Portlethen Academy first years blew their Cults Academy counterparts away in the opening stages on their way to securing the Green Final Trophy.
Cults kicked off at Lochside Academy, and both teams looked lively early on, despite foggy conditions.
Ryan Reeves of Portlethen was caught narrowly offside as he bore down on goal in the first few exchanges, and he would net the opener in the third minute, gathering a long diagonal cross-field pass before slotting the ball beyond the reach of Marcus O’Kennedy.
Portlethen looked dangerous on the right, and Cults had their keeper to thank for keeping the deficit to one goal when he saved from Mac Mathieson.
However, an O’Kennedy error would cost Cults in the 14th minute.
The referee had already noticed the goalie’s tendency to come outside the penalty box with his throws and when he strayed over the line once more, an indirect free-kick was awarded to Portlethen.
Reeves took the kick and passed the ball to Mathieson, who found just enough space to rattle a 20-yard drive into the far corner with O’Kennedy having no chance to put a hand on it.
A third goal arrived 12 minutes from the interval.
An attack down the left saw Portlethen’s Cillian Cameron collect the ball just inside the Cults box. He made his way past a couple of defenders before shooting well beyond O’Kennedy, with the ball entering the net via the far post.
Cults, despite their efforts in the last 10 minutes of the half, when they won a corner and two free-kicks in dangerous positions, could not penetrate the Portlethen defence and the break arrived leaving them with a lot of work to do.
Cults began the second period in positive fashion, but the final outcome of the game was to be decided in a crazy 20-second spell.
Within two minutes of the restart, Cults’ Caelan McKechnie found himself clear of the Portlethen defence as he ran from the halfway line towards goal.
Keeper Freddie Lauterbach was alert, however, and he raced smartly from his goal to block the striker’s attempt to pull a goal back with his feet.
The ball was hastily cleared upfield and found Reeves in space on the right wing.
The midfielder hurried past a couple of challenges and drove the ball wide of O’Kennedy to send Portlethen four goals to the good.
Worse was to follow for Cults six minutes later.
A fine run on the right by Portlethen substitute Harris Wilson ended with a stunning shot from 20 yards which screamed over the keeper for arguably the goal of the game.
Midway through the second period, Cults had a chance to at least get on the scoresheet, when the referee awarded them penalty kick for a foul inside the area.
McKechnie took it himself and sent the ball low beyond Lauterbach and into the corner of the net.
Cults certainly deserved their goal, but it did not take Portlethen long to restore their five-goal advantage.
A corner from the left resulted in a bit of pinball in the six-yard box, and the ball eventually popped up nicely for Reiss Mitchell, who nodded it strongly over the line.
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