Brines,Lee,Jamieson,Allan,McGhie,Morrison,McArthur,Manson,McLean,Wood,Falconer.
Subs: C Campbell,S Campbell, McLean.
The sun was beating down on the Saughton 3g and the conditions were ideal for what was to be a thrilling Ian McDonald Cup Quarter final between these two Edinburgh Central division promotion hopefuls.
The teams both went into this full of confidence off the back of strong results in the previous round the week before knowing a win would be a timely confidence boost ahead of a busy schedule as the season goes into overdrive.
Cabrera made only two forced changes to the side that beat Burgh, seeing the return of Mark Brines in goal and with wee Phil missing, Steven McArthur came back into the side after having served a two game suspension.
Competition for places is fierce in the camp just now and the tinkerman is struggling to keep everyone happy as he juggles the squad to suit his creative formations.
Anyone thinking this would be a cagey affair due to the close league proximity of these two sides was to be in for a pleasant surprise as both teams appeared to be keen to go into attack from the opening whistle. The early exchanges created chances for both sides and both keepers were forced into early saves to thwart these.
The first goal however was not to be much longer in coming and the reinstated McArthur was to be the creator. Playing in ‘the hole’ between midfield and attack he seemed to elude any potential marker from the Melville side and was able to pick the ball deep inside his own half and burst into the oppositions territory. His clever footwork helped him dodge the defence’s tackles and when he made it into the box his unselfish cut-back to Jason Wood was gratefully swept in for a simple tap-in.
Cabrera Ath 1 – Melville Rovers 0
This opener gave Cabrera the impetus to continue to attack and their second was not far behind. This time a long kick from Brines in goal caused enough uncertainty in the Melville defence to allow Gogs Falconer an opening. The centre half did his best to pressurise Falconer into a mistake but cool as you like he flicked the ball over the oncoming keeper and into the empty net behind.
Cabrera Ath 2 – Melville Rovers 0
As Cabrera looked to continue their early pressure Melville hit-back, and through what should have been a warning sign for the Cabrera players, they exploited their numerical advantage on the flanks to devastating effect. Their right back and right winger combined to venture down the away side touchline and the eventual ball into the box was nodded home gratefully by the centre-forward. This goal came very much against the run of play but was surely an eye-opener for the Melville gaffer who seemed to go on to use this as a blueprint for his second-half tactical changes.
Cabrera Ath 2 – Melville Rovers 1
Undeterred Cabrera restarted and went straight into attack, across the pitch the players looked comfortable on the ball and their interplay was extremely pleasing on the eye as they continued to ask serious questions of their opposition. Chances were spurned as Gaz Morrison fired straight at the keeper from close range and a goal-mouth stromash was eventually cleared as the ball bobbled in the Melville 6-yard box begging for a Cabrera strike to send it goal wards.
Cabrera did, however, restore their two goal advantage in the 35th minute and again Brines was the architect with another long ball from defence. This time a neat flick on from Falconer was latched on to by Wood whose first touch set him up perfectly for a left-foot strike that gave the Melville keeper no chance.
Cabrera Ath 3 – Melville Rovers 1
With the first 45 drawing to a close Cabrera ensured they finished the half on a high with a fourth to add to their tally just before the whistle. A slick passing movement created an opening for Wood who advanced one-on-one with the Melville keeper inside their penalty area. His touch round the keeper was probably slightly beyond his own reach but McLean Jnr was there to pick up on the scraps and coolly slotted home into the empty net.
Half Time: Cabrera Ath 4 – Melville Rovers 1
Now after what had been a fairly one-sided affair in the first half we expected more of the same from the Cabrera lads going into the second. However what occurred took the old cliché of ‘a game of two halves’ to an extreme.
Melville to their credit refused to be beaten and their second half performance was at times breathtaking and certainly merited the win and semi-final place they gained from their victory.
However for a sorry looking Cabrera side the post-match analysis of what went wrong will no doubt be a painful experience.
As Melville clawed their way back into the game too many heads went down and the infighting on the park served no encouragement as the lads folded dramatically. To concede six goals without reply is one thing but to do it in the manner we did is another. Hopefully lessons have been learned and we can give ourselves a shake and come out firing on all cylinders again in this Wednesday’s cup tie, what is now the last chance of silverware in a rollercoaster of a season.
Full time: Cabrera Ath 4 – Melville Rovers 7
Man of the Match – Jason Wood. Scored two and set-up one. A difficult choice on a miserable day for the team.
Muppet of the Match – Too difficult to pick out any one individual on a day that all involved will hopefully consign to memory before the visit of Tynecastle later this week.
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