Busby Amateur Football Club

A wonderful display of football for most of the game by the Busby players and their determination to take the three points were the key factors for this valuable away victory. The biggest problem for the Busby team was the inability to pass the ball accurately and precisely and in the first half part particularly gave possession away on numerous times. However, there was vast improvement in the second half and the team started moving forward and passing the ball in a more acceptable manner.

As the result shows this was a typical Cup clash with lots of excitement and moments of drama for both teams. Vale of Leven took an early lead and put Busby's 21s under a lot of pressure from the start of the game. At half time Mark Gilfillan came into the game to replace Stevie Doyle on the defensive line for Busby and the Busby team pushed harder and created more chances. Both teams played good football and tried hard to win the battle particularly in the centre of the playing field.

A good start to this West of Scotland Cup competition which came from a good team performance by the Busby players. A win was essential following the previous disappointing defeat in the league and the Busby 21s showed that they were determine to bounce back. The team played good football - particularly in the second half - and generated numerous chances to score the desired goals. St. Johnstone ABC took the lead but after that the Busby players raised their tempo and produced moments of enjoyable football display.

Busby started the game very well and managed to take the lead through Nicky Green's goal. Around the 17th minute the game was interrupted following a collision between Stephen Gemmell and an opposition striker who was seriously injured. The player had to be taken away by ambulance crew for further assessment and treatment and the game restarted 20 minutes later. In the second half the Busby team appeared to have lost control - particularly in the centre of the field - and the attacking options of West Park Utd paid off as they were able to score on a couple occasions.

An extremely disappointing defeat which came from the team's lack of effort and poor approach. Fitness was once again a key factor as some of the Busby 21s players did not look that they could hold out for the game's 90 minutes duration. David Fry and Neil Fraser scored for the home team though at the end the two goals were not enough to win the 3 points. Stephen Gemmell was one of the players who tried hard to take control of the game and his individual work rate was praised after the game by team manager Nikos Koukos.

A convincing victory by Busby which achieved from the team's quality performance particularly in the first half. Considering that a number of players were unavailable mainly through injury and also following a disappointingly defeat a couple days earlier; the team approached the game very positively and technically played quality football. Defensively the Busby unit showed signs of organisational merit while collectively demonstrated good tactical awareness.

Individually the players and collectively as a unit the Busby team failed to reach a good standard in terms of performance. Having won in the previous game against a strong opposition on this instance the team did not show equal determination to win their first home game. Various misunderstandings between players, poor passing and failing to keep organisational shape were also key factors for the final outcome of the game. Nonetheless, the Busby team failed mostly by playing too defensively and by their inability to create scoring opportunities.

A good result for the opening game of the season for the 21s with a win against Tower Hearts. In terms of performance our team did not reach the expected standards and the quality of football played was not satisfactory for Manager Nikos Koukos. Tower Hearts took a very early lead - within 20 seconds - after a cross from the wide area outside the 18 yard box was not defended by the Busby players and a Tower Hearts striker found himself unmarked in front of the goals and easily directed the ball in the net.