FANTASTIC footballers have hit the back of the net to come out on top at a prestigious tournament.
Longniddry Villa were among the dozens of sides kicking off at the nine-a-side International Edinburgh Cup at Peffermill.
The county club opened the competition against Aberdeenshire’s Westdyke Community Club and got the ball rolling with a goal in the opening five minutes. John Shields’ opener was cancelled out before Villa were awarded a penalty when Chris Brown was brought down in the box. He stepped up to score and Cameron Souness made sure of victory with a left-foot strike from outside the box.
Next up was a game against Ancrum Juniors from Jedburgh.
Again, Brown was on target and he doubled the lead before Ollie King got on the scoresheet ahead of the break. The Borders side fought back in the second half and got off the mark but failed to reduce the gap further.
Finlay Brash then gave Villa an early lead against Riverside Football Club, who train at the University of Stirling. The county club’s defensive line kept their rivals out and the game was secured when King netted from a free-kick.
The 100 per cent record continued in an entertaining clash with another Aberdeenshire-based club, Culter Youth FC.
Within seconds of the starting whistle, Charlie Maule delivered the first goal and King quickly doubled the lead. Culter halved the deficit but Mason Brown restored the two-goal lead, which became three when James Jarvis took the ball down the middle of pitch to provide the assist for the same player to make it four. Oscar Onions made it 5-1 before Brown completed his hat-trick and King wrapped up the scoring in an incredible 7-1 win.
The final game pitted Villa against a third team from Aberdeenshire in Kintore.
Again, the East Lothian side got off to the perfect start when Brash put them in front early doors. Moments later, Maule delivered a fabulous pass into Brown to make it 2-0. Villa extended their lead when the goalkeeper failed to hold Demir Vural’s shot and Brash grabbed his second of the match, Kintore pulled one back but any chance of a comeback was ended when Vural found the net. Finally, Brown scored his second goal of the game and there was time for him to wrap up another treble.
Mark King, Longniddry Villa’s 2013 coach, said: “I couldn’t be prouder of what the boys have achieved. It’s just the start of the season, and we only trialled our nines formations a few months ago.
“They’ve gone above and beyond
“Five tough matches and a win in each is more than I could have hoped. They have incredible focus and an enviable team spirit. The boys are a credit to their parents and us as coaches.”
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