Match report

Friday, 23 July 2010
Saints can't find a way through

Pre-Season Friendly
Berwick Rangers (0) v Saints (0)
Attendance [0]

As he had done at Forfar and Arbroath, Derek McInnes fielded a strong team for this friendly match against Berwick Rangers at Shielfield Park.

The home side enjoyed the possession in the opening five minutes, forcing a fruitless corner, but it was home keeper Mark Peat who was the first into serious action in 6 minutes when he saved a close range Sam Parkin header.
Parkin began the attack, spreading it wide to Liam Craig whose deep cross was taken by Cleveland Taylor who in turn found the head of the big striker.

Half-chances for Sam Parkin and Kevin Rutkiewicz followed before a quarter of
an hour had elapsed and in 19 minutes Sam Parkin cleverly fed Liam Craig through on goal but the midfielder’s looping effort was wide of the target.

Chris Millar fired an effort straight at Peat as Saints tried to make the breakthrough and Steven Milne came close in 27 minutes when fired the ball across the face of goal after good work by Dave Mackay and Cleveland Taylor out on the right wing.

The fluent passing evident during the two matches in Angus was less in evidence during the first half of the match but Saints continued to enjoy the best of the possession and after a Liam Craig corner kick was cleared out of the penalty area, Berwick keeper Mark Peat had to produce a good strong hand low to his right to prevent a 25 yard return effort by Dave Mackay from ripping into the goal.

With half-time imminent, Sam Parkin failed to make the most of Rangers defender Chris McLeod surrendering possession – the Englishman being closed down before he could test Peat - and Cleveland Taylor had a fierce shot charged down by former Saints youth player David Greenhill but overall there was little for the crowd to enthuse over in an opening 45 minutes in which the home side proved tough opponents.

The opening 15 minutes of the second half were instantly forgettable although Michael Duberry had to look lively to prevent the home side’s Andy McLean from getting on the end of a cross into the box in the Berwick’s best move of the game.

Saints made two changes on the hour mark with Steven Milne and Murray Davidson making way for Collin Samuel and Jamie Adams – the former Kilmarnock man making his debut in Saints colours.

A Liam Craig corner was headed over by Kevin Rutkiewicz but in 71 minutes it was the home side who should have taken the lead with what was the clearest chance of the game to that point. Danny Grainger was short with a pass back and Berwick’s Craig O’Reilly pounced on the loose ball but after cutting inside Rutkiewicz he could only find the side netting with his parting effort when he really should have tested Graeme Smith.

The Shielfield Park side were enjoying their best spell of the game at this point, finding some rhythm for the first time in the match and it was down to an alert Perth defence that Graeme Smith wasn’t tested.

However, the home side finished the stronger side and how Ryan Holms didn’t net an 86th minute winner, only he will know. The Berwick sub looked more than a little offside as he broke down the right but having cut inside and taken the ball just three yards from goal, albeit at an acute angle, he somehow contrived to miss the target entirely. A real let off for Saints.

Liam Craig fired the ball wide in the last minute of the match but that was the final action of a keenly contested match.

Frustration that we couldn’t find a way through perhaps but the players will have benefitted from this toughest of work-outs so far. Saints were the superior side but Rangers defended well and finished the game strongly.

BERWICK RANGERS: Peat, Notman (Ewart), Smith, McLean, McLeod (Kerr), Greehill, McLaren, Currie, Brazil (Gordon), Gribben (O’Reilly), McMullan (Trialist) .
Subs not used: McCaldon, Holms, Ponton, Trialist, Trialist, Trialist

SAINTS: Smith, Mackay, Grainger, Duberry, Rutkiewicz (Anderson), Millar, Davidson (Adams), Taylor, Milne (Samuel), Parkin, Craig.
Subs not used: McCaffrey, Gartland, Caddis, May, Duffy