Dumfries 1's 2-10 Erskine Stewarts Melville 2's

Dumfries men’s 1’s travelled to Edinburgh to play Erskine Stewarts Melville 2s in the Quarter Final of
the Scottish District Plate after defeating Peebles in the last round.

A bare 11 were available again, with young Toby Macklin stepping up from the 2s to make his first
team debut.

ESM dominated the ball in the early moments of the game, and it took the host’s just 10 minutes
before they made the breakthrough with a nice finish from a tight angle. Dumfries had a short spell
after this goal where they launched some promising attacks, playing though Aitken, Milne, and
Stapleton down the left-hand side they managed to get the ball forward and created a half chance
for both Johnston and Steele upfront. The home side however made it 2-0 before the quarter ended.
The second quarter quickly continued into the same pattern with ESM having plenty of the ball and
probing the Dumfries defence. But it was Dumfries who got the games third goal when a quick
counterattack saw Aitken play Johnston through on goal, he then slipped the ball to Steele who
tapped the ball into the goal. 2.1 ESM finished the half strong after another nice finish before a
penalty flick right at the end of the half after the ball came off Smith’s foot after he stopped the
initial shot on the line. Despite conceding 4 the team has some positive moments and made ESM
work for all their goals and chances.

HT. 4.1

The second half continued in a similar way with Dumfries defending deep and looking to hit on the
counter. ESM scored a couple more early goals in the third quarter and looked to put the tie beyond
the West District side. Some good saves from Oakes in goals and some solid defending from the back
5 of Macklin, Carson, Marshall, Smith, and Stapleton prevented the score line from getting worse.
Dumfries did catch the side from the capital on the brake. Carson’s ball into Campbell on the top D
created havoc after his initial shot wasn’t cleared, Steele followed up forcing the keeper to make a
save and the ball fell to Johnston to tap in Dumfries’ second of the game. 6-2. As the fourth quarter
began Dumfries were starting to tire and with no subs to give players a rest the home side pressed
their advantage. The attackers found more space and had more time to play and punished Dumfries
with 4 goals in the last quarter to make the final score 10-2.

FT. 10-2.

A tough day out in the capital for the men in red sees them bow out of the plate against a strong
ESM team. The 11 men didn’t stop all game and worked hard to make it as difficult as possible for
the hosts. Congratulations to Toby Macklin who wins Man of the Match in his first game for the
men’s 1s, always willing to get on the ball and didn’t shy away from getting stuck in against more
experienced opposition.