Haddington Athletic 1 (Ano Subasic 14)Whitehill Welfare 1 (Guy McGarry own goal 61)
Hi Hi: Dale Cornet, Ross King, Guy McGarry, Aaron Congalton, Seamus Russell, Gordon Harris, Ryan Hutchison, Joe Hamill, Scott Moffat, Gabri Auriemma, Ano Subasic. Subs: Mike Johnston, Robbie King, Lewis Sives, Andy McNeill, Harvey Thomson, Brandon Blair, Robbie Stirling (SG) – all used.One hundred and ninety five days had elapsed since Millfield’s turf was last used for the purpose it’s there for – it was a thrill to have a game of football played again today, on a beautifully sunny September afternoon. Strict protocol requirements meant environment and atmosphere remained a long way removed from the norm – no spectators beyond a handful of officials from both clubs, dressing rooms out of bounds and social distancing etiquette observed – but nonetheless, given the lengthy absence of our desired Saturday afternoon activity, it was a joy to have the team in action on our home turf again after all this time.The starting eleven was unchanged from Tuesday night’s very positive showing at Penicuik, the subs’ bench likewise. The opening forty five minutes brought another encouraging performance, with plenty of good football played as we held the upper hand for the most part. We opened the scoring on fourteen minutes with a fine header from Ano Subasic on his home debut rounding off some good play – Gabri Auriemma provided the cross from just inside the penalty area on the left, and Ano dived forward to plant a firm header past the Welfare goalkeeper. It wouldn’t have been unjust had another goal or two come our way, as we continued to pass the ball about neatly, but Ano’s goal was all that split the teams at the break.Multiple substitutions at the break saw the pattern of play change significantly in the second half, with the visitors seeing more of the ball than previously. The equaliser materialised on sixty one minutes, when Guy McGarry had the misfortune to head into his own net at the near post from a corner swung in from the right – this came just a minute or so after Lewis Sives looked set to double our lead but our opponents’ ‘keeper pulled off a good save. While Whitehill were superior in terms of second hand possession we defended ably enough, with Robbie Stirling a safe enough presence between the sticks. Hard-working performances were the order of the day, and Brandon Blair wasn’t far away from giving us the win.Ultimately a 1-1 draw wasn’t an unfair outcome, and of course the result’s of secondary importance in fixtures like this. Both player-managers will have been largely satisfied with the exercise – Joe Hamill and Neil Janczyk were seen discussing matters in the centre-circle after the final whistle, the pair long ago team-mates at Hearts.What’s next remains right now to be seen, in a wider sense as well as regards our next outing – we’d hoped to have Midlothian amateur opposition at Millfield next week but their association’s current rulings forbid them from playing East Lothian opposition. It’s hoped we’ll be in action again next Saturday, that though may hinge on developments in the wider world.
