Bishopmill Villa- 3 .Vs. 4 -Hopeman
W.J. Tewnion Memorial Cup Final : : Kynoch Park, Keith : :
Friday 18/09/09 : : K.O.- 7:30pm
Bishopmill Villa made it 2 cup final defeats out of 2, as First Division Hopeman sparked a real shock to the entire league with an impressive 2nd half display.
The final got off to a very even start, with both sides seeming rather nervous. The first chance fell to Bishopmill, but Alex McGregor's long shot was well saved by Moray McLoed. Gary Burr also had a chance for the Premier Division men, but McLoed got to the ball before the midfielder could get a shot away.
After 20 minutes, the opener arrived, unsurprisingly for Bishopmill, Alex McGregor cutting in from the left, and squaring it to Paul Burr, who slotted home for 1-0 to the Villa. Hopeman didn't let this get their heads down though, and Gary Pope should have equalised 7 minutes later, but his header from a Lee Wilson free kick went inches wide.
On 36 minutes, Villa had the chance to double their lead when Kelly Sim was hacked down inside the area but Gary Burr sent his spot kick high, over the bar. However, on 39 minutes, Paul Burr's free kick was met by a header from Michael Stephen, and when his attempt was spilled, Gary Burr was there to make up for his penalty miss and make it 2-0 to Bishopmill.
4 minutes before half time, it should have been 3-0 to the Elgin men when Stephen's header went inches wide of the post.
Half time scoreline was 2-0 to Villa.
Hopeman came out knowing what had to be done, and to cut it short, they did it. Just 3 mins after the restart, Lorne McPherson broke the Bishopmill offside trap, and he ran on and blasted it past Ricca Collie to get the Coasters right back in the contest.
And on the hour mark, the game was level as a magnificent long shot from Gary Pope, flew past Collie to make it 2-2 to the delight of the large Hopeman crowd. Both teams were then on a battle to grab the next, all important goal, and Villa looked like a completely different team than that who participated in the first half.
On 76 minutes, disaster struck for Ali Burr and his side, when an absolute shocker of a refereeing decision allowed Hopeman to go in front. Lee Wilson took a quick free kick on the edge of the box, but after it was taken, the referee blew his whistle, resulting in the Villa players all stopping, but when Gary Pope knocked the ball in the net, the ref allowed the goal, much to the anger of the Villa players and manager especially.
Bishopmill kept going, and the fighting spirit that has been with them for years, shone through once more on 82 minutes, when Michael Stephen looped a ball into the box, David Gallacher lept like a salmon and equalised for the Elgin men. However, that joy was short-lived, and the winning goal was to come just 2 minutes later. Lorne McPherson was played through, and he steadied himself, before blasting home the winner, making him the Hopeman hero and making sure, Bishopmill Villa would not be retaining the Tewnion Shield.
The referee blew the whistle on yet another roller coaster cup final, which at the end of the day, arguably was won by the better side, but yet again, a refereeing mistake of that calibre, in some's eyes, changed the game completely!
However, congratulations to Hopeman, and comiserations to the Villa boys.
Bishopmill Villa Man of the Match was Ricca Collie
Final Score was Bishopmill Villa- 3 .Vs. 4 -Hopeman FC
