Keith 2 Aberdeen University 1: Last-gasp Kynoch Park winner and two red cards as Maroons just make it through in Aberdeenshire Shield at expense of students
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KEITH advanced into the next round of the Aberdeenshire District Shield thanks to a last gasp winner from star man Dem Yunus, his first goal for the club.
The match then ended in mayhem, the homesters completing the game with nine men.
Top scorer Przemyslaw Nawrocki received a second yellow card in the 89th minute for simulation, and then after the winning goal, Kieran Yeats was tripped up whilst heading to celebrate, and shoved the offender in protest, thus receiving a straight red card.
Injury hit Keith had nine first team pool players absent, and named three of their under-18 squad on the substitutes bench.
An end-to-end first half remained goal-less with both keepers pulling off decent saves to keep a blank sheet.
Within a minute of the re-start, Keith’s Polish striker Nawrocki nabbed his eighth goal of the season, firing a low drive under the diving goalie from 12 yards.
However, just after the hour mark it was level pegging when the homesters saw fit not to put in any sort of challenge and Kieran Mooney made the most of the chance to slam the ball past Irvine from 15 yards.
Five minutes later the Maroons had a massive let-off when the ball hit the face of the crossbar, the loose ball finally being hoofed clear.
As Keith drove forward they scorned several worthy opportunities, and were denied a corner when Michael Ironside’s net bound shot was heading just inside the goalie’s right hand post, but the custodian pulled off a fine finger tip save, only for a goal-kick to be awarded.
With the game heading towards penalty kicks, Nawrocki, booked earlier for simulation, repeated the offence and was sent packing.
Then, with the very last kick of the game, Yunus, who was a stand-out all night, twisted and weaved before slamming home a low drive to clinch the tie.
That lit the blue touch paper with the match degenerating into a rabble, and once the dust had settled, Yeats had received his marching orders.
There was just enough time for ‘Varsity to recentre the ball before the referee blew his whistle to signal Keith’s first District Shield win for over eight years.
Keith team: Irvine, Thomas, Yeats, J Robertson (McCredie 73), R Robertson, Yunus, Ironside, Gray (McKeown 55), Stewart, Nawrocki, Strachan. Unused subs: Smith, Dunbar, Aitchison.
Referee: R Taylor.
