Tayport defender. Breen then took a shot but it was caught by Port keeper Darren Brown. Also, a Connor Coupe corner fell into the box but it was the Tayport’s defenders who got to the ball first and cleared it away.

30 minutes in and the home side had arguably their best chance of the half so far. A Paterson corner was whipped into the box and found the head of Daryl McKenzie. Unfortunately, the ball hit the wrong side of McKenzie’s head and the ball grazed the cross bar and went out for a goal kick. Another great Tayport chance came from a Paterson free kick near the corner flag. The ball flew into the box where Ethan Samson headed it but it went just wide. Downfield also had an opportunity to score from a Coupe free kick, but the ball smashed off the Tayport wall.

Right on the 45-minute mark, Downfield got the first goal of the match with an impressive goal from outside the box. The ball was passed to Coupe who then ran with it before taking a powerful shot which curled into the top right hand corner of the net. The referee blew the whistle and at half time, it was 1-0 to Downfield.

Unfortunately for Tayport, the second half got off to the worst possible start for them. 10 minutes in, Nik Edwards fouled Greg Breen on the edge of the box and consequently received a second yellow card and was sent off the pitch. The Downfield free kick that followed was taken by Steven McPhee, who curled the ball over the Port wall and into the net, giving the away side a 2-0 lead.

Despite this, Tayport continued to try and push for their first goal on the match. Paterson had a shot on goal but Stewart easily caught the ball. Also, substitute Dominik Naglik had a superb chance to score when Stewart came out from the goal line. Naglik chipped the ball over the Downfield keeper but his shot went just too wide of the post.

73 minutes in and the away side made it 3-0. A Downfield free kick in to the box was hit out by Port keeper Brown, but the ball then fell to Liam McArtney who easily tapped the ball into the net. Soon after, Downfield had another chance to score through Callum McCleary but the ball was caught by Brown.

Tayport were struggling to keep up with such a strong Downfield side. Paterson did have a great late shot but the ball was tipped over the crossbar by Stewart. Unluckily for Tayport, Downfield sealed the game with a fourth and final goal in extra time. Mitchell Hay crossed the ball into the box where it found McArtney who once again tapped the ball into the net. This was the final action of the match and it ended 4-0 to the away side.

Tayport Manager Daryl McKenzie commented that he was “very disappointed with the performance, especially the second half”. He added that he felt “key injuries really hampered us” and that “the sending off really took the game away from us”. McKenzie also mentioned that he felt it was a tough game as “Downfield were really good and are on a good run”. He finished by saying we need to remain positive and are “looking to bounce back against Blairgowrie on Saturday”.

Tayport Team:

1 Darren Brown

2 Callum Walls

3 Ross McDonald

4 Daryl McKenzie

5 Jim Malone

6 Andrew Walls (Trialist)

7 Ethan Samson

8 Nik Edwards

9 Rikki Gillespie (Barbour)

10 Ryan Paterson (Fraser)

11 Kyle McMulkin (Naglik)

Substitutes:

14 Dominik Naglik

15 Adam Fraser

16 Innes Barbour

17 Greg McColm

18 Jamie Gill

19 Caleb Addo

20 Charlie Kennedy

Dundee Downfield Team:

21 Mark Stewart

2 Grant Rodger

3 Robert Smith

4 Jordan Timmons

5 Ross Storrier

6 Corey Gray

7 Greg Breen

8 Kyler Van Der Toorn

9 Liam McArtney

10 Steven McPhee

11 Connor Coupe

Substitutes:

1 Robert Henry

12 Morgan Garden

14 Ross Browne

15 Callum McCleary

16 Mitchel Hay

17 John Farquharson

18 Jordan Colquhoun