EOS Qualifying Cup 3rd Rd Haws v Berwick Rangers
/East of Scotland Qualifying Cup 3rd Round
Saturday 22nd January 2022
Haws 4 - 2 Berwick Rangers
Scorers:- Lyle Kellichan, Ryan Connelly (2) & Calum Adamson
HAWS MOTM Russell Grierson & Daniel Watt
HAWS 4 - 2 BERWICK RANGERS
MATCH REPORT by Dave Edler
The Haws welcomed Lowland League opposition to Keir’s Park as they sought to test their recent improvement in form against a team from a level above. The English side came into the game on the back of a good run of results themselves, in what had been a much improved season for the Border club.
The only change for the Haws from the side that won so emphatically against Jeanfield Swifts a week earlier was an enforced one, with Ryan Connelly coming in for the cup-tied Ross Allum.
The visitors started on the front foot but the first ten minutes were to prove their only dominant spell in the match. Graham Taylor drove over with five minutes on the clock and three minutes later Jake Mitchell had to deal smartly with the presence of Rangers striker Lewis Baker, who was to prove a handful all game.
However the Haws kept calm and started to play the good football seen in the previous few weeks. So it was no surprise when a moment of real quality in the thirteenth minute gave the home side the lead. Shaun Leishman’s excellent cross was slotted home superbly by Lyle Kellichan. It was to get even better for the hosts two minutes later. Daniel Watt, who was to enjoy a masterful game, fired in a strong shot from the left that Andrew McNeil in the Berwick goal could only parry, with the loose ball falling to the feet of Ryan Connelly who coolly slotted home.
At this point the Haws were in complete control and any neutrals arriving would have picked them out as the team in the higher division. Kellichan again went close with a free-kick, whilst Connelly was denied by McNeil this time gathering at his feet.
It would take something special to get the Northumberland side back into the game and it arrived via a freak goal in the 31st minute. There appeared to be no danger when the ball was played back to Haws keeper Stuart Hall but as he attempted to clear upfield the ball rebounded off the back of Baker and despite the desperate scrambling back from the Haws stopper, he was unable to prevent the ball from crossing the line.
Any doubts that the team in red would be unsettled by this setback were quickly put to one side as another flowing move restored the two goal cushion. Connelly broke into the Berwick half with real purpose before judging his pass perfectly to set up Calum Adamson. Showing a great first touch, Adamson then drove low into the back of McNeil’s net giving the Rangers keeper no chance.
Yet again though, the team in gold and black struck back, with that man Baker again proving a thorn in the Haws defence as he beat Hall at his near post for an immediate reply. There was even the chance of an unlikely equaliser, but this time Hall was on hand to deny the advancing Kieran McGrath.
Half-Time: Haws 3 Berwick Rangers 2
There was less incident in the second period as the expected onslaught from the visitors failed to materialise. Indeed the Haws almost made the perfect start to the half when Kellichan’s excellent cross fizzed across the face of the Rangers goal with nobody on hand to apply a finish.
Connelly went close with a well struck effort in the 53rd minute, while the same player was fed by Lewis Elder three minutes later, this time driving straight at McNeil.
The game was finally over as a contest in the 68th minute. Russell Grierson’s cross was headed back across goal by Daniel Watt to Connelly, who couldn’t miss as he added his second of the afternoon and Haws fourth.
The home fans still had one piece of breathtaking action to witness, though. Grierson caught the ball with full force in the 76th minute but his attempted ‘worldie’ produced an equally fine save from McNeil who somehow turned it over for a corner. It would have capped what was in any case another highly successful day at the office for the Haws.
HAWS: Hall, Leishman, Grierson, Mitchell, Forbes, Galloway, Adamson (sub. Luke 52 mins), Connelly (sub. MacLachlan 79 mins), D. Watt, Elder, Kellichan. Subs Not Used: M. Watt, Fleming, Donaldson., Wilson.
BERWICK RANGERS: McNeil, Ferguson, Ward, Cook, Pyper, MacKenzie, Taylor, Barr, Baker, McGrath, Heeps. Subs: Allan, Swinton, Nelson, Denholm, Harris, Stewart.
Attendance: 186
SHOTS ON TARGET: Haws 6 Berwick 5
SHOTS OFF TARGET: Haws 6 Berwick 1
CORNERS: Haws 6 Berwick 0
YELLOW CARDS: Haws 0 Berwick 0
RED CARDS: None
HAWS MAN OF THE MATCH: RUSSELL GRIERSON & DANIEL WATT.
