Carnoustie took revenge for the East Region Cup Final defeat to Broughty Athletic by winning 3-1 in the first game on the new synthetic Whitton Park surface, however, the game nearly didn’t happen as a torrential downpour hit the ground just after 6pm.
Broughty returned to Whitton Park for the first time since March and although the pitch was ready there was still bits missing as both sides had to cope without dugouts. However, the pitch quickly became flooded when a storm hit around 6pm. The water ran like a river from the car park, down a slope and quickly collected in the penalty area. Referee Greg Soutar was prepared to give it a go and once the rain stopped and the flood started to disperse, kick off was delayed until 7pm to give the pitch every chance and it proved to be the correct decision.
Manager Phil McGuire made two changes, one enforced with Alan Cormack coming in for the injured Jamie Robbie and the other saw Gordon Macdonald come in for Sam Simpson while Paddy Conway replaced Bruce Hearn on the bench.
Carnoustie started brightly and could have been in front within the first minute but were denied by Sean Diamond in the Broughty goal, however, supporters didn’t have long to wait until Steven McPhee stabbed the ball home after hesitation in the home back four. The lead only lasted five minutes though as Ryan Ferguson equalised after he was given too much room on the right hand side. The Gowfers were pulled in to a battle and lost some of the quick sharp passing game that had torn Scone apart last weekend, giving Broughty too much respect and resorting to long balls to Macdonald and Dignan.
The second half was much better with Carnoustie’s slick passing game to the for that Broughty struggled to deal with and although the home side had plenty of the ball, the Carnoustie defence repelled all threats. The Gowfers went back in front just before the hour mark, one of the trademark slick passing moves set Brian Clark and the former Broughty man fired the ball in to the back of the net. Broughty had a couple of good chances but Cormack was in top form to keep them out and with nine minutes remaining, Ryan Dignan beat the Broughty back line to make sure the three points returned to Laing Park and maintain The Gowfers 100% record.
Man Of The Match – Harvey Dailly
There were several candidates for the award but the central defender just edged it
Carnoustie : Cormack, Cruickshank, Steel, Roche, Clark (Conway), McLellan (Simpson), Winter, Dignan (Martin), McPhee, Macdonald, Dailly
Subs Not Used : Buggins, Mair
