Fairlie Primary 3 Netherthird Primary School 1 On Friday evening the Fairlie Primary School football team travelled to Dam Park Stadium in Ayr for the Final of the Ayrshire Small Schools Cup against Netherthird Primary School from Cumnock.

On a perfect night for football, Fairlie started the game very slowly, perhaps slightly overawed by the occasion and the large Fairlie support and it was no surprise when Netherthird took the lead after about five minutes when Nathan Campbell deflected a cross past his own keeper.

The game was all in the Fairlie half and some great defending from David Williams and a couple of great saves from Andrew Kane in goals kept Fairlie in the game.

Fairlie then started to take a grip in midfield and a great move involving Alex Maxwell and Logan Mclean opened up the Netherthird defence to give Matthew Jarvie the chance of an equaliser however he put it just wide of the post.

Fairlie were now in control and were passing the ball about well and putting the Netherthird midfield and defence under pressure. This led to the Netherthird goalkeeper picking up a pass back which presented Fairlie with a chance via an indirect free kick. Logan McLean laid the ball to Liam Duddy who fired home the equaliser via a deflection to level the scores, which is how the first half finished.

The second half started in much the same fashion with the Fairlie boys controlling matters. David Williams and Nathan Campbell were solid at the back and Alex Maxwell and Logan McLean worked tirelessly in midfield. Liam Duddy was always a threat on the left supporting Matthew Jarvie up front.

Fairlie then thought they had taken the lead when another good move led to Jarvie cleverly turning the defender to drive the ball home, however the referee ruled the goal out for an infringement.

Andrew Kane had another fantastic double save to thwart Netherthird’s only second half chance, then the move of the game led to Fairlie’s second goal. Some great passing in midfield led to Alex Maxwell putting a delightful through ball to Matthew Jarvie who made no mistake with a sublime finish in to the bottom corner of the net to put Fairlie in the lead with only a few minutes left.

Netherthird now had it all to do, but the Fairlie boys stuck to their task and kept the opposition out. With the game nearly finished a long throw in from David Williams caused chaos in the Netherthird box and Alex Maxwell was on hand at the back post to prod it home and make the game safe for Fairlie.

The game restarted and soon after the referee blew the final whistle to spark scenes of jubilation from the Fairlie boys. The boys were presented with their medals and Andrew Kane lifted the trophy in front of all the Fairlie supporters.

Congratulations to all of the boys for what was another fantastic performance and for what is a terrific achievement. The boys would also like to thank everyone who travelled to Ayr on Friday night to cheer the team on.

The Fairlie team were: Andrew Kane, Nathan Campbell, David Williams, Logan McLean, Alex Maxwell, Liam Duddy & Matthew Jarvie. Subs: David McLean, Joe Hill & Andrew Sutherland.