NEWTON STEWART 6 ABBEY VALE 1

John McNaught reporting from Blairmount Park

The young Newton Stewart side did last Saturday what they have been threatening to do all season and that was take a game by the scruff of the neck and turn their domination into goals.  Abbey Vale have been one of the success stories of the season having accumulated enough points to put them up among the league title chasing group so the home side went into this match with mixed feelings.  Defeat would have seen them staying in the bottom three but the three points won leaves the Creesiders in eighth position.  The home side started the game brightly as they went for the points but the rout that followed could not have been foreseen.

Newtons first real scoring opportunity came as early as the sixth minute when following some good play, the ball fell to Gary Smith who saw his effort fly narrowly over the crossbar.   Two minutes later Stewart Taylor and Martyn Henry combined well with the visiting keeper Paul Wells having to look lively to save at the near post from Henry.  In the eleventh minute Newton opened the scoring when Sean Taylor latched onto a long ball to turn inside his marker and fire home via the upright at Wells left hand side.   With the home side completely dominating the match it was no surprise when they doubled their scoreline in the fourteenth minute following three corner kicks in succession.  Gary Smith took the third one from the left and swung the ball straight into the net at the far corner.   Four minutes later Player Manager Davy Hyslop almost found goal number three with a thunderous shot from the edge of the box which was pushed onto the crossbar by the keeper.  A minute later Henry again came close following some great outfield play but after having left several Vale players in his wake his final effort on goal was weak and easily handled by the keeper. With the home side running the show goal number three came in the twenty fifth minute when Sean Taylor scored his second with a great solo effort from twenty yards which he crashed into the roof of the net. Eight minutes from the break Vales Stuart Cameron pulled down Sean Taylor in the box and the striker dusted himself down to easily score from the spot to give him his hat-trick.

Five minutes after the re-start Cameron made good his penalty mistake when he was last to touch the ball in a goalmouth scramble to force it over the line to show the visitors intent. Abbey Vale then came more into the match as they looked to score again and in the sixty third minute Newton keeper Harry Fidler was tested to the full with a good effort from striker Ian Quinn.  Vales heads were up and it was always going to take another goal from the home side to make the points safe and it came in the seventy second minute when Andrew McEwan neatly cut the ball back for Sean Taylor to score his fourth of the day and his sides fifth.  This goal killed the game as a contest and with ten minutes left to play fifteen year old substitute Dean Fyffe completed the rout with a headed goal on his debut after being fed in by fellow substitute Jamie McClymont. 

This was a great result for Newton Stewart who again showed that they are equal to or better than some of the leagues better sides, and if they could find some consistency and maintain this kind of form there is no reason why they cannot reach a higher total of points this season than they have done for some years.  

Newton Stewart; Fidler, Walsh, Henry, Richardson, Wilson, Hyslop, Maxwell, Smith, Sean Taylor, Stewart Taylor, McEwan, Subs; McClymont, Fyffe, McKie and Lamont

Abbey Vale; Wells, Sneddon, Connelly, Smith, Clarke, Mellon, Nish, Cameron, Quinn, Rogerson, Neil, Subs; Milligan, Brolls, Clark, Martin and Stenton.