Gala Hotspur 3
Selkirk Victoria 4
BAL DIVISION B
SELKIRK made it four league wins out of five with a dramatic victory at Netherdale on Saturday.
The visitors started brightly and almost took the lead in the first minute following a scramble in the box, but the danger was cleared.
The Vics continued to pile on the pressure and they were rewarded after 10 minutes. After neat play down the left from William Mercer and Darren Munro, the ball broke to Shaun Wilson, who drove a strike into the bottom corner from the edge of the box.
Selkirk went two up after 25 minutes when Gala keeper Glen Murray could only get a fingertip to Alistair Orr’s powerful shot which flew into the top corner from 20 yards.
The Souters were looking fairly comfortable heading towards half-time, but Sean Pringle produced a great strike from distance to beat Michael White in the Vics’ goal.
This strike changed the momentum of the game and Gala came out fighting after the break. Ten minutes into the second half, Stewart Robertson got on the end of a diagonal cross and headed the ball into the back of the net for the equaliser.
The visitors were rattled and struggled to get a foothold in the match. However, Munro came close to putting them back in front, but his effort came back off the post.
The hosts continued to press and took the lead with 20 minutes to go – Robertson scoring again, this time with an impressive acrobatic effort.
Selkirk looked like they were heading for defeat, but with five minutes left the momentum swung again. Orr picked the ball up 30 yards from goal before turning and smashing an unstoppable shot into the top corner to tie the game.
With two minutes to go, Ross Purves, playing as a makeshift striker for the Souters following forced changes to the forward line, hit yet another long-range effort at the Gala goal which dipped under the bar and into the back of the net.
Hotspur put long balls into their opponents’ box during injury time and managed to force a good save from White. At the other end, Mercer had a great chance to make it 5-3 with the last attack of the game, but it mattered not as Selkirk came away with the three points.