Report

                                        ELLON UNITED 1 - CULTER 5

Ellon United suffered a heavy 5 - 1 defeat at  the hands  of Culter at The Meadows last weekend. There was nothing between the teams in the first half with United unfortunate to go into the interval 2 - 0 down thanks direct to two controversial refereeing decisions. Ellon pulled themselves right back into contention with a goal within a minute of the restart only to see Culter regain their two goal advantage midway through the half thanks to a goal direct from yet another controversial free kick. The home sides frustrations with the referee told in the last quarter and they allowed their concentration levels to fall with the loss of two avoidable goals as Culter took advantage of their good fortune and gained in confidence as the game wore on.

United opened on the front foot but were almost caught out in Culter`s first attack when McAllister was allowed to run clear from a suspiciously offsides position only to be denied by a fine save from Ross Buchanan. Ellon were giving as good as they got but Culter were presented with an opportunity in the 24<sup>th</sup> minute when they were awarded a free kick to the consternation of the home defence with justice probably done when Robertson`s shot was blocked by the defensive wall.

United broke on their right with Keith Walker meeting Greg Simpson`s cross but firing the ball well over into the wind. The afternoon started to go wrong for United in the 31^st minute when Culter were awarded a penalty for what appeared to be a blatant dive and McKimmie made no mistake from the spot. United recovered from their setback but found themselves two down just before half time. A free kick awarded for another dubious decision again started the proceedings and when the Ellon defence struggled to get the ball clear, Brown pounced to force the ball home from close range.

United pulled a goal back within a minute of the start of the second half. The home side broke down their left with Culter looking for offsides and Greg Simpson met Darren Bailey`s low cross to put United back in the mix. The game flowed from end to end in the horrible overhead conditions as both sides looked for the vital 4^th goal but in the 67^th minute yet another controversial refereeing decision proved critical when Culter were awarded a free kick in a dangerous position Once all the commotion had had died down with United skipper Ross Forsyth cautioned for leading the home protests full back Robertson stepped forward and this time he curled his shot into the bottom corner.

Buoyed by their cushion, Culter put the game well out of reach in the 72^nd minute when McKimmie was allowed the freedom to head home a Shand cross. United were caught out again in the 80^th minute when McBain broke to drill the ball home at the near post. United tried to freshen things up by introducing Fraser Tait for Greg Simpson and Chris Craib for Darren Bailey but by that time Culter had gained the momentum to carry them through. 

Saturdays fixture played in difficult conditions proved a real mixed bag from United. They played really well in spells to match Culter without getting a break but in the end they allowed their frustration at the refereeing to put them off and they let themselves down in the last quarter. United must look to bounce back immediately next Saturday when they face a trip to Forres Thistle.

ELLON UNITED: Buchanan, Ralton, Johnston, Corser, McKinnon, Lawson, Simpson (Tait), Forsyth, Forbes, Morrison, Bailey (Craib), Annand, Gunn, Johnson..

CULTER: Farquhar, Sim, Robertson, Kelly, Seivwright, Shand, McAllister, Brown, McWilliam, McKimmie, McBain, Craik, Youngson, Murray, Wilson, Crosby, McIntosh.