Windsor too hot for Currie

Windsor warranted their victory by virtue of carving open their hosts' defence with alarming regularity, and could even afford to spurn a glut of gilt-edged chances.

Rhys Surgeon struck the opener in dramatic style after 18 minutes, curling his 20 yard strike from the middle of the D high past Star goalkeeper Dwayne Johnstone and under the crossbar.

Currie had tough-tackling James Bishop and two examples of uncomposed finishing to thank for the score staying at 1-0 prior to half time. Bishop executed a perfectly-timed slide tackle on Windsor's Murray Igoe as the attacker bore down on goal following Surgeon's clever pass forward.

From the resultant corner, Musselburgh No.?9 Michael Gray screwed wide his effort when in space at the far post, then on 27 minutes the same centre forward took a wild swing at Surgeon's cross from the left and saw his shot rocket well over the bar.

Star's main threat up front, Adam Robertson, broke clear of last defender Calum Millar, but Millar's fellow Windsor defender Nicholas Tonner sped back and lunged to apply a vital touch on the ball as Robertson parted with his shot on goal, allowing visiting goalkeeper Robbie Costello to gather easily.

Windsor made their second breakthrough soon after the interval through an opportunist strike by Hutchison. The raw acceleration of Cameron Menzies took the Musselburgh forward beyond Currie's backline in his pursuit of a forward pass, and although Star keeper Johnstone emerged from his goalline to smother, Menzies' harrying forced the No.?1 to spill the ball, which fell to Hutchison on the right-hand side of the box and his first-time effort found the unguarded net.

Three minutes later, the Currie rearguard was dissected far too easily once more, but Gray did not trouble home custodian Johnstone with a tame effort from a tight angle. A minute later, the same Musselburgh forward found himself in a similar position on the right-hand side of the box, this time electing to cross for teammate Menzies, who somehow contrived to pull his shot wide of the gaping net from the middle of the six-yard line.

Windsor did eventually add to their lead on 54 minutes when Hutchison latched onto a long, high ball forward and forced a shot from 15 yards that possessed too much power for Johnstone to keep out.

Moments later, Currie finally found fortune in front of Costello's goal, Robertson getting the better of Millar and sliding the ball into the net from close range to gain some tangible award for his tireless running in attack.

Although Windsor capped their victory when Surgeon sidefooted Liam Matthew's centre into the net from close range, there was still time for Star goalkeeper Johnstone to punctuate his performance with a blinding double-save. After repelling Matthew's point-blank header, Johnstone then displayed great reflexes to scoop the loose ball away from the goalline as Matthew loomed to gobble up the rebound.

Star coach Raymond Johnstone felt the source of his side's loss could be found in a competitive midfield battle and conceded that the visitors deserved victory. He said: "I thought we might have done better in the second half, but it wasn't to be. Windsor overpowered us in midfield, and I think that's what lost it for us."

Musselburgh coach David Blair said: "We've played better. We have four or five who play well every week, but I felt one or two could have done a wee bit more."

Windsor players left Kingsknowe at full-time to embark on an afternoon of fundraising. A poker afternoon at Musselburgh's Ship Inn generated around 400 towards the running of the team.

Currie Star: Dwayne Johnstone, Ewan Howarth, Ethan Anderson, Rhys Johnstone, Tichina Fonteyn, Marc Clark, Michael Faulkner, James Bishop, Cameron Campbell, Jamie Cowan, Jamie McFarlane, Adam Robertson, Jamie Palmer, Jordan Jenkins.

Musselburgh Windsor: Robbie Costello, Calum Millar, Nicholas Tonner, Scott Henderson, Kieran Gracey, Ryan Hutchison, Rhys Surgeon, Michael Gray, Liam Matthew, Murray Igoe, Ally Steel, Cameron Menzies, Scott Simpson.