Dumbarton & Vale of Leven Reporter | Sport | Blame game begins as Bens steal points with soft goals

Thursday, 20th November, 2008

Published: Tuesday, 7th October, 2008 12:30

Blame game begins as Bens steal points with soft goals

Vale of Leven 2 Benburb 3

VALE only have themselves to blame for the loss of another three points at Millburn on Saturday.

Two up and coasting after 22 minutes, the home side lost two soft goals in two minutes and then late in the match another mistake allowed Bens an unlikely win.

Surprisingly, Vale made a couple of changes to the side which won their West tie at Kello. Out went both Kevin Montague and David Meechan and in again came David McNaught and Alan Filshie.

Despite the horrendous weather overnight, Millburn was in excellent condition and Vale started at a cracking pace dominating the opening play.

With only seven minutes on the clock, Vale deservedly took the lead when Russell and Martin combined and from the cross to the back post David McNaught had a simple tap in.

The in-form Mark Pawsey then doubled Vale’s lead with a good finish despite claims for offside.

In the 27th minute, Bens’ Sinclair gave Vale a fright with a back-post header which hit the side netting and just two minutes later, the same player capitalised on a slack clearance from Vale skipper Davie Grant to set up striker Paul Craig with an easy header from close range to give the visitors a route back into the game.

It was soon all square as, despite claims for handball on the Vale left, the ball was switched quickly across field to Bens’ striker Tony O’Neill and from a suspiciously offside position he sent a delightful chip over Carr into the far corner of the net.

It could have been worse for Vale before the break when Craig turned inside the area and his lob to the back-post bounced back off the crossbar with Carr beaten.

Vale started the second period on top and Ghattas in the Bens goal did well to stop McNaught’s point blank effort after Pawsey set up a certain goal for the former Dumbarton man. McNaught then was out of luck when his volley from 10 yards flew inches over the bar.

Out of the blue, the visitors stunned Vale by netting what turned out to be the winner after 77 minutes. Vale were well on top when Filshie was caught in two minds and his back pass fell kindly to striker Craig who still had a bit of work to do before smashing a high shot past Carr into the net.

Once again Vale’s defensive frailties were cruelly exposed against a team they really should have beaten. It seems Vale now need to score three times if they are to take anything from games.

Only Allan Lees (pictured) can claim any satisfaction from his performance.

Vale: Carr, G.McKenzie (Ward 78), R.McKenzie, Grant, Russell; Buchanan, Filshie (Brown 85), Lees, Martin (Montague 60); McNaught, Pawsey. Unused Subs; Cavana & Meechan.

This week Vale are away from home on league duty when they face St Anthony’s at McKenna Park, Govan, kick off 2pm, while the U21s have a Scottish Cup tie against Renfrew Burgh at Millburn, kick off 2pm.

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