Scottish Junior Cup

Kilwinning Rangers ............... 2

Sauchie Juniors ..................... 1

It was a sad day for Sauchie at Abbey Park in this third round ETHXenergy Scottish Junior cup tie. Following a tremendous win in 2014 Sauchie tried to pull the same result from a similar game as they ended this tie with ten men. Gary McCulloch again the player getting the early bath for a duplicate tackle.

“The Buffs” won the tie with plenty of energy, running and tormenting the Sauchie rearguard. Stevie Dolan, Jordan Tapping, Roger Duffin and Iain Syme did not have an easy afternoon with the home forwards causing grief with their speed and trickery.

Brian Morgan led the line along with Conor Kelly with the Captain putting in some hard graft and excellent football to worry the Rangers back four.

The game was only a minute old when Sauchie took the lead. A Kelly shot at goal was blocked and volleyed at goal by Ant McTaggart with Gary Bonnes getting a touch to take the ball towards the net with Joe Coleman heading into his keepers grasp. Mr Millar adjudged Fleeting was over the line and a goal awarded.

Ben Lewis then hit the Sauchie upright with a 20 yard free kick. Kilwinning then cleared a Morgan free to turn defence into attack with Brian Boylan set free to run at goal and slipped the ball past Ross Harkness and the post. Lewis then picked out Isaac Kerr with his strong header carrying across goal and out.

Morgan brought Sauchie forward with a searing run to send a defence splitting pass into the path of David Morrison with his effort sling inches past. Then Syme picked out Morgan inside the box but his strong header was blocked by Barry Fleeting.

It was a cracker of a cup tie with both sides making opportunities. The home side drew level on the stroke of half time. Boylan twisted and turned on the corner of the box and looked up to pick out Fleeting on the opposite side and controlled to volley home.

Sauchie were under the cosh after the break with Harkness making good stops from Boylan and Liam McGuiness efforts. Dean Agnew and Ricky Hanvey worked the wings well and linked up with Boylan and Lewis giving Tapping and Duffin a torrid time.

Syme and Bonnes open up the left hand side with the cross into the box being met by the head of Morrison with the ball carrying across the face of goal and agonisingly past.

The Buffs were awarded a penalty in 59 minutes. Agnew moved into the box from the right and pushed the ball past Duffin and then fell to the ground with the referee pointing to the spot and yellow carding the Sauchie man. Lewis made no mistake from twelve yards to put the home side in front.

Morgan moved back into his normal midfield role when Ryan Millar came on for Bonnes and Sauchie grabbed more of the ball in midfield. A right wing corner was cleared by Robert Boyd as far as McCulloch with the ball breaking forward and in his eagerness to regain possession dived into a tackle in violation of the rules and a red card dispensed.

With ten men Sauchie were up against it. In the final minute Coleman fired a shot against the post with Lewis quick to react to net the rebound only to be chalked off for offside.

Sauchie – Harkness, Dolan, Syme, Duffin, Tapping, McCulloch, McTaggart (Currie), Morrison, Kelly, Morgan (Love), Bonnes (Millar).