Match Reports

Late heartbreak for Thistle in thrilling Livi draw

The points were shared at a blustery Meadowbank Stadium on Sunday afternoon as Boroughmuir Thistle and Livingston WFC played out an entertaining six-goal thriller in SWPL 2.

The away side took the lead via an Ashley Fish wonder goal shortly before Katie McCabe drew Boroughmuir level with a cracking strike of her own.

Fish then bagged her second to send Livingston into the break with a one-goal advantage, but a quickfire double from Fiona Gibson and Ria McCafferty scoring directly from a corner flipped the game on its head with 10 minutes remaining.

Ultimately, though, it was a heartbreaking end to the game as Lauren Evans equalised in injury time to ensure the four-point gap between the two sides remained.

Head Coach Andy Enwood hailed promising youngster Olivia Forsyth’s impact on the game, especially down the left flank where she drove into the box and cut it back to Beth Macleod whose shot drifted narrowly wide inside 15 minutes.

Livingston then opened the scoring when Sharon Hughes found Fish in space and she struck a ferocious shot across goal and into the top left corner from around 25-yards out.

Parity was restored just six minutes later, however, when McCabe, eager not to be outdone by her Livingston counterpart, unleashed an almost-identical strike across goal and into the far top corner from outside the box.

The goals kept coming as a defensive mix-up saw Fish find herself one-on-one with Boroughmuir ‘keeper Beth Rennie and she calmly dinked her half-volley into the back of the net.

Maria Novoa-Torrente’s through ball was met by Macleod who had beaten the offside trap but saw her effort well saved by Molly Reeve in the Livingston goal just before half time.

Half Time: Boroughmuir Thistle 1-2 Livingston WFC

Goalmouth action was few and far between for both sides during the second 45, but for the odd shot from distance and a couple of ‘nearly’ moments quelled by the offside flag.

That was until the 78th minute when Boroughmuir equalised for a second time. Some good work down the left resulted in Iris Ramage firing in a dangerous, low cross which evaded everyone and fell to Gibson at the back post who made no mistake in bundling the ball home.

And the quickfire goals just kept coming, this time as Boroughmuir took the lead for the first time in the contest. Ria McCafferty fired in a dangerous corner from the left which, aided by a strong wind, flew beyond Reeve and straight into the back of the net.

As the clock ticked on, a great comeback and three points looked to be secured in Boroughmuir’s hands - however, Evans had other ideas as she received the flick on from a long-range free kick, expertly maneuvered the ball past the defender, and stuck her half-volley into the bottom corner from the 18-yard line in injury time.

A heartbreaking end to an entertaining encounter, though a point sees Boroughmuir move up to 4th place in SWPL 2. Up next for Thistle is a trip to face Gartcairn at MTC Park on Sunday 21st April, 2pm kick-off.

Full Time: Boroughmuir Thistle 3-3 Livingston WFC

Boroughmuir Thistle: Rennie, McCabe (Smith 75’), Hinchcliffe (Simmons 60’), Goodchild (Gibson 46’), Ramage (C), McCafferty, Aitchison, Borthwick (Verbist 60’), Novoa-Torrente, Forsyth, Macleod (Arthur 80’)

Subs: Gibson, Murphy, Verbist, Sheehan, Smith, Hall, Simmons, Orr-Love, Arthur

Livingston WFC: Reeve, Hughes, McAvoy, Davie (Bell 80’), Murphy, Ross, Fish (Murphy 70’), McFadyen (Evans 54’), Begg, Murphy, Mulligan

Subs: Gamrot, Watson, Evans, Murphy, Bell

Referee: Chris Newman

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