LOTHIAN THISTLE AFC

LOTHIAN & EDINBURGH AFA

LOTHIAN EAST

SEASON 2008/2009

CLUB MAIN SPONSOR

CHAPLINS DISCO

GLADSTONES

THE COMMITTEE & PLAYERS

GARRY,STEWART(DISCO),IAN,ANDY,(THE HAX),ANDY (THE GOALIE).STEVEN,CHRIS(THE BREN),

WOULD LIKE TO THANK BERT AND JOHN FOR THE GREAT AFTER BRUNCH STORIES,JOHN BROUGH FOR HIS STORIES AND MOST IMPORTANT ALL WHO CAME TO OUR FIRST ANNUAL BRUNCH.

THANK YOU ALL SEE YOU NEXT YEAR

SPECIAL WORD ON ANDY LEASK

THE LEAGUES PLAYER OF THE SEASON

WELL DONE ANDY

LOTHIAN THISTLE AFC HAVE MOVED TO THE LOTHIAN EAST SECTION TO PLAY

IN THE COMPLEX AT DALKEITH.

LOTHIANS POOL FOR SEASON

2008/2009

PEN NOTES

Dale McCall: 

Nickname - Bash, Basher Age - 27 

Position - lazy forward

 Previous clubs - Middlesbrough, Hibs, Livingston, Half of East of Scotland!

 Worst habit - Offside, not passing 

Best Game - Under 10s v Lothian Rangers - scored 14 goals!

 Dean Walker:

 Nickname - Deano Age - 28 

Position - anywhere

 Previous clubs - Portland Star, Salveson, Lochend, Edina Hibs, Oban Saints 

Worst habit - A wee mazy run now and then

 Best Game - Pro evolution soccer 8 

Allan Dillon:

 Nickname - Dils Age - 26 

Position - Anywhere 

Previous clubs - Edinburgh City, Redhall, 

Carrick Star

 Worst habit - Lazy player

 Best Game - All games for Carrick Star - unbeaten in the league

              Chris Malone:

   Nickname - Poulter

   Age - 25

   Position - Centre midfield (not defence)

   Previous clubs - (Portland Star,

    Broughton, Portobello, Cowdenbeath,

   Edinburgh Rose, Whitson

   Worst habit - Moaning

   Best Game - v Redhall Star in the Scottish

     CUP

    Scored the equaliser.

           Terry Smith:

   Nickname - Tel

   Age - 26

   Position - Right Back

   Previous clubs - Redhall, Edinburgh City

   Worst habit - Shoot too much

   Best Game - Cairns Cup Final 2008

           Darren Rae:

   Nickname - Stinger

   Age - 33

   Position - Wherever there's a spare place

   Previous clubs - Whitehill Welfare, Lochend

   Worst habit - Not shouting enough

   Best Game - Still waiting

           Willie Edgar:

   Nickname - War wound Willie

   Age - 25

   Position - Midfield

   Previous clubs - Broomhall,Salvesen,ynecastle,

Berwick  Rangers,

   Edinburgh City,

   Worst habit - Getting injured

   Best Game - Edinburgh City v Manchester United

ANDY LEASK

TERRY SMITH

COLIN LESLIE(NOW IN HIS FOURTENTH SEASON WITH THE CLUB)

DAMIAN OTTWAY

DARREN RAE

WILLIE DARROCH

CALUM EADIE

DALE MCCALL

STUART SMITH

DEAN WALKER

STEVEN SMITH

MICHAEL SMITH

CHRIS MALONE

REES ALLAN

KEVIN SWINTON

CRAIG MACKINTOSH

DIRK OTTWAY

CRAIG DILLON

STEVE McNICOL

MATCH REPORTS

Lothian Thistle beat Gorebridge 5-0 in their first league match of the season.

 Lothian's line up had a number of new players from the previous season, with ex Lothian senior players Willie Darroch and Colin Leslie at the heart of defence,

 Dirk Ottway and Callum Eadie in midfield and Dale McCall up front. All 5 players contributed well with old hands Andy Leask, Terry Smith, Damon Ottway, Darren Rae, Stuart Smith and Dean Walker. The game was fairly evenly matched until the 25th minute when a long through ball was picked up by Dale McCall, who shrugged off the attention of two Gorebridge defenders before rifling a great shot into the net from 20 yards.

 10 minutes later, Lothian were two ahead when a great low cross from Dirk Ottway was met by Callum Eadie at the front post and he slotted the ball home.

 Half time: Gorebridge 0; Lothian Thistle 2.

Lothian continued to control the game and it came as no surprise when Dean Walker, playing in a deeper than normal role, burst past the Gorebridge defence and cleverly chipped the ball over the advancing keeper into the net. 

Lothian were looking dangerous every time they went forward and with 20 minutes remaining Dale McCall latched onto a through ball. Despite pressure from the Gorebridge centre half, he kept his composure to header the bouncing ball into the net. 5 minutes later,

 Dale bagged his hat-trick with a scorching left foot shot which hit the roof of the net.

 Full time: Gorebridge 0; Lothian Thistle 5

. A comprehensive win for Lothian with all the new players settling in well. A great debut hat-trick from Dale McCall who has helped add a cutting edge to Lothian's passing game.

Monday 1 September

: A disappointing result in Lothian's 2nd game of the season, in which they were beaten at home 4-2 by Musselburgh. 

Lothian started the brighter of the two sides scoring the first goal in 3 minutes when Dean Walker smashed home a cross from Callum Eadie. In the 20th minute, Lothian went two ahead when good link up play between Dean Walker and Dale McCall ended with Dale slotting the ball into the net. In spite of such a good start, 

Lothian failed to keep control of the game and it came as no surprise when they lost a goal 10 minutes from the interval when a through ball eluded the defence and the ball was lobbed over Andy Leask into the net. 5 minutes later Andy Leask pulled off a spectacular save from a Musselburgh penalty.

 Half time: Lothian Thistle 2; Musselburgh 1.

 Lothian were pinned back in their own half for the early period but just when they thought they had survived, a cut back from the bye line was fired into the net by a Musselburgh midfield player. At 2-2, Lothian were struggling. A defensive error then led to Musselburgh's third goal and with a minute remaining tired defending led to Musselburgh's fourth.

 Full time: Lothian Thistle 2; Musselburgh 4.

 Not a great night for Lothian and it looked as though two games in three days was too much for them - a bit of work to be done on the training ground! 

Saturday 6 September:

 A better performance from Lothian in a must win game v Newtongrange Star. Lothian won 5-3 with an excellent first half performance but nervy second half. Lothian were the better of the two sides throughout the first half with Craig Mackintosh causing all sorts of problems for Newtongrange with rampaging runs up the left wing. He made a number of crosses which weren't converted. 

The most Lothian had to show in the first 20 minutes was a Dale McCall header off the post. It came as a bit of a shock when Lothian found themselves a goal down after a Newtongrange midfield player found space 20 yards out and his shot hit the roof of the net.

 Lothian fought back in style though, scoring 3 goals in 7 minutes. The first came from the alert Dale McCall; a cross into the box was brilliantly controlled and he quickly shot into the net. 3 minutes later a typical Dean Walker run past defenders found him reaching the ball before the goalkeeper and he deftly chipped it over the keeper into the net. 

On the 40th minute, a Dale McCall corner was converted by Willie Darroch with a spectacular left foot volley. 

Half time: Newtongrange Star 1; Lothian Thistle 3.

 As in the previous game, Lothian failed to dominate in the 2nd half and Mikey Smith was sent on to steady the ship. He had an immediate impact; he took a good pass from Damon Ottway then sent a defence splitting pass to Dean Walker who cut the ball back for the ever aware Dale McCall to slot the ball home.

 Lothian failed to control the game after this and a long throw into the box was headed past Andy Leask. 

Further Newtongrange pressure resulted in a scrappy third goal being conceded. At this point Lothian were not looking good, but did work very hard to keep in the game. They were rewarded with a fifth goal when a huge "up and under" by Willie Darroch from his own half resulted in the Newtongrange goalkeeper surprisingly dropping the ball for Dean Walker to score his 2nd of the game. (Not bad Willie - a goal and an assist in one game!!) 

Full time: Newtongrange Star 3; Lothian Thistle 5.

 A better performance from Lothian but sluggish 2nd half performances will need to be worked on.

Lothian fought back from a goal down to beat Musselburgh 3-1 for a valuable 3 points.

 Lothian were on the back foot for the opening spell and in 10 minutes found themselves 1-0 down when Rees Allan gave a away a penalty. Andy Leask was close to saving the spot kick but the well placed shot just beat him. 

Lothian were slow to respond but the in the last 20 minutes of the half, they pretty much hemmed in Musselburgh with Willie Darroch hitting the bar and Darren Rae having a header tipped just over.

 Half time: Lothian Thistle 0; Musselburgh 1.

 Lothian continued to pressure Musselburgh without creating any clear cut chances. In the 15th minute of the half, however, captain Mikey Smith brought Lothian back into the game when he curled a great free kick round the wall into the net. 

This galvanised Lothian and they were unlucky not to go ahead when Dean Walker failed to connect with a Dale McCall corner. A few minutes later the ball bobbled in the box and Dean Walker was first to it to hit a great shot past the keeper. 5 minutes later, a great cross from Dean Walker was brilliantly headed home by Dale McCall. 

Lothian were pretty much in control towards the end of the game with Mikey Smith, Chris Malone and Craig Mackintosh prominent for the home team.

 Full time: Lothian Thistle 3; Musselburgh 1. 

A vital 3 points for Lothian. They played well in patches with some good signs of passing football. Still some room for improvement which will be worked on.

LOTHIAN THISTLE 2 PENICUIK 1

Lothian Thistle laboured to a 2-1 victory over close rivals Penicuik in an away league game.

 The first half was a dull affair with neither side playing any quality football. 

Over the piece Lothian just shaded the half with territorial advantage but there was no cutting edge to their game.

 Half time: Penicuik 0; Lothian Thistle 0.

 Lothian took the game by the scruff of the neck in the 2nd half and could have been 3 up within the first 10 minutes when, firstly,

 a cut back found Dale McCall whose shot went narrowly wide. A second chance fell to Dirk Ottway whose well struck shot was brilliantly saved by the Penicuik goalkeeper, then Dale McCall found himself in space at the edge of the box only for his shot to miss the top corner of the net. Lothian went ahead on the hour mark when talisman Mikey Smith stepped up to sweep a 30 yard free kick past the despairing goalkeeper.

 Lothian controlled the game for a spell after that, then fell out of it a bit. Andy Leask pulled off a fantastic one handed save at this point then Damian  Ottway hit the ball from the half way line deceiving the goalkeeper and it flew into the net.

 Damian's version is that it was a 60 yard thunderbolt which hit the top corner of the net!! Some others would say it was a fluke!

 Lothian simply fell out of the game from then; they defended well until the 85th minute when a ball was played into the 6 yard box and Penicuik pulled one back. The last 5 minutes were a bit hairy.

 They nearly found some relief when Steven Smith almost put the game beyond doubt for Lothian but his shot hit the post. Full time: Penicuik 1; Lothian Thistle 2.

In all honesty, not a classic performance from Lothian, but they are grinding out results. 

One major plus point was the performance of the defence - on the whole they were rock solid. Wednesday's training will have a passing theme!!

Lothian beat Cabrera 8-3 in the 2nd round of the Scottish Cup 

on the astro turf pitch at Saughton. Despite the different surface, Lothian went 1-0 up within 3 minutes when a Mikey Smith through ball found Dale McCall and he poked the ball through the keepers legs into the net..

 Cabrera put Lothian under a little pressure from then but in the 20th minute, Dean Walker put Lothian further ahead with a clever right foot shot. Shortly afterwards a Cabrera forward went in heavily against Andy Leask who reacted and got himself sent off. 

With 10 men, Lothian went 3 ahead when a tenacious piece of work from Allan Dillon found him scoring his first competitive goal for the club. Just before half time, Dale McCall outsprinted (yes - outsprinted!) the Cabrera defence and coolly slotted the ball into the far corner.

 Half time: Cabrera 0; Lothian Thistle 4. 

Lothian were quickly 5 ahead when Craig Mackintosh, who had been a thorn on the Cabrera side, shot home from the edge of the box. Dale McCall then got his second hat-trick of the season with another cracking left foot shoot. 

That's a brilliant 10 goals in 6 games. Damian Ottway scored number 7 when a Craig Mackintosh shot was parried by the keeper for his 2nd goal in two games.

 The referee then mysteriously gave a penalty against Lothian which was scored, then sloppy play by Lothian resulted in Cabrera pulling another goal back. Lothian promptly went up the park and a Mikey Smith cross was missed by everyone, finally landing in net. Mikey's third goal in 3 games.

 Cabrera scored a third from a long range shot which Dean Walker........well Dean we'll just leave it at that!

 Full time: Cabrera 3; Lothian Thistle 8.