Lowland League
Tuesday 5th October 2021
Kick Off 19.45 Actual 19.47
Edinburgh University 1 Berwick Rangers 4, attendance 146
25’ 0-1
41’ 0-2
44’ 1-2
62’ 1-3
81’ 1-4
@ East Peffermill
Peffermill Road
Edinburgh
EH16 5LT
£6 Admission
£1 Programme, 16 pages, free Team Sheet.
I had been here previously, when I saw Edinburgh University draw 1-1 versus East Fife in a pre season friendly on 8th July 2006. That match was played on a pitch to the south of the railway lines, accessed via a tunnel from the main playing fields. The main ground used is in the north of the complex and is entered via it’s own entrance gate, rather than through the general entrance to central point of the hub.
It had rained heavily for eight hours during the day, so I was concerned that I might have to use one of my back up choices for tonight, although one of those, Dunbar United, had already been postponed early on in the afternoon. Thankfully, Berwick Rangers tweeted that the game here was definitely going ahead, following the pitch passing a 4 o’clock inspection and around half an hour later the rain finally stopped. It has to be said, that despite the amount of rain that had fallen, the pitch was in superb condition and never even cut up during the match.
The thing that drew my eye to this match was that Berwick Rangers are a former Scottish League club, having been relegated in 2019. It was 15th versus 11th as far as league positions go. Edinburgh University look more likely to be in a battle to avoid relegation, whilst Berwick may fall short in their quest to regain their league status, as they currently trail league leaders Bonnyrigg Rose Athletic by 15 points.
It was a bright opening by Edinburgh University, but Berwick slowly took control. They went ahead on 25 minutes, winning the ball in their own half, then breaking quickly and a defence splitting pass saw the ball smashed into the roof of the net from 15 yards. A shot on the turn saw the lead increased to 0-2 on 41 minutes, but a minute before the break the students pulled it back to 1-2, with the goal of the game, a right footed shot curled into the top corner of the net. I was surprised how loud the cheer was that greeted the goal, as it appeared at first that most of the crowd were with the visitors.
The second half saw Edinburgh University push for an equaliser, but it was Berwick who grabbed the next goal, making it 1-3 just after the hour mark. The visitors ‘keeper pulled off an excellent triple save as the hosts pushed forward, but the points were wrapped up when it became 1-4 with nine minutes left.
