Swifts win in Dundee

This cup tie allowed the Swifts a break from league action and a chance to progress in a competition that the club has been successful in over the last few seasons.

Jeanfield had a number of injuries that ruled out Fraser Smith, Lee Deans, Scott Mollison, Jordan Kinnon and David Carr. That meant starting roles for Lewis Baker and Stuart McDermid.

There was an added element of spice to this tie with the former Jeanfield manager Andy Heggie being present on the bench of the home side hoping to derail the Swifts impressive start to the season.

It looked like that might have been the case with the home side taking the lead within seconds of the kick off. A long ball straight from centre found Wilson on the left of midfield. The ball was knocked down and found its way back to Mark Mitchell in the Jeanfield goal. Mitchell, usually so accomplished with his distribution, hurried a clearance which resulted in a goalmouth scramble and Cameron putting North End ahead. This seemed to knock the away side and the rest of the first half was played in a very lethargic manner. Chances fell to Tony Holt and Chris McLeish but their volleys dipped just over the bar and Lewis Bakers powerful strike was well parried by the home keeper. North End looked dangerous on the counter attack but the teams went in 1-0 at the break.

It was clear from the very start of the second half that Swifts were not happy with settling for the same substandard performance that they had produced in the first half. The passing was crisper, the movement was sharper and the voices were louder. Fowler began to dominate in midfield with some impressive challenges and runs forward. Dodd, McLeish, Kelly and Baker all began to find little pockets of space as the home defence retreated to cope with the pressure that was being applied. For all of Jeanfield’s good play it seemed that the elusive equaliser would never come. However, an inspired substitution by Gunnion seen club legend Anderson come on to give Jeanfield a different dimension to their play. Good play down the left hand side between Dodd and Anton seen the Swifts awarded a free kick a few yards in from the touchline. Anton produced one of his trademark deliveries that seen Anderson rise above all and head the ball powerfully into the goal to equalize with his first touch! That goal moved “Big John” onto 10 for the season.

This seemed to inject confidence into Jeanfield who went up another gear in pursuit of the winning goal. Another piece of good play from Dodd seen him deliver an excellent ball to the back post but Kelly couldn’t convert the chance. McLeish was next to terrorise the North End defence, who were now camped out on their 18 yard line, and he was cynically taken down just outside the penalty area. A discussion took place between Jeanfield’s two free kick goal scorers this season in Anton and Holt but it was the later who took the responsibility. Holt hit an unstoppable effort high into the top hand corner which the keeper could only admire. Holt seemed to enjoy this goal more than others, maybe a nod to his former gaffer who had infamously dropped him after a string of good performances in the prior season.

With Jeanfield now 2-1 ahead there was only going to be one way the score line would go and the inevitable happened with 10 minutes to go. Anderson, who was proving to be more than a handful, was man handled to the ground inside the box and with the Swifts wearing their luminous away kit, it was virtually impossible for the referee to miss the foul. Once again it was Holt who stepped up and calmly slotted home the final goal of the match.

North End reverted to some direct football in the later stages with Wilson their target. Young McDermid showed strength and maturity to snuff out any danger he posed.

The match ended 3-1 to Jeanfield and they will be pleased to have come through the first round of the GA Engineering Cup against a tricky opponent. Good character was shown by the squad coming back from 1-0 down but they will have to be careful not to give other teams the same head start in weeks to come.