Braves Fall Aside in Narrow Loss

The Braves came into the game on the back of 2 consecutive loses, but were
unable to overcome their recent woes at Alliance Park.

Braves manager Ricky Waddell made 3 changes to his starting eleven, with Ross McNeil, Blair Hill and Jacob Long coming into the team/ These changes saw the team reverting to a back four, with Jack Brown slotting in at left-back

'I don’t think we deserved to win it', stated Ricky post-match. 'I thought we maybe could’ve nicked something towards the end, but I don’t think we were as much of a goal threat as I would have liked.'

It was a very frustrating first half for the Braves, with Linlithgow putting in a dominant performance. In the opening 25 minutes, neither side carved any notable opportunities, with both defences doing well to nullify the opposition and Bernie White claiming any crosses that came his way.

'First half I thought we were miles off it to be honest, our intensity on the ball
and our defensive actions that we had to make', added Ricky. 'I had a stern word with them
at half time, and I think there was a good reaction. We competed in the second
half but just not enough on the day.'

In the 25th minute, the Braves had their first real attacking, when John Guthrie picked up the ball at the edge of the ball, but our team-captain could only drag his shot wide of the mark.

Over the next 20 minutes, Linlithgow started to get more of a hold on the game
and the chances were ramping up.

In 32nd minute, Linlithgow almost took the lead when Greg MacPherson whipped a cross towards the back-post, where Sean Heaver was unable to get the right touch on the ball to guide past Bernie White.

Unfortunately, the visitors were able to capitalise on the momentum that they'd gained and
scored the opener in the 40th minute. Greg MacPherson slotted the ball past
Bernie White with a deft finish, after a nice passage of play down the right-hand side to cut open the Braves defence.

It was a quiet second half with nothing really separating either team and due to this, the emotions were rising and there were four yellow cards in the final 25 minutes to Braves players Daniel Martins, Chris Inglis and Linlithgow players Alan Sneddon and Calum Rae.

The Braves threw what they could in their attempts to bag an equaliser, but ultimately failed to test Binnie in the Linlitghow goal, as his side saw out a well-earned victory on the day.

Despite the result the Braves showed desire and some good link up and
showed that there is potential there in this young squad. They will hope to
improve league form away to Stirling University, next weekend!