Arbroath 0-1 Edinburgh City
O.See (82)
Abysmal Arbroath outclassed by brilliant Edinburgh City
Match report by Theo Kyriacou
Arbroath were beaten one-nil at home in a match where the winners Edinburgh City dominated and controlled the whole game. The score line fail to do the game any justice as Edinburgh City had plenty of chances to score during the game. Arbroath looked lost and clueless throughout the game and the suspension of Ricky Little really cost the team as the defence especially really missed his communication and leadership. The result drops Arbroath down to fourth place in the Ladbrokes SPFL League 2 table.
Arbroath made one change to the side that drew 2-2 at Stirling Albion two weeks ago. Gomes remained in goal. The defence was made up of Gold at right-back, Sukar at left-back and Dunlop, in for the suspended Little, alongside Hamilton in central defence. In midfield, Kader and Linn were on the right and left wings respectively and McCord partnered the captain Whatley in central midfield. Doris partnered Scott up front.
Arbroath named 7 substitutes: Bryan Prunty, Gary Phillips, Liam Callaghan, Josh Skelly, Josh Thomson, Gavin Malin and Robbie Mutch.
First Half
The first effort of the match went to Arbroath. Gold, who was standing on the edge of the area, received the ball from a clearance from a corner but his volley, even though it was well-hit, went wide.
Edinburgh City then began to control the match. Sukar’s poor throw-in was nicked off Hamilton by See, who managed to drive towards the area and force a good save out of Gomes. It was quite obvious to see that See was looking extremely dangerous up front and that Dunlop and Hamilton were really struggling to handle him.
Then Dunlop produced a moment of stupidity but then a moment of brilliance. Dunlop horrendously misjudged a header which allowed Dunn to get a shot away from close range but once again it was well saved by Mutch. If Dunn had of had a little bit more composure he would’ve scored. However, Dunlop more than redeemed himself when he made a brilliant tackle to stop See from running through on goal.
Edinburgh City kept on dominating the game and McConnel, after a good lay-off from See, fired a shot wide.
The closest Arbroath came to a chance in the first half, let alone a goal, was in the 38th minute when Kader fired a shot just over the bar from the edge of the box.
Half-Time – Arbroath 0-0 Edinburgh City
Second Half
Dick Campbell made an immediate substitution in the second half as Skelly came on in place of Ryan McCord. This was a slight change to the tactics as Scott dropped into central midfield and Skelly went up front.
The substitution did seem to wake Arbroath up a little. Skelly combined well with Linn down the left-hand side but his cross was well dealt with by Stobie.
Then came Arbroath’s first big chance of the match. It was brilliant by Linn up until the finish. He managed to fake inside two defenders before advancing on goal. He cut inside his man but saw his shot superbly blocked by Mbu. Linn should’ve squared it to Doris or Scott as they were in great positions and surely would’ve fired Arbroath ahead.
Edinburgh City then made two substitutions as McConnel, who had picked up a knock, was replaced by Muhsin and Allum came on in place of Mcfarland.
Even though Arbroath were poor if it wasn’t for Stobie they would’ve took the lead in this match. The Edinburgh City goalkeeper made a great save to thwart Whatley’s long-distance drive.
With Arbroath seemingly in the ascendency, they made a double substitution as Prunty and Malin replaced Doris and Kader.
Edinburgh City made their final change as Gaier replaced Donaldson.
Even though Arbroath had had the better chances in this half, Edinburgh City had dominated it completely and in the 82nd minute they finally and deservedly broke the deadlock. A scramble in the box led to Allum hooking the ball into the penalty area, where the magnificent See was lurking, to guide a deft finish into the back of the net. It was just what Edinburgh City and See deserved. See in particular had been brilliant and deserved his goal. Edinburgh City led by a goal to nil.
Edinburgh City really should’ve won by a bigger score line. Gold almost conceded an own goal when he almost cleared the ball into his own net. Then Gaier was extremely unfortunate to see his brilliant volley cannon back of the crossbar.
However, Edinburgh City were almost made to pay for their wastefulness. Whatley received the ball from Linn’s corner on the edge of the area. His goal wards shot took a deflection and hit the leg of Stobie. The ball found its way to Prunty but unfortunately he managed to fire well wide from close range.
Edinburgh City then had an amazing chance to put the game to bed in added time. With Arbroath pushing for an equaliser, Edinburgh City countered quickly and See played Allum through on goal, who even though he had lots of time and space to choose where he was going, hit an awful, feeble shot which was saved by Mutch. However, Edinburgh City held on to secure a deserved one-nil win and to keep up their recent unbeaten run.
Full Time – Arbroath 0-1 Edinburgh City
Arbroath lacked desire, courage and above all belief in today’s game. The players simply did not perform for Dick Campbell today and will know that if they want to gain Promotion, that a performance like today’s was completely unacceptable. A much better performance is needed for Tuesday’s Scottish Cup Third Round tie away at Clyde and on Saturday away at top of the table Forfar in the league.
