Brough ecstatic with dominant victory before embarking on Stateside adventure

Forfar Farmington’s Kayleigh Brough was delighted to get a win in her final game before she departs to America next month.

The defender played almost the whole game in the 4-0 win over Hutchison Vale, coming off in injury time to a standing ovation from the crowd.

Brough said after the game “I thought it was a really good win, it was a good way to end the first half of the season, obviously it’s my last game, I’m gutted I didn’t get a goal but it was a great team performance so I’m happy with it. All the goals were good, especially Holly’s, her goal was fantastic. Keira and Amy took their goals very well too.”

The 18 year old hinted at coming back to play after her stint in the States “I’m gutted, it’s a great bunch of girls, I obviously got a bit upset at the end there but I will be back, it’s just the initial though of moving away first, got to get used to it though. I’ll be going to a place called La Junta in Colorado, at the first college, Otero College, I’ll be there for two years but then to get your bachelors degree you can go on for another two years but I might be home after the first two years, I might love it and stay out there so you never know.”

Brough was delighted to be playing in defence after head coach Damon Neish tried playing her up front at the start of the season “Damon spent weeks and weeks trying to make me a striker and I told him it wasn’t happening, I hated it but went with it not enjoying it and then one game he said that I’d be playing centre half and if I had a point to prove, to prove it to him. I must have proved it to him because he’s never played me up top again!

Neish had praised how Brough helped bring the players together in his post match interview, saying “Kayleigh did well, we’re going to miss more than Kayleigh’s football ability, which she has an abundance of talent, we’re going to miss her personality, we’re going to miss the way she brings girls together, her influence on the pitch, all the positive things she did in training, it’s not always on the park, lifting girls up, motivating them as well as her leadership as a centre half.”

The head coach also echoed her statement about proving a point when she was played up front “In the last two months she’s been outstanding, she probably felt she had a point to prove after me trying to make her into a striker and she’s certainly made me eat my words because she’s been fantastic in defence so we’ll miss her football ability, her leadership ability but the girls have learned a lot from her and they’ll take what they’ve learned and push on so all the best to her.”

“Depending on what happens with her, how long she’s over there and all the rest of it, but we’re not worrying about that, we want Kayleigh to go and have a great time, learn and get better, I’m sure she will. If she does play for us again at some point then we’ll be a very lucky team.”

Forfar Farmington 4 Hutchison Vale 0 (SWPL) 28th June 2015

Forfar Farmington                           4

Keira Johnstone 11, 43, Amy Gallacher 49, Holly Napier 58

Hutchison Vale                                 0

Forfar Farmington head coach Damon Neish reckons it was four going on “on whatever number you choose to pick” as the side dismantled Hutchison Vale with ease on Sunday.

A double from on fire striker Keira Johnstone along with excellently worked goals from Amy Gallacher and Holly Napier saw Forfar keep all three points at Station Park against a poor Hutchison Vale side.

Neish was delighted with how the side performed, saying after the game “I thought it was a very good game, we’ve been threatening to do that to a team for weeks, possibly even months now and we’ve finally done it, it was four going on whatever number you choose to pick. They were a stuffy side, they came to make it really difficult for us and did it, but our movement off the ball, the way we kept it and were patient with it was exactly what we’ve been doing against other teams, only we got the goals to go along with it this week so I’m delighted.”

“We’re capable of scoring goals like that, and it’s not just the one type of goal, we’ve got girls that are match winners and the problem lately has been that we’ve not had the rub of the green, we’ve maybe lacked a bit of confidence but the last three weeks have shown that not only do we belong here but we belong higher up than we are and I’m really looking forward to the second part of the season.”

Forfar were forced into one change after Gemma Collier’s suspension, with last week’s goalscorer Lindsey Dunbar stepping up from the bench. Three of the side’s under 17 squad were rewarded for their recent form with a place in the squad, Caitlin Mitchell, Leah White and Bethany Moir.

In the first two minutes Derrian Gollan had gone close twice, having a shot saved within the first thirty seconds before sending a volley straight into Connolly’s arms. A minute later Amy Gallacher sent a shot wide after collecting a Jade McLaren cross.

The visitors had one of very few chances in the tenth minute when Rebecca Galbraith blasted over, with Forfar taking the lead a minute later. A ball into the box found Gollan and when her effort was parried, Johnstone gleefully fired home for her second goal in two games.

The home side could have doubled their advantage two minutes after the first but Jade McLaren’s header from a Holly Napier corner was saved by Connolly.

Fiona McNicoll was forced into her first save of the game twenty minutes in when Walkingshaw had a good effort from a Dunn corner but the shot was clawed away by the keeper.

Five minutes later Amy Gallacher ran almost the length of the pitch in a quick counter attack but when she got to the box her shot was blocked. From a free kick shortly afterwards McLaren knocked the ball wide of the post.

Johnstone grabbed her second of the afternoon two minutes before half time, a Gallacher ball split the defence and Johnstone raced round the keeper before slotting into an empty net from a tight angle.

Four minutes after half time it was game over, an excellent passing move involving Gallacher, Gollan and Lindsey Dunbar ended in Gallacher firing home for her fourth of the season.

A minute later McLaren sent in a teasing cross that Gollan was inches away from reaching before Vale had their best chance of the game.

A corner into the box found Kaney and her header looked to be going in but Napier headed it onto the crossbar before McNicoll pushed the ball away from goal and it was eventually cleared.

In the 58^th minute it was four for Forfar, Kayleigh Noble laying the ball off for Napier 25 yards away from goal and her shot flew into the top corner.

A minute later Noble volleyed over as the home side looked to add to their tally.

The game started to slow down with both midfields stopping the other from creating any chances.

In the final ten minutes Forfar had numerous chances with Gollan and Gallacher involved in all of them, the pair both seeing two shots each saved while Keira Johnstone saw her chance for a hat trick trickle agonisingly past the post.

Forfar handed debuts to 15 year old Caitlin Mitchell and Leah White, the latter replacing USA bound Kayleigh Brough in her final match.

Gollan almost got the goal she deserved in the last minute, collecting a Johnstone cross but couldn’t beat Connolly.

The side move up to 9^th in the table as the league splits in two groups of six, with the action set to resume in the last weekend of July.

Neish is glad of the break despite it coming after two wins on the trot “The girls need a break, they’ve absolutely punished themselves since January, I don’t know what other teams do but they’ve been doing five sessions in four days, training four times a week in the last few weeks. I’ve put the girls through a lot in this first half of the season, they certainly deserve the break that they are away to get. “

“It’s not easy for any players to be doing college and working full time and coming to training four nights a week as well so the girls are going to get the break they deserve, come back fresh and we’re going to really push in the second half of the season to get into seventh spot, not even eighth, there’s nothing stopping us from being the best team in this bottom six.”

Forfar Farmington: Fiona McNicoll, Jade McLaren, Megan Burns (Sophie Milligan 77), Nicola Davidson, Kayleigh Brough (Leah White 90), Lindsey Dunbar, Holly Napier, Kayleigh Noble (Laura Parsley 61), Amy Gallacher (Caitlin Mitchell 87), Derrian Gollan, Keira Johnstone.

Sub not used: Bethany Moir

Interview with Forfar Farmington’s Keira Johnstone

Forfar Farmington attacker Keira Johnstone was delighted to notch a goal in the 3-2 win over Hearts in the Scottish Cup, praising how the whole team played.

The 17 year old scored the opener, which was her second of the season, the other coming in the win over Inverness in April.

Speaking after the game, Johnstone said “I think that’s the best we’ve played technically in a while, especially in the first half, we were moving the ball around really well, our movement off the ball was great and we created a lot of chances. I felt we probably should have taken our chances a bit better because we were the more dominant team.”

The striker put in a great performance but believes she could have played better in the second period “In the first half I was more involved in the game and obviously got myself a goal, I thought that was great but I got a bit panicked in the second half and I didn’t get involved as much as I would have liked to.”

Johnstone reckons the side can take the momentum into next week’s final league game before the mid season split having played well with nothing to show for it in recent weeks.

“Now we have a win, it’s a confidence boost and I think we should be looking to beat Hutchison Vale next week. We’ve been unlucky the last few weeks, it’s been close games but we should be on more than four points. Even though this win wasn’t in the league, it’s good to get a victory, just to pick up our confidence.”

Last March she was ruled out for the entire season after dislocating her knee in a game against Hamilton but Johnstone is delighted with how well she is improving with every game, having made ten appearances in 2015 “I feel as if I am getting more confident with each game, when I first came back I was a bit wary when I was going into tackles but I think I am improving with each game.”

Farmington play Hutchison Vale this Sunday at Station Park with a 2pm kick off, admission for adults is £4 while under 16’s can get in for free and you can also pick up a copy of the popular match programme. The sides met in a friendly back in March, Forfar coming away with a 3-1 win after a Holly Napier double and another from Lindsey Dunbar.

Forfar Farmington 3 Hearts 2 (Scottish Cup 2nd Round) 21st June 2015

Forfar Farmington           3

Keira Johnstone 19, Jade McLaren 37, Lindsey Dunbar 73

Heart of Midlothian       2

Amy Harrison 65, Danielle Diey 88 pen

Forfar Farmington advanced to the third round of the Scottish Cup with a deserved 3-2 scoreline at a sunny but wet Station Park on Sunday.

Keira Johnstone and Jade McLaren put Forfar in front at half time before Amy Harrison pulled a goal back for Hearts, sub Lindsey Dunbar restored the advantage but they were made to sweat in the dying moments, Danielle Diey scoring a penalty after Gemma Collier was sent off.

Speaking after the match, head coach Damon Neish felt it was “I thought it was a great advert for women’s football, both ourselves and Hearts played some lovely football, we pressed high, showed good spirit and it was a really good game.”

“It’s good to get a win, we’ve deserved a lot more than we’ve got this season in the league, we’re maybe seven or eight points off where we should be in my opinion, with the performances we’ve put in, we’ve definitely deserved more than the points are showing so it was good to get a win and get some of the pressure off, go out and just play.”

“It was a great performance, it was brilliant seeing Keira on the scoresheet, Lindsey Dunbar responded excellently coming off the bench and doing what needed to be done, so I’m very happy.”

Forfar made two changes after last week’s narrow defeat to Rangers, with Kayleigh Brough returning to the squad and Derrian Gollan stepping up to the starting eleven, right back Sophie Milligan was unavailable while Lindsey Dunbar had to be content with a spot on the bench.

The home side had the first chance in the fourth minute, Holly Napier’s short corner to Gollan was played back to her before she set up Amy Gallacher, who curled her effort wide. Hearts had one of their very scarce chances in the eleventh minute but Brogan Anderson blasted a volley over the bar when it was easier to keep it down.

Keira Johnstone opened the scoring deservedly for Farmington after nineteen minutes, a delightful through ball split the Hearts defence and Johnstone latched onto it before rounding the keeper and rolling the ball into the empty net for her second of the season.

Kayleigh Noble was inches away from doubling the advantage two minutes later, shooting after a Jade McLaren cross but the ball was deflected just past the far post by a defender.

Noble and Amy Gallacher both had shots saved after great work forcing their way into the box in quick succession.

In the 32^nd minute Hearts had another effort on goal, this time Michelle Faughnan forcing McNicoll into a fantastic save. Forfar added a second five minutes later, Nicola Davidson’s free kick from the halfway line being met by Jade McLaren, who managed to put the ball in the right end this week after a torrid time in previous games this season.

Forfar hunted to extend the deserved lead after half time when Amy Gallacher saw her shot held but Hearts were determined to make a game of it with Amy Harrison’s ambitious overhead kick went over. They did pull a goal back in the 65^th minute, Harrison slotting the ball home.

Holly Napier had a free kick land on the roof of Autumn Farrell’s net four minutes later, with Lindsey Dunbar then coming on for Kayleigh Noble. Four minutes after coming on, the energetic midfielder had restored the side’s two goal advantage, racing to the back post to stab home Amy Gallacher’s cut back after some very impressive work by the youth internationalist on the left.

Hearts’ Sharon Hughes sent a sitter over the bar as they desperately looked for a way back into the tie.

Gallacher made a great effort to work her way into the box beating several defenders but as she went to shoot fell over, scoring a 4 out of 10 on the Olympic diving scorecards.

Gallacher had another opportunity in the 80^th minute, curling her shot into Farrell’s arms before away scorer Harrison was booked for an off the ball incident with Laura Parsley.

The ref was forced to bring out her cards again in the 88^th minute, the ball was punted into the Forfar half and Brogan Anderson beat Fiona McNicoll to it in the middle of the half, but McNicoll managed to stop her getting a shot away until there was a defender back. Anderson took a shot that looked to possibly be going wide but it was stopped by a great save from defender Gemma Collier, who was sent off.

Danielle Diey stepped up to fire home the resulting penalty but despite pressuring Forfar in the final moments, Farmington who held to book their place in the next round of the Scottish Cup.

Neish was delighted and thinks it isn’t long before someone is beaten comprehensively by Farmington “We’re building confidence all the time, confidence shouldn’t really be an issue, we’re playing well and doing the right things, it was only a matter of time before we scored a few goals and we’re still capable of turning it on and hammering somebody, we just need the rub of the green.”

Forfar Farmington: Fiona McNicoll, Jade McLaren, Megan Burns, Gemma Collier, Kayleigh Brough, Nicola Davidson, Holly Napier, Amy Gallacher, Derrian Gollan, Keira Johnstone (Laura Parsley 77), Kayleigh Noble (Lindsey Dunbar 69)

Hearts: Autumn Farrell, Danielle Diey, Megan Paterson, Carly Noble (Demi Falconer 46), Kara Kidd (Sharon Hughes 46), Brogan Anderson, Kirsten Reilly, Gemma Mason (Sam Cunningham 78), Stacey Hutchison, Michelle Faughnan (Rebecca Smith 78), Amy Harrison.

Sub not used: Jennifer Currie (gk)

Rangers 2 Forfar Farmington 1 (SWPL) 14th June 2015

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Rangers                                2

Katey Turner 65, 82

Forfar Farmington           1

Nicola Davidson 57

Forfar Farmington were edged out by the odd goal in three with a late goal from former player Katey Turner against Rangers on Sunday at the Palace of Art.

Nicola Davidson opened the scoring for Forfar early on in the second half but a double from Turner was enough for the home side, who had Amy Lindsay dismissed in the opening twenty minutes for foul and abusive language.

A gutted Damon Neish was speaking after the game “I’m disappointed obviously, I thought we deserved more, a lot of the girls showed exactly what they’re capable of, girls like Amy Gallacher, Keira Johnstone and even Megan Burns were fantastic. Despite the defeat, there’s lots of positives to take, like I said, we had a wee half hour spell where we played incredibly well, we moved the ball, had good touches, we did all the right things so it’s frustrating to come away with nothing.”

“It was a great goal to put us in front, we wanted to have a few more shots on goal today and we had opportunities but we chose a pass instead of shooting or picked the wrong pass out, just bad decisions in the final third but it’s a learning experience for them, so they’ll grow from this, no doubt about it, they were excellent in a lot of phases today.”

The side made just one change, with Gemma Collier stepping up from the bench to replace the unavailable Kayleigh Brough.

Both sides started off with chances in the first ten minutes, Rangers’ Katey Turner having a shot blocked before Keira Johnstone fired low and at the keeper from the edge of the box.

Hayley Sinclair volleyed over before Turner lashed her effort wide as Rangers started to look more dangerous.

Seventeen minutes into the clash the home side were dealt a blow when referee Nicolle Andrews deemed Amy Lindsay to be using foul and abusive language and sent the player off.

Forfar almost capitalised on this seven minutes later, Amy Gallacher beating the keeper with a great shot from far out but the effort flew inches over Claire Johnstone’s bar.

Sinclair, Turner and Cunningham all went close again around the half hour period, the closest shot coming from Hayley Cunningham who saw hers smothered by the keeper.

On the stroke of half time Holly Napier set up Keira Johnstone but she could only fire at the keeper.

Five minutes into the second half the young Forfar squad shook things up, taking off midfielder Lindsey Dunbar for winger Laura Parsley.

Not long after that captain Nicola Davidson went down with an injury, which will have worried the Forfar bench and support but luckily she was able to continue and in the 57^th minute sent Forfar into the lead. A throw in by Sophie Milligan found Davidson and she fired the ball into the top corner from twenty five yards.

Rangers looked to equalise quickly and almost did through Cunningham but her shot hit the side netting after being set up by Clare Gemmell.

Eight minutes after going behind the home side were back on level terms, former Forfar player Katey Turner firing the ball home past Fiona McNicoll.

Forfar started to create more chances than Rangers in the final twenty minutes, the first coming from Gallacher. A Napier ball was met by the Rangers keeper but she was dispossessed outside the box by Johnstone, the ball falling to Gallacher, whose lob attempt landed just over the open goal.

Johnstone then set up Nivana Crighton but she could only lash her shot wide of the mark before Johnstone nodded a Napier free kick into the keeper’s arms.

Rangers had the ball in the net in the 76^th minute although it was ruled out for offside before they took the lead with eight minutes left, Claire Adams sending a through ball for Turner, her initial effort was saved before she slotted home the rebound for her second.

In the last five minutes Crighton had a cross-cum-shot that went inches past the far post of the Rangers goal. The winger was also involved in a controversial incident in the last minute, chasing a ball near the corner flag, a teenage boy, who was sat in that area moved on to the pitch and kicked the ball away, leading to a Rangers counter attack, the referee allowing play to go on despite what had obviously happened.

The defeat, coupled with other results confirms what was already obvious, that Farmington would be in the bottom six for the second half of the season.

There is a break from the league next week, with the side entertaining Hearts in the second round of the Scottish Cup.

Head Coach Damon Neish said about next week “It’s a break away from the league so anything can happen, we’re looking forward to it, the league’s turning into a great league, I see that Spartans lost to Stirling University today, so all sorts of things are happening, it’s good to get a little break from that and look forward to the cup.”

Rangers: Claire Johnstone, Claire Adams, Gillian Sloey (Lisa Swanson 63), Megan Foley, Hayley Cunningham, Rachael O’Neill, Clare Gemmell, Amy Lindsay, Chelsie Watson, Hayley Sinclair (Leeanne Hughes 83), Katey Turner.

Sub not used: Rachael Halbert

Forfar Farmington: Fiona McNicoll, Sophie Milligan, Megan Burns, Gemma Collier, Jade McLaren, Amy Gallacher, Lindsey Dunbar (Laura Parsley 50), Keira Johnstone (Derrian Gollan 80), Nicola Davidson, Holly Napier, Kayleigh Noble (Nivana Crighton 61)

Forfar Farmington 1 Glasgow City 8 (SWPL) 7th June 2015

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Forfar Farmington           1

Lindsey Dunbar 70

Glasgow City                     8

Abbi Grant 4, 64, Georgie Rafferty 8, Clare Shine 20, 38, Rhonda Jones 21, 87, Jo Love 60

Forfar Farmington coach Yasmin Anderson thought the Premier League side did well despite the scoreline after champions Glasgow City defeated them 8-1 on Sunday.

Lindsey Dunbar netted a great consolation in the second half but in the end City’s goals, which included deflected efforts and a goal that looked offside were too strong for the youngsters.

Anderson, standing in for head coach Damon Neish, who was still on his A Licence course in Largs, was helped by under 17’s coaches Ed Thomson and Lindsay Hoggan. The young coach, speaking after the game, said “I thought, especially the second half, Forfar seemed to give them a lot less respect than they did at the beginning of the game. They put in a lot more effort after half time, they were a lot more confident, taking chances that we had and managed to create a goal from Amy Gallacher out wide, she managed to cut the ball in for Lindsey Dunbar.”

The only change after last week’s disappointing defeat against Hamilton was Kayleigh Noble coming in for Laura Parsley.

Amy Gallacher and Fiona McNicoll were the recipients of praise from Anderson, stating “Amy created some chances in the first half, playing the ball through, she had a brilliant ball to play when she played through to Keira Johnstone, who was sitting up front, but unfortunately it was snapped away.”

“Fiona McNicoll was unfortunate last week against Hamilton after some miscommunication through her and Jade McLaren, they both managed to put it behind them today and did tremendously well, Fiona had a brilliant game, pulled off some amazing saves, especially in the second half to keep the score down.”

Forfar had one of the first chances of the game in the 3^rd minute, Keira Johnstone cross finding Sophie Milligan, who drove forward but her shot was held by Megan Cunningham.

A minute later, former Farmington winger gave City the lead, Abbi Grant curling home from the edge of the box. Georgie Rafferty doubled their advantage in the eighth minute, her shot from outside the box looping over McNicoll after taking a deflection off Jade McLaren.

Clare Shine fired into the arms of McNicoll after being set up by fellow Irish striker Denise O’Sullivan fourteen minutes into the game, six minutes later Shine eventually had the ball into the net, netting a half volley from close range.

It was another quickfire double for City as sixty seconds later, defender Rhonda Jones headed home a Leanne Ross corner.

O’Sullivan was denied by McNicoll twice in quick succession before Forfar went close to breaking through, Amy Gallacher split the City defence with a fantastic ball but Cunningham gathered the ball off the toes of Keira Johnstone.

McNicoll had another great save from a Shine effort in the 34^th minute but the striker wasn’t to be beaten four minutes later. Jo Love had a strike at goal that looked to be going wide but a suspiciously offside looking Shine stuck a foot out at the ball, diverting it past the keeper.

Shine did have the ball in the net before half time again but the linesman correctly ruled her to be offside.

City kept pressing for more goals after half time with chances coming from Rafferty and Grant again, both firing wide.

The league leaders had a third burst of two goals in the space of four minutes, the first coming on the hour mark through Love, stabbing home a Ross cut back.

City netted their seventh in the 64^th minute, Grant scoring her second of the game after a fantastic run.

Clare Shine was again denied her hat trick by another superb block by McNicoll. Forfar grabbed a consolation goal with a fantastic 25 yard goal from Lindsey Dunbar. Holly Napier won the ball in midfield, giving it to Amy Gallacher, she beat a defender before passing in to Lindsey Dunbar and her effort curled in off the post.

With fifteen minutes left Gallacher went for her own goal from long range but her shot flew inches over with Cunningham beaten. Grant sent a shot over from the edge of the area before City sub Carla Boyce sent her chance into the arms of McNicoll.

Forfar went close twice in the last ten minutes through Laura Parsley and Gallacher, Parsley sending a Davidson free kick wide before Gallacher had a carbon copy of her earlier effort, flying inches over again.

City added an eighth in the 87^th minute, Rhonda Jones firing home a Ross corner again.

After the game, Yasmin Anderson said “I thought they were unlucky with goals that were deflected, but like I said they did well, especially in the second half, did really well to stick together, when Gemma Collier came on she made a difference at the back, keeping the defence nice and tight and on their toes.”

The result means Forfar Farmington drop to eleventh, three points behind Hamilton Academical ahead of next week’s visit to Rangers in Glasgow.

Forfar Farmington: Fiona McNicoll, Sophie Milligan, Megan Burns (Gemma Collier 46), Jade McLaren, Kayleigh Brough, Lindsey Dunbar, Keira Johnstone, Nicola Davidson, Holly Napier, Amy Gallacher, Kayleigh Noble (Laura Parsley 63)

Sub not used: Derrian Gollan

Glasgow City: Megan Cunningham, Lauren McMurchie, Georgie Rafferty, Rhonda Jones, Jo Love (Kodie Hay 73), Denise O’Sullivan (Carla Boyce 70_, Clare Shine, Nicola Docherty (Emma Black 52), Leanne Ross, Erin Cuthbert, Abbi Grant

Sub not used: Lee Alexander

Interview with Forfar Farmington’s Under 17 coach Ed Thomson

Under 17’s coach Ed Thomson has said he was proud of his players after their performance despite the defeat against Hibs in the Caroline Weir League Cup final at Ainslie Park in Edinburgh a fortnight ago.

The side, several of which could still play for the under 15’s, fell to a 4-1 loss after taking the lead through Lois Millar early on.

Thomson said “I was really happy with the performance given that we had gone down 10-1 to them two weeks prior to the final in the league, where it was a classic example of us showing them too much respect, standing off them and they punished us by picking passes around us. What I had asked from my girls for the final was that we didn’t show them too much respect, that we competed physically, we got in their faces and stopped them getting their heads up and think for 80 minutes of the final, the girls did that.”

The coach believes they can take nothing but positives from the game “It took four set pieces, four corners for them to score against us so taking the positives from the game, we were much closer to them than we were in the league, matched them physically. We were slightly outdone and outplayed technically and tactically but given the superior ages of the Hibs players, that’s really only to be expected at this stage of our team’s development. With that in mind, it’s all positive and we’re looking forward to picking away at them and getting closer every time we play them.”

“We scored first, I think all that did was upset them really, because there was a bit of a backlash and they were back on level terms within two minutes which was a wee bit unfortunate, I would have liked to have maintained that lead a bit longer. At 2-1 and even 3-1, we made chances and maybe on another day, if we had gotten one back we might have had the belief to have gone on and run them even closer. I think at this stage and given our girls ages, it’s really the best we can expect of our girls.”

The side take on Boroughmuir at home today, their second game in a week after a midweek trip to meet Raith Rovers on Wednesday.

Forfar Farmington 0 Hamilton Academical 1 (SWPL) 31st May 2015

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Forfar Farmington                           0

 

Hamilton Academical                    1

Jade McLaren own goal 51

Forfar Farmington’s stand in manager Nicky Murray said Sunday’s defeat to Hamilton Academical was a ‘frustrating afternoon’ after the side failed to put their chances away.

A bizarre own goal involving Jade McLaren and Fiona McNicoll was the only goal of the game, despite Forfar hitting the bar through McLaren with Holly Napier and Amy Gallacher going close as well.

Murray, who was in charge along with Ed Thomson from the under 17’s due to Damon Neish being in Largs for his A Licence, said after the game “The conditions played a role, they were very difficult in the first half, it actually sped the game up in terms of the passing of the ball and a lot of girls were finding it hard to cope with the speed of the play. We had a number of good passages of play with overlaps and one vs one’s all over the park and we were unfortunate not to convert a few chances.”

“In the second half, the goal was lost through an error, the girls responded well after that, they continued to take the fight to Hamilton, they were unlucky with one or two chances but ultimately it was a frustrating afternoon, the team was fatigued by the end of the game but it was a really good performance.”

Farmington made one change from last week’s defeat to Hearts, Derrian Gollan dropping to the bench to make way for Megan Burns.

The home side started off with the majority of possession, with their first chance coming through Keira Johnstone in the eighth minute, latching onto a Lindsey Dunbar ball but Elaine Fleming pushed her effort wide. From the resulting corner, Fleming parried Dunbar’s shot before it was cleared.

Just a minute later Holly Napier was inches away from connecting with Laura Parsley’s corner, Napier then setting up Nicola Davidson with another corner although the captain fired into the side netting from inside the box.

In the 21^st minute Hamilton had a great chance to open the scoring when Gillian Inglis thought she was clear through the defence but Kayleigh Brough made a magnificent effort to race back and challenge the attacker before she could get a shot away.

Two minutes later Davidson fired inches wide from 25 yards, Hamilton then attempting their own long range effort but Deborah McLeod blasted into McNicoll’s arms.

Ten minutes before half time Dunbar set up Johnstone again with a nice lob into the box, Johnstone could only fire her effort into the onrushing keeper before the defence cleared. Davidson had another long range attempt go wide with the visitors’ Lori Gardner also shooting past the post on the stroke of half time.

Inglis almost capitalised on a poor kick out four minutes into the second half but saw her effort palmed away before Hamilton took the lead in the 51^st minute. Jade McLaren attempted to play the ball back to McNicoll who failed to control the pass back and the ball rolled into the net.

Forfar looked to get back into the game having looked the more likely to go ahead and almost equalised through Derrian Gollan just after the hour mark, racing onto a Dunbar ball but before she could get a shot away Fleming gathered the ball. Johnstone then headed a Napier corner into the arms of the keeper before setting up Amy Gallacher, the youth internationalist dragging her effort past the post.

Farmington started to pile on the pressure as they look for a much deserved goal in the final ten minutes. Megan Burns and Gallacher combined to lay the ball off for Johnstone, who fired wide before McLaren saw her header crash off the crossbar, the ball coming from another Napier corner.

Kayleigh Brough made another two good stops, clearing the ball off the line twice in quick succession before the final chance came to Forfar, Holly Napier’s shot from Gallacher’s ball being pushed wide by the keeper.

Forfar stay tenth in the league but are level on four points with Hamilton below them, with Inverness bottom on two points.

Afterwards, Nicky Murray confirmed he’ll be helping Neish out for the second part of the season after departing his role as East Region Head Coach “I’ll be helping out whenever I can after the summer and I look forward to being part of the team, the girls responded well, I’ve coached a lot of them at the regional performance programme. It’s an exciting team full of potential that performed well today in difficult conditions but ultimately there’s huge potential in this side.”

Murray also said he wouldn’t be at next week’s game with Glasgow City due to being at national camp for international trials.

Forfar Farmington: Fiona McNicoll, Sophie Milligan, Megan Burns, Jade McLaren, Kayleigh Brough, Laura Parsley (Derrian Gollan 53), Lindsey Dunbar (Kayleigh Noble 83), Keira Johnstone, Nicola Davidson, Holly Napier, Amy Gallacher.

Subs not used: Erin Cattanach, Sally Patterson, Nivana Crighton

Hamilton Academical: Elaine Fleming, Kathleen Toolan (Demi Wardrop 58), Megan Quinn, Laura Gallen, Lori Gardner (Karen Baillie 89), Gillian Inglis, Laura Leslie (Ainsley Murphy 71), Amy McCafferty, Tiffany Kawana-Waugh, Amie McGill, Deborah McLeod