It was victory in the east for The Buffs as a spirited second-half performance saw them dismantle the hosts to go on and win the tie 2-4. Penicuik looked the much better side in the first half, with The Buffs really struggling both in and out of possession, but changes in personnel and shape at half-time helped Kevin Kelly’s side fire themselves back into the tie during the second period.
Goalkeeper Glen Cameron was kept very busy in the early stages of the game, pulling off some great saves to keep the score at 0-0. Glen was first called into action in the opening minutes when full-back Danny Chisholm swung a ball in from the left wing, which was won by the towering striker, Daryl Healy. Healy headed towards the top left corner and looked destined to open the scoring until Cameron managed to dive across and push the ball just over the bar.
Glen was in the limelight once again soon after, when he kept out another good headed opportunity for “The Cuikie”. The ball was crossed in by James Clare, who sent the ball into the box from deep on the left-hand side. Clare’s cross found the head of Niall Kemp, who had escaped Chris Bell, at the back post where the winger aimed his header back across goal towards the bottom left corner. Fortunately for The Buffs, Cameron was able to get down and get a strong hand on the ball to send it past the post.
Buffs’ first and only real chance of the half fell the way of Mark Lamont, who went close from long range. It was Mark who kicked the move off with a great one-two with Chris Bell, which allowed the full-back to drive up the left flank before finding Lamont as he squared the ball across the edge of the box. Lamont stepped onto the pass and smashed the ball just wide of the left post with a first-time effort from outside the box.
The Cuikie were really testing the Buffs’ defence with cross balls in the first 45, which proved to be a big challenge for The Buffs, who looked vulnerable to balls being sent into the box. Winger Kemp was next to probe the box with a cross as he floated a ball towards the back post from the right-hand side. Kemp’s cross wasn’t cleared by the Buffs’ back line, which caused a nervous moment for Kevin Kelly’s as the ball was allowed to drop into the centre of the Buffs’ box, unchallenged, before Lawrence Hendry got a crucial foot to the ball, sending it out for a corner.
A series of corners would follow before The Buffs would eventually be punished as the Penicuik pressure became too much for The Buffs’ rear-guard to deal with. A corner was swung in from the left, with the second ball falling to Max McGinley, who delivered a ball towards the penalty spot where Tony Robertson looped a header over everyone and into the right side of the net to give the hosts a deserved lead just before the break.
The half-time whistle brought a welcome break for The Buffs as Kevin Kelly was able to get his side into the interval, still very much in the tie, and make some much-needed adjustments to the shape. The Buffs switched from a 3/5 at the back to a flat 4 with the introduction of Olly Smith on the wing and Murray MacKintosh in the middle, who provided some great quality in possession during the second 45.
The Buffs made a fast start to the second half, with the changes making an instant impact on the game. Bell carried the ball a good distance up the left wing and drilled a pass into the feet of Boylan on the edge of the box, who controlled well. Bryan cut inside his man with a fake shot before curling a great finish into the bottom right corner, giving the goalkeeper no chance. The 47th-minute goal kicked off a frantic period in the game, which would see both teams have chances of taking the lead.
Just 2 minutes later, Ryan Wilson had his first chance of the game as The Buffs began to really turn the screw on the Penicuik defence. Bryan Boylan received a pass right on the touchline on the left wing and drove to the byline before lofting a cross into the Penicuik box for Wilson to attack. Ryan headed down into the ground, forcing Cuikie goalkeeper Clapperton to make a great save with his trailing leg to keep the header out.
The following phase of play would see Penicuik launch the ball forward, over the top and in behind the Buffs’ defence. Kemp latched onto the long ball on the right-hand side and ran through on goal before hitting a low effort, which was saved well by Cameron. Despite making the save, Glen was unable to keep hold of the ball, which left the ball rolling back out towards David Healy. The certainty that Healy was about to finish forced Fraser Malcolm to make a desperate sliding challenge, which he seemingly pulled off brilliantly as he looked to have just got a toe to the ball to take it out of the striker’s path. Unfortunately for Fraser, the referee adjudged him to have failed to win the ball in his challenge, forcing the official to point to the spot and award The Cuikie a penalty kick. Niall Kemp would step up to take the penalty and place the ball into the top right corner with a tidy spot-kick to re-take the lead for the hosts.
It wouldn’t be long before the game was levelled up for the second time, with only 5 minutes passing before Ryan Wilson equalised for The Buffs. It was Bryan Boylan causing trouble on the left side again as he knocked a long ball down to Wilson at the near post, where the forward let the ball run across his body before turning and hitting the bouncing ball into the near, bottom left corner from fairly close range, with one of his first chances in the game.
Lamont went close to scoring a third for The Buffs as he nearly deceived the keeper with a free-kick from around 35 yards. Mark took the free-kick quickly and floated a shot at goal which beat Clapperton in goals, but didn’t quite dip under the bar in time as it bounced off the woodwork and away from danger.
Less than 10 minutes after getting The Buffs’ level in the game, Wilson was scoring again to put The Buffs in front this time. It was a great move down the left side from the Buffs, which culminated in Bell playing the ball into the path of Wilson on the left wing, the striker dribbled forward and hit an effort low into the bottom right corner to get his second and put The Buffs in front for the first time in the game.
Substitute, Olly Smith had a chance to extend the Buffs’ lead when he hit a wicked half volley from the right-hand side. Mark Lamont weaved through a few Cuikie men in midfield before sliding the ball out to the right for Smith, who caught the ball brilliantly on the half-volley, which saw it just skim the top of the crossbar and go over.
A quick counter attack from the Buffs would see the tie put to bed through Mark Lamont who grabbed his first goal of the season. The ball was moved forward with pace by The Buffs before it was played into the feet of Wilson, who received the ball with his back to goal. Wilson turned his man excellently and slipped a perfect pass through to Lamont, who ran through on goal and placed a first-time shot past the goalkeeper to double the Buffs’ lead.
The Cuikie did have chances to pull one back in the dying minutes and would’ve done so if it wasn’t for a magnificent double save by Glen, who performed superbly on the day. Penicuik played through the Buffs’ defence before sliding a pass into Healy, who took an early shot from just inside the box, which was saved well by Cameron down to his right. James Clare was on hand to follow up Healy’s saved effort as he got to the rebound and shot from a tight angle back across the goal. Cameron managed to recover from his first save and scrambled across to his near post, where he was able to somehow push Clare’s strike away from goal. The danger wasn’t cleared yet for The Buffs, however, as the second rebound of the attack landed at the feet of Viola on the edge, who struck an effort low, aimed at the bottom right corner. Viola’s shot was headed for the back of the net until Chris Bell managed to just stick a toe out and deflect the ball wide of the post for a corner.
It was a game of contrasting halves for both sides, with the Buffs eventually coming out on top after a very entertaining cup tie. Props have to be given to the Buffs’ management team, whose half-time changes turned the game on its head and gave their side the foundation to go on and win the tie, getting the club into the first round of the Scottish Cup for only the third time.
