Edinburgh United 0 Vale of Leithen 2
Today’s match was about getting the new players blended in and getting some match fitness.
With this in mind Vale used their 16 available players during the match.
The first half fairly even pressure wise until the 31 min when Vale took the lead.
Marc Berry ran from midfield going past a few United players before getting on the end of a one two to slot the ball past the United goalie.
For the rest of the half the Vale were the dominate team playing some nice football.
HT 0-1
The second half started with Vale making a few changes and under some pressure from United.
However, in the 51 min Vale increased their lead when the United defence was cut apart from a pass that landed at the feet of Sean Stewart who controlled it and despatched confidently passed the goalie.
From then on in the Vale played some good football and should gone further ahead when Stewart rounded the goalie only for his shot to be cleared of the line by a defender.
A bonus for the Vale came 15 mins from the end when James Elliot made a return after 18 months of injury. (See photos)
A good all round performance at this stage by the team.
FT 0-2

With the club recently announcing that Vale will be taking on newly promoted SPFL side Livingston and the current SPFL champions Glasgow Celtic as part of their pre season schedule, we felt it was great timing to catch up with the Gaffer Chris Anderson and chat all things pre season.

Ando told us “It’s obviously at a time when there’s a real excitement throughout football. There’s a sense of anticipation and optimism for all clubs during pre season. Concentrating on ourselves however we’ve had a demanding start on the training pitch.”

“I am delighted with our recruitment this summer, for me it’s been the most talented squad I’ve worked with during my 3 years at Victoria Park and expectations within the group are higher than ever.”

Valeofleithen.co.uk asked the manager if he was relishing the task of locking horns with both Livingston and Celtic over the coming weeks.

“These games are naturally seen as special games due to their magnitude. As a club we are extremely grateful for these opportunities. We hope the community come out and get involved too. Every game in pre season is seen as a building block though. It’s important to get the minutes into the legs and it also helps the new players gel with the squad. We are in a very good place.”

The manager will have to wait a little longer than expected before he and his coaching team will be able to assess the boys on their first 90 minutes. Tomorrow nights game vs Peebles Rovers as stated has fell foul to the blistering hot weather which has affected the Whitestone Park turf.