Finnart 1
Doune Castle 1

Callum Davison capped a fine individual display with a stunning late penalty save to ensure Doune left Glasgow Green with a share of the points against the league leaders.

Finnart threatened in the opening minute. A cross from the right flew across the face of the Castle goal, but no home player was on hand to take advantage.

Lukasz Duszynski then came close to scoring on 3 minutes. Duszynski sped into the box and unleashed a fierce angled drive from 12 yards the keeper did well to punch clear.

Finnart spurned a clear opportunity on 7 minutes. Finnart striker Taylor latched onto a high ball that had deceived the Castle backline with Callum Davison opting to stay on his line. Taylor miscued his volley and Davison gathered comfortably.

3 minutes later, a Finnart free kick from the left whistled narrowly past the left-hand post.

Doune were unable to find any fluency and Finnart pressed forward. Callum Davison again denied Taylor when he blocked with his feet after the tall striker had wrestled an opening.

Finnart finally broke the deadlock on 22 minutes.

Doune failed to cut out an attack down the right. The ball was played into Taylor. He turned quickly to stab a shot from 14 yards across Callum Davison and into the far corner for 1-0.

Doune fought back. Alan Inglis was inches from connecting with a Sean Wilbert free kick angled into the heart of the area from a wide right position.

3 minutes later, Robbie Hurst directed a free kick towards the back-post area from just inside the home half. Sean Wilbert headed the ball strongly back across the face of the goal, but not high enough to prevent the keeper clutching the ball to deny Alan Inglis waiting in the middle.

Finnart countered with an attack down the Castle right. When the cross arrived in the middle their player could only head over from 10 yards and another decent opportunity was gone.

After 38 minutes, John Marshall broke clear down the left and looked likely to run through on goal. He marginally delayed his turn inside, allowing the chasing defender a vital touch to push the ball out for a throw.

Doune were ending the half better. They passed up a good opportunity to equalise right on the half-time whistle.

Lukasz Duszynski and Sean Wilbert worked a short corner on the right. Duszynski whipped the ball to the back post. Murray Docherty reacted quickly to hook an angled volley from 8 yards that grazed the wrong side of the post.

Finnart led 1-0 at the interval.

Neither side created any major threat in the opening 10 minutes of the half. Craig Tully made a triple substitution after 55 minutes as Doune looked to regain parity.

2 minutes later, Finnart saw a player cautioned for diving in the area as he tried to win a penalty.

On the hour, a wind-assisted long throw from the right saw a Finnart player head over. 3 minutes later, Craig Tully introduced the aerial strength of Ryan Duncanson into the Castle backline.

Doune made it 1-1 after 68 minutes with a wonderful team-goal.

Callum Davison threw the ball to Robbie Hurst. He played it sideways to David Innes. Innes threaded the ball through to Lukasz Duszynski who fed Alan Inglis. Inglis found Regan McDonald hugging the touchline on the left.

McDonald did well to drive past a defender and fired a low ball across the face of the goal. Harry Kneal timed his forward run to perfection and stabbed the ball home from 5 yards ahead of the diving keeper.

The game became a midfield battle with few clear-cut chances. Callum Davison pulled off a brilliant save after 73 minutes, diving full-length to his left to push the ball round for a corner.

After 78 minutes, Alan Inglis seemed to have given Doune the lead when he outjumped the keeper to nod home a long throw from Andy Innes. The referee judged Inglis had barged the keeper and disallowed the effort.

With 6 minutes remaining, Finnart were awarded a penalty that seemed harsh on Doune.

Finnart drilled a corner from the left low into the heart of the box. An attacker swiped air as he tried to connect with the loose ball as 3 Doune defenders dived forward in unison to block. The referee judged illegal contact had been made and awarded the spot kick.

Taylor, Finnart’s leading scorer, smashed the kick down the middle. Callum Davison read his intentions, adjusted his feet and made a brilliant block. Another Finnart player had clearly broken early from the edge of the box. When he hammered the rebound high into the net, the referee had no hesitation in awarding a free kick in Doune’s favour.

Both Finnart and Doune tried to forge a winner in the closing stages with strong challenges flying in all over the pitch, a reflection of the commitment of both sides. The final whistle left the teams locked at 1-1, with the draw probably a fair reflection of the overall pattern of the game.

Doune Castle: Davison, McClymont, McClure, Docherty (Duncanson), D. Innes, Gibson (A. Innes), Wilbert (Kneal), Hurst, Marshall, (McDonald), Inglis, Duszynski Substitute: Macfarlane

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