Joy of six for Burgh as Primaries peak too early. Dicky Davies reports from Pinkie. Musselburgh enjoyed a comfortable win this evening over a Primaries side whose pre-match team talk must have been “better to give than to receive”. PSFC had suffered an early blow when midfield crankshaft Steve Gilhooley failed a late fitness test with a snapped suspender belt but gamely took up the mantle between the sticks. Forgotten man and proverbial “bad penny” Lindsay Odie was welcomed back into the fold after a long winded sabbatical in the footballing wastelands. Spurt The game started brightly for PSFC as they kept Musselburgh contained in their own half during the early exchanges. On form striker Gary Sullivan showed an early spurt of pace that opened the scoring after 7 minutes. Neil Adams found the rotund front man with a nicely disguised (i.e mis-hit) pass and the slaphead amazed team mates and crowd alike with a genuinely decent finish after a cushioned take with his left and a glorious lob with his right. 1-0 Primaries! Erupted The game took a turn for the worse when Dimeck erupted after a Burgh player called him “a buthole”. It later transpired that the lad had kindly offered Dimeck a “buttered roll” (usually a favourite) but by then the damage was done and the Primaries midfielder was given a stern warning from the match official. Bent over The flashpoint seemed to inspire Musselburgh and they drove forward against an increasingly flatfooted Primaries defence. A stinging effort was narrowly bent over the bar but Musselburgh were not to be denied with their next sortie. A quick breakaway saw the lanky Burgh forward race clear of defensive stalwart Willie “Wont He?” French and slot into the bottom corner. 1-1 Halftime! Pounding Whatever was said to Burgh at halftime seemed to have done the trick as they immediately capitalised on a brand of defending that wouldn’t look out of place at a Clown Convention. Firstly a curling through ball from the right left the Burgh striker with the simplest of tasks with the Primaries defence posted missing. Then disaster struck for goalie Gilhooley (easy for you to say!) as he took out centre half Morrison whilst coming for a cross ball leaving Burgh to tap into an unguarded net. A potential pounding was now firmly on the cards. 1-3 Burgh
Tossed With Burgh threatening to run away with the contest, Primaries were given a gilt edged opportunity to claw themselves back into contention when a smart Jamieson flick-on released Sullivan who made heavy weather of running away from a man 20 years his senior and a stick on for the Uncle Fester look-alike award. The upshot of the tussle was a penalty to Primaries which a tearful Sullivan predictably nonced up at the expense of a corner. The flag kick was tossed in to the area and the ball ended up in the net by way of Dimeck’s backside and a Burgh shinpad. 2-3 Burgh! Shorts down This simmering encounter offered up yet another flashpoint when Taylor Forrest had words with a defender for pulling the fiery winger’s shorts down. But it was Forrest Snr who made a grab for the headlines with an eccentric turn between the sticks that will live long in the memory. Dribbling It must have seemed like Groundhog Day to spectators after a series of baffling forays by the jazz-handed stopper had the Primaries defence at sixes and sevens. A sublime mix of outrageous dribbling, poor decision-making and out and out folly ended up with a feast of goals for a relentless Musselburgh attack and a sense of substance induced flashbacks for a pitiful Primaries. By the time their players had awoken from their collective fug the scoreboard showed a final score of Musselburgh 6 (six) Primaries 3. Primaries Man of the Match:- On a day when self respect and footballing heart was at a premium, it was Gary Sullivan who took the coveted golden globe home with the aid of a rented lowloader and a team of strong armed lads.