SAT 15/11/08 (Overlee) U21 League Game: Busby AFC 2 - 2 Baillieston
Both teams played well and from the start the game was full of action. The result was extremely disappointing for the Busby team and at the end the players and management felt as if they had been defeated. The Busby players performed with passion, put up a good football display and for the biggest part of the game showed an advantage over a strong Baillieston opposition. The tactics were right and the team applied theimselves correctly on the playing field and these factors were crucial as the Baillieston team considered one of the strongest in the league setup.
Although not one of the Busby players was below par; a couple of great individual performances must be mentioned. Steve Doyle deserved to receive the MOM award, while goalkeeper Danny Wright had a very good appearance and midfielders Chris Harkin and Craig Fry with their hard efforts played a key role in the centre of the playing field. The first goal was scored by Chris Harkin with a magnificent long distance shot which made the ball to travel nicely and deep just under the horizontal bar straight into the net. Busby's second goal came from an individual effort by Captain Ross King who with a good run moved forward from the right flank to the edge of the opposition's box and by a powerful shot sent the ball directly into the target.
The Busby 21s maintained the important 2-0 lead with only a few minutes before the end of the game and then suddenly disaster struck. A mistake by a Busby defender who misjudged the trajectory of a pass at the edge of the 18 yard box led to a Baillieston player picking up freely the balll and scoring. Ironically the Baillieston players did not find the target again. Deep into injury time - the referee unjustifiably played 6 minutes of extra time - an own goal; as a high ball into the box was misdirected by a Busby defender and travelled directly into the net. Considering a great performance, the limited number of available players and how things developed at the end, this result was more like a defeat than a draw for the Busby team.
Goal Scorers C. Harkin, R. King
MOM S. Doyle