It was almost a year to the day when Haddington last played Penicuik Athletic at Penicuik Park. On that occasion, the Hi Hi’s narrowly lost by the only goal of the match and were disappointed not to get a draw. It was an entirely different story last Saturday when the visitors were disappointed to come away with only one point. Manager Scott Bonar’s side dominated most of the game and created the proverbial barrowload of chances. They only had one goal to show for their efforts as the match entered the final stages and a controversial free kick on the edge of the Haddington box allowed Penicuik to salvage a point and left the Hi Hi’s to regret their missed chances.
On a positive note, Scott Bonar’s side played some great football and even the early loss of Ross King failed to disrupt their rhythm as substitute Ross Young settled into midfield alongside young Robbie Peffers, who belied his lack of years with a mature performance in the middle of the park. In fact Peffers missed a similar chance that he had against Musselburgh before he opened the scoring in the 15th minute, following some tenacious play from Gary Windram.
Haddington could have had three at the break and the one way traffic continued in the second half as chances came and went – too many to document! Penicuik relied on the long ball but the Hi Hi’s defenders coped admirably. What looked like a good challenge from Lucas McGarry on the edge of the box, seven minutes from time, was penalised and the Penicuik player rocketed the free kick past the wall and Campbell McLellan. There was still time for a winner but the Hi Hi’s were denied by some frantic defending and it was no surprise when the home goalkeeper was named ‘Player of the Match’. Haddington’s award went to Robbie Peffers.
