Elgin Boys Club off to a flying start
ELGIN Boys’ Club select got off to a flyer in the Keele International tournament with two straight wins.
They beat Aston Villa 3-2 before winning 1-0 against a Torquay Utd Development Centre eleven.
Against Villa, Elgin were pressing from the start and were unlucky not to take an early lead when Jamie Lees blasted the ball just past the post after making a great run down the wing. Further chances were squandered as Dean McCall and Jack Wardlaw also went close.
At the other end, Villa almost scored with their first foray into Elgin territory. A high ball over the defence put their striker straight through on goal but Calum Deans stretched to knock the ball past the post.
The deadlock was broken when a flashing corner from Jack Wardlaw was converted at the back post by Jack McHardy. He then went on to get a double with a defence-splitting run and shot into the corner of the net.
Elgin then spurned a penalty before half-time and were under the cosh during a frantic period when Villa threw men forward and used the long-ball tactic. This got them back into the match with two quick goals. The first of these took a wicked deflection into the corner of the net. The second was another high ball over the defence and blasted in from close range.
Villa stayed with this tactic and almost went ahead. Another high ball saw Mathew Coulson and the Villa centre forward collide. The ref awarded the free kick against Elgin. The kick was struck beautifully, but Deans tipped the ball over the bar at full stretch.
Elgin then re-found their form and charged forward with several attacks. They were eventually rewarded when a well-struck corner from Reece Mellis was headed in by Mathew Coulson at the back post. This was followed by several close shots from Dean McCall and Ross Campbell but the score stayed at 3-2.
On Wednesday they beat Torquay Utd Development Centre 1-0 through a Jamie Lees goal, which put them through to the next stage.
They were due to play Port Vale today (Thursday), who had also won both their games so far. The semi-finals will be played on Friday.
