Haddington travelled to St Andrews in the Second Preliminary round of the Scottish Cup expecting a tough match against the Fifers who, although a league below, had made a good start to the season. The sun was shining as both sides took to the pitch and there was a healthy crowd in the ground swelled by a large contingent following Haddington.
The visitors had the advantage of the substantial slope in the first half and they were soon dominating play. The home goal had several close calls before there was a controversial moment midway through the half when the home goalkeeper fouled Guy McGarry as he broke through on goal. Maybe just outside the box but everyone waited on the referee producing a red card. For some reason he choose to only produce a yellow – much to the home side’s relief. The free kick was cleared and soon after McGarry rattled the bar with the goalkeeper beaten. The next chance fell to Arran Ponton who was left with just the goalkeeper to beat but saw his effort blocked. The Hi Hi’s were to regret these missed chances. Kicking down the slope in the second half the home side pumped the ball forward and pinned the Hi hi’s back. Midway through the half the home ‘keeper misjudged a through ball, leaving Gary Windram free on the left with the goal gaping. The Haddington supporters were left disappointed when Windram’s effort cleared the bar – another escape for the Fifers. Minutes later the home side were celebrating when Redpath turned Russell in the box and beat the exposed McLellan for the match winning goal.
The Hi Hi’s must quickly recover from Saturday’s disappointment when they travel to Dalgety Bay tonight to meet Inverkeithing Hillfield Swifts in a Premier Division match. Haddington have never beaten the Fifers so tonight would be a good time to break that duck!
