St Andrews United travelled to Prestonpans for an East of Scotland Qualifying Cup first round tie on a warm and sunny evening. However, new boss Garry Wright was more concerned with fielding a strong defence than worrying about the weather! Indeed, Kyle Sneddon, Cammy Lumsden, Ross Cunningham and Dan Hall were all nursing knocks so Wright started the game with a back three of Tom Milne, Ryan Roche and Mikey Ness. Wright also selected a quick and nimble attack and his midfielders passed the ball very nicely throughout the first half. Saints therefore began the match as the stronger side and Lewis Sawers was at the heart of the action as he flicked one good shot past the near post as well as seeing another chance flagged for offside. The hosts also saw an attack ended by an offside flag then Calum Brodie made a terrific block with his feet following a poor clearance. Sawers continued to look dangerous thereafter, whilst playing in a free role as a roving forward, and he tested Sam Gray with a long-range shot in the 21st minute. Ryan McManus subsequently tried his luck from distance before Preston Athletic took the lead in the 25th minute of the contest. Dean Ballantyne was allowed to run unchallenged through the middle of the park and he passed to Ben Weekes, who somehow beat Brodie with a low effort from 25 yards as the goalie was wrong-footed. That goal gave the hosts a massive confidence boost and they almost scored a carbon copy a few moments later as the away defence began to look quite vulnerable.

 

Brodie then made a great save from Ballantyne prior to claiming a couple of crosses but the action swung from end-to-end as half time approached. The lively Lewis Payne fired a shot high over Gray’s bar before waltzing through the home rearguard but Owen Andrew failed to end the move with a goal. The same player subsequently went very close to equalising as Gray made an exceptionally brave save but there was no further scoring prior to the interval. Wright therefore made three substitutions at the start of the second half as James Hennessy, Luke Mahady and Lewis Craik replaced Payne, Andrew and Nathan Morrice respectively and the changes made an immediate impact. Saints looked far stronger in the middle of the park and James Collins found enough space to run at the Preston defence. Lloyd Fiddler then tripped the winger in the box and Lewis Sawers calmly dispatched the resulting spot kick to make the score 1-1. Craik also added energy to United’s team and he shot narrowly over the bar in the 52nd minute before we endured a long stoppage as Terry Mitchell and Scott Bryson attended to a nasty cut above Milne’s left eye. The tough defender eventually emerged from the incident looking like Terry Butcher, whilst Collins looked like Brian Laudrup as he beat Gray with a great effort to give St Andrews United the lead in the 66th minute! That goal clearly gave the visitors a massive lift and they benefitted from a moment of madness by Brad Donaldson a few moments later as the Preston defender received a red card for pushing Milne in the chest.

 

The home side briefly rallied thereafter as Sebastian Mrowczynski tested Brodie with a long-ranger but Mahady put the result beyond doubt by finding the net with a powerful drive in the 70th minute. Saints then dominated the closing stages as Sawers, Craik and the impressive Hennessy all went close to scoring and Wright made two further substitutions as Reece Redpath and Kieran Boundy joined the action. Redpath certainly took the opportunity to remind onlookers that he is a strong midfielder with suitable levels of skill and Boundy almost scored from a powerful header in the 90th minute. Boundy was then involved in a bizarre incident as he caught Gray slightly late, causing the goalkeeper to require treatment for several minutes. When the goalie eventually returned to his feet, he was shown a red card by the American referee for an act of dissent! As such, the referee allowed ten minutes of injury time to be played and Hennessy rounded off an entertaining game by netting a cracking long-range shot with the last kick of the contest.