SAUCHIE goalkeeper Greig Maitland admitted the squad were gutted following their Scottish Cup exit at the hands of Glenafton Athletic.

He and his team-mates had harboured hopes of causing an upset but the trip to Ayrshire proved a bridge too far, with the home side winning by a single goal.

However, the stopper reckons the Juniors have a lot to be proud of after their heroics, which saw them reach the quarter-finals.

Maitland told Advertiser Sport: “We are gutted to be honest. It is very disappointing. The conditions meant we couldn’t get the ball down and play football the way we wanted to which obviously had an effect.

"We didn’t get the ball into wide areas enough and certain things went against us. It turned into a bit of a dogfight but that is football sometimes.

“Certain decisions, in particular the penalty decision in the first half, didn’t go our way.

"Andy’s red card was never a sending off but it is never going to be easy when the referee is from your opposition’s league. That is football, and we battled hard throughout the game. It just wasn’t to be."

He added: “For a club like Sauchie to get to the last eight of the Scottish Cup is unbelievable.

"Our bread and butter is to get back to the Super League but a run in the cup is always a bonus.

"Drawing one of the favourites is always going to be difficult but over the course of the tournament we have given a really good account of ourselves.”

Maitland played a key role in keeping his side in the game with a number of crucial saves, but refused to take credit, saying he was just doing what was expected of him.

He said: “I had a couple of good saves but I do feel like I could have done better for the goal.

"The ball took a bad bounce which sent me the wrong way. In the second half, I was just doing my job. The rest of the lads did theirs too but it just wasn’t enough on the day.”

The keeper believes his side’s cup defeat adds even more importance to Saturday’s trip to face fellow title challengers Kennoway Star Hearts in the league, and says victory is essential in order to boost their promotion ambitions.

Maitland added: “Saturday’s game is massive now. Kennoway are just about our closest challengers so it is imperative that we get back to winning ways and pick up the three points.

"Sometimes getting put out of the Scottish Cup can put a downer on things for a few weeks, but I think we have got the character to bounce straight back and go on to win the league.”