Doune Castle 2
Finnart 3

After a blistering opening spell, a frustrated Doune took nothing from a game they seemed to have under control. A very good Finnart side battled back from an early 2-0 deficit to snatch all three points.

From kick off, Doune pushed forward and hemmed the away side in their own half with some impressive pressing play.

Alan Inglis drove an early 25-yard free kick a yard wide of the right-hand post before Doune took an 8th minute lead.

Doune harried to win possession at the half-way line. Ryan Meldrum surged forward and slipped a neat ball to Lukasz Duszynski. Duszynski drew the centre-back before threading a perfectly weighted pass to Sean Wilbert to his right. Wilbert brought the ball under control before powering a shot across the keeper into the far corner from 14 yards to make it 1-0.

2 minutes later it was 2-0.

Ryan Meldrum found Alan Inglis with a ball out of defence. Under pressure from his marker, Inglis hooked an overhead angled pass to release Lukasz Duszynski down the left. Duszynski sped into the box and rode a hefty challenge to be clear on goal. Duszynski drew the advancing keeper before slipping an angled shot into the far corner from 10 yards.

At that stage, Finnart were under constant pressure and rarely broke out of their own half.

After 16 minutes, Alan Inglis almost extended the Castle lead with an audacious chip over the keeper from the tightest of angles, only to see the ball slip inches past.

2 minutes later, Sean Wilbert hammered a low drive the keeper did well to block. On 20 minutes, Alan Inglis saw the keeper save his low strike from 12 yards as Doune continued to press.

An injury to a Finnart defender forced a 6-minute break in play. That stoppage seemed to affect Doune’s momentum and it was Finnart who looked the likelier side on the re-start.

Finnart pulled it back to 2-1 on 21 minutes.

The away side broke down the Castle left and squared into a crowded area. Doune’s attempted clearance broke kindly to a Finnart player who curled a shot from 12 yards through the melee and into the right-hand corner.

Doune were stung into retaliation. After 32 minutes, Sean Wilbert seemed certain to restore Doune’s 2-goal advantage. Wilbert received a pass 14 yards out to give him a clear shot on goal. Wilbert opted for power and rattled a fierce strike towards the far corner. The Finnart keeper flashed out an arm to deflect the net-bound drive off the face of the crossbar and over.

2 minutes later, Lukasz Duszynski found Alan Inglis at the near post with a corner from the left. Inglis rose above his marker but his header from 4 yards agonisingly slipped wide with the keeper rooted.

Finnart had started to pass the ball around with confidence and looked increasingly dangerous on the counter-attack. They equalised after 35 minutes with a goal of the highest quality.

A break down the Castle left saw Finnart angle an inviting cross into the area beyond the Castle backline. An attacker met the ball on the run 16 yards out and planted a perfectly-placed header across Callum Davison into the far corner for 2-2.

Four minutes before the interval, Lukasz Duszynski again found Alan Inglis with a corner from the left. This time the striker’s deft header beat the keeper, but fell inches over to nestle on the top of the net to leave the sides all square at the interval.

Doune re-started in determined fashion. They dominated possession and peppered the Finnart area with a series of crosses. The away keeper was in confident mood and collected every ball with confidence, even when under strong pressure from Alan Inglis.

On 57 minutes, Finnart demonstrated their danger on the counter-attack. A lightning break down the right ended with a flashing drive that flew just over.

3 minutes later, Callum Davison made his first real save of the contest, diving low to his right to gather a long-range free kick from the tall Finnart striker.

On 63 minutes, Lukasz Duszynski skipped forward and released Sean Wilbert with a neat angled pass. Wilbert took the ball early but hammered his shot on the run a yard over from 16 yards.

Finnart produced the game’s defining moment after 65 minutes. The ball ricocheted backwards and forwards in the packed Castle penalty area. Doune had several chances to clear but the ball fell kindly to the Finnart striker. Quickness of feet allowed him to turn and place a precise shot into the net from 10 yards for 3-2.

For the remainder of the match, Doune pressed forward and kept the away side on the back foot. The home side’s final ball into the box lacked precision, however, and time after time the away side cleared. The Finnart keeper also showed great confidence to gather any high balls into the area to leave Doune totally frustrated.

The closest the home side came to an equaliser came deep into added time. Jonny Coubrough did well to manoeuvre an ambitious overhead kick from 8 yards. His effort flashed inches past the post to nestle into the side net.

The final whistle left Doune deflated they failed to take anything from a game they felt they should have won.

Doune Castle: Davison, McClure, Duncanson, Docherty (A. Innes), McClymont, Meldrum, Gibson Coubrough), D. Innes, Wilbert, Inglis, Duszynski (Deacon) Substitutes: Macfarlane, Balmer

Match details

Match date

Kickoff