Reserves v Rangers
Monday, 18th Feb 2019SPFL Reserve League: Callum Smith (31 pen.) 1-0: Joao Balde (35) 1-1
Dunfermline Reserves 1 Rangers Reserves 1
It was a young Dunfermline side that took on their Rangers counterparts at New Central Park on Monday afternoon. Josh Robertson was moved into central defence to take the place of Gregor Jordan who was red carded at Dingwall the week before.
Stuart Morrison did well to deny Adedapo Mebude a goalscoring opportunity in just the fourth minute. Paul Allan cleared from a Rangers free kick two minutes later, the home defence survived that and a corner from the right in eight minutes.
Lewis McCann got in the Pars first test on keeper Kieran Wright but the shot was easily gathered. McPake pumped in another free kick for the visitors in eleven minutes that was headed away by Kieron Swanson.
There followed fruitless free kicks for both sides before on the half hour Patterson fouled Paul Brown just inside the penalty box and Dunfermline were to open the scoring from the penalty spot. Callum SMITH took the spot kick firing into the right side of the net for 1-0.
The lead was to last all of four minutes as Joao BALDE equalised from a Mebude cut back to make it 1-1.
Both keepers were called upon, Wright holding a low ball in from Smith and at the other end Cammy Gill was quick out to gather at the edge of his box. When Brown conceded a 40th minute corner the Fifers defence cleared and then just three minutes later Robertson was penalised for a foul on Mebude. Josh McPake took the setpiece some 25 yards out and was unlucky not to pick out Aidan Wilson.
Final chance of the first half fell to Lewis Crosbie, latching on to a Lewis Sawers cross but not getting enough on his header to convert.
Half time: Dunfermline Reserves 1 Rangers Reserves 1
The home side were extremely unlucky on three occasions in the early part of the second half. A Crosbie cross just evaded McCann and then a Swanson attempt was deflected for a corner on right.
Morrison had a header cleared off the line and then after being picked out by Smith, Lewis McCann was dispossessed inside the Rangers box.
From the hour mark it was pretty even, the Pars committed all three of their subs with twenty minutes remaining meaning Craig Burt took over from Cammy Gill in goals and Lucas Berry and Liam Newton came on for Lewis Crosbie and Lewis Sawers.
The sub keeper was comfortable as Breen headed wide in 73 minutes, Mebude sent the ball wide the next and Liam Burt fired the ball just over Craig Burt’s crossbar.
As the game reached its end, both sides had opportunities to take all three points. In 89 minutes a clever back header from McCann tried to set up Smith but a defender recovered to dispossess.
Then in the second minute of time added Burt made a great save to deny his Rangers namesake and right on full time Burt held from a Rangers corner to earn a merited draw against the Reserve League leaders.
- - Listen to the post match thoughts of Greg Shields
DUNFERMLINE: Cammy Gill (Craig Burt 70): Paul Brown, Josh Robertson, Stuart Morrison, Kieron Swanson: Lewis Crosbie (Liam Newton 70), Paul Allan, Brandon Luke, Lewis Sawers (Lucas Berry 70): Lewis McCann, Callum Smith
SUBS NOT USED:
SCORERS: Smith (31 pen.)
YELLOW CARD: Morrison (78), Brown (85)
RANGERS: Kieran Wright: Daniel Finlayson, Nathan Patterson, Ben Williamson, Aidan Wilson (James Maxwell HT), Rhys Breen, Liam Burt, Cameron Palmer, Adedapo Mebude, Joao Balde (Kieran McKechnie 88), Joshua McPake (Cole McKinnon 88).
SUBS NOT USED: Jay Mackie, Harris O`Connor, Nicky Hogarth
SCORERS: Balde (35)
YELLOW CARD: Williamson (63), McPake (71), Balde (82), Patterson (85)
REFEREE: George Calder
WEATHER: Cloudy 8C
ATTENDANCE
NEXT MATCH: SPFL Reserve League (away) v Queen of the South, Monday 4th March 2019, kick off 2.00pm at Palmerston Park
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