It was a late night for all at Station Park on Tuesday when the final home SPFL Development League game of the calendar year kicked off at 8.20p.m. after the Berwick Rangers mini-coach got caught up in the traffic problems at the Forth Road Bridge on the way north.
The delay however did not seem to have an adverse effect on the home side as they took the lead within sixty seconds. Craig Smith cut the ball back from the left flank and Kerry Hay was on hand to slot the ball past Craig Cockburn in the visitors goal.
It was somewhat of a surprise that it took the ‘Loons’ another thirty two minutes to net a second, Hay again the scorer, this time after great lead up work involving Cameron Clark and Craig Smith. Kerr then went on to complete his hat-trick four minutes later, rifling the ball home from close range after a Craig Smith shot had been blocked.
Right on the half-time whistle, Jack Neave netted number four with a left foot strike for the Station Park outfit from ten yards out.
Kerr Hay was substituted at half-time, perhaps with Saturday’s cup tie in mind and to be fair in the second half, the home eleven perhaps fell below the defensive standard in particular that coach Barry Sellars and the watching Athies management team would desire.
It did however make for another entertaining 45 minutes of action, with their three goals apart, the wee Rangers also forcing Jason King into a few saves of note.
It was Eithan Anderson who netted the visitors opener in the 50th minute, home skipper Michael Kennedy making it 5-1 on the night three minutes later with a bullet of a header from a Frankie Devine cross.
Anderson was again on the mark in the 72nd minute, before Finn Graham netted a third for the Shielfield Park outfit just sixty seconds later.
Order was restored in the closing moments of the contest, Smith netting from the penalty spot, after Devine had been brought down on the left edge of the box, to make the final score line 6-3 in the ‘Loons’ favour.
