Sunnybank F.C. return home to Heathryfold Park after three successive away games, where they welcome Bridge of Don Thistle in the semi-final of the McLeman Cup. The 13-time winners had just booked themselves a spot in the Dominos North Regional Cup semi-final on Saturday, as they looked to add to their impressive honours list, the pinnacle being the 1953-1954 Scottish Junior Cup success.

Co-managers Paul Leahy and Steven Sim made four changes from the previous game, as Andrew Buck, Gregor Zimmerman, Arran Christie and Arran Paterson were replaced by Edward Fuller, Dylan Cumming, Kieran Munro and Scott Burnett.

Bridge of Don kicked off the game, in their all-blue kit. The opening moments saw Bridge of Don receive the first corner, which was well cleared by a rehearsed Sunnybank, playing in black and white stripes. Sunnybank break forward in the sixth minute, and a Dylan Cumming cross is met by Bridge of Don defender Finlay Johnson, who lifts the ball above his own keepers’ head and into the bottom left corner, giving the home side the lead. Minutes after the unfortunate own-goal, Sunnybank had a fantastic opportunity to double their lead, only for Adam Reid to lift his shot over the bar from close range after a cross from Scott Burnett. The away side struggled to grasp the game in the opening stages, and Sunnybank had success down the left-hand side with Reid and Burnett. Sunnybank’s next chance came on the 34th minute, when a Clark Petrie freekick is met by Cumming, who forces a clever save from Bridge of Don keeper Ross Salmon, parrying the ball away from the immediate danger. Bridge of Don manage a couple of efforts before the halftime whistle, with both attempts unable to test Sunnybank Keeper Rory Myles.

The warm spring day gave way to a bitter chill at half time, where the managers got the chance to instil some consistency and belief into the teams. Sunnybank kicked off the second 45 and got the first shot of the half when Burnett gets his effort well saved by Salmon. Bridge of Don make two substitutions early in the half, with Bradley Deans and Kyle Murphy making way for Christopher Hay and Adam Joji. Bridge of Don then firmly took hold of proceedings, forcing Sunnybank deep in their own half as the away side searched for an equaliser. Sunnybank try to keep the energy levels high, replacing Cumming with Arran Paterson in the 65th minute. A corner minutes later for Bridge of Don fell to Joji, who put the ball in from the left-hand side, finding Scott Begg on the edge of the 18-yard box, who smashed his effort into the bottom left corner to level the match. The goal felt inevitable, and Sunnybank tried to respond quickly through Reid, but his shot was saved well. Sunnybank made two more changes, as Kieran Munro and Burnett departed the field to be replaced by Gregor Zimmerman and Arran Christie. An end-to-end few minutes proceeded the substitutions, until Scott Begg doubled his tally and gave Bridge of Don the lead after a powerful effort from the edge of the box in the 81st minute.

With the game looking to go in favour of the away side, Sunnybank once again found the net just moments after Begg’s strike, when recently introduced Christie picked up the ball inside the box and drove his shot past Salmon to level the score at 2-2 with 6 minutes to play. Despite high intensity from either team, the game look set for a penalty shootout, which would have been Sunnybank’s second in three days. The game would take a cruel turn for the home side, when Joji once again breaks through on the left hand side, crossing high over the keeper and into the path of Sam Muirhead, who headed the ball back across the scrambling keeper and into the net, giving Bridge of Don a 90th minute lead. Sunnybank threw everything at the remaining moments, but Bridge of Don held on to the full-time whistle, booking their spot in the McLeman cup final, where they will face league leaders Culter. The sides will face each other again next week at Aberdeen Sports Village, when they both return to league action.

Match Facts

Goals:

Sunnybank	Bridge of Don Thistle
6′ Johnson (OG)	68′ Begg
84′ Christie	81′ Begg
	90′ Muirhead

Substitutions:

Sunnybank	Bridge of Don Thistle
65′ Cumming ↓ Paterson ↑	53′ Murphy & Deans ↓Hay & Joji ↑
72′ Munro & Burnett ↓ Zimmerman & Christie ↑	89′ Napier ↓ Milne ↑