Hawick Royal Albert 0
Loanhead Amateurs 2
FRIENDLY
JOHN SLORANCE reports from Albert Park
ABYSMAL is one word you could use for Royal Albert’s performance. One could add a few more, but abysmal will do, for Hawick were certainly this and a little more besides.
Okay, it might just have been a friendly.
However, results are still important and the Albert did themselves no good, as well as taking a dent in pride, in falling to Edinburgh and Midlothian outfit Loanhead Amateurs.
In a low-key manner, Loanhead actually looked the East of Scotland side as they outgunned their hosts throughout the game.
Setting the pace from the start, the city men came close to scoring in the opening minutes when Scott McKenzie brought the best out of Albert keeper Steven West with a 30-yard drive.
After Kevin Graham had headed a Ryan Slater throw-in over the bar, Loanhead sailed ahead in the 16th minute, an unmarked John Thomson doing the business by drilling home a Graham pass.
Hawick replied with a rare attack that ended in Bobby Nwanze having an angled shot easily saved by Loanhead number one Chris Barclay.
The visitors were well and truly in the driving seat and it came as no surprise when they added to their tally with 29 minutes gone.
West fisted out a Blair MacDonald cross and the ball broke to the feet of Craig Robertson, who drove a shot into the net. Minutes later, West denied Loanhead another in tipping a Graham shot round the post.
At the beginning of the second half, Hawick came out showing a little more purpose, and Declan Hogg and Bobby Nwanze were both off target with free-kick attempts.
Loanhead, however, soon began to gain the upper hand again and West did well to keep his goal intact with a fine stop from MacDonald.
After Jay Paterek had squandered two chances at the other end, Thomson should have put Loanhead further ahead but, being put in the clear by a Robertson pass, he fired wide.
Hawick coach Owen Murphy told TheSouthern: “We were very disappointing. It was a poor show.
“The players’ attitude was not right from the start and this showed. Hopefully, however, getting beat like this will act as a wake-up call for us”.
Hawick Royal Albert: S. West, K. Fettes (A. Reilly), A. Whitson, G. Young, I. Zenati, R. Shepherd, K. McCulloch, C. Beattie, J. Paterek, B. Nwanze (S. Drummond), D. Hogg.