A LAST-MINUTED wonder goal broke Wee Sauchie hearts as Hermes delivered the knock out blow to their Scottish Cup ambitions.

Stuart McInnes' young side edged out by the in-form Aberdeenshire outfit, despite debutant Nicolas Rosenzweig threatening to secure a draw with a sensational equaliser.

The Reds were just minutes away from earning a merited replay at Uniconn Park when Hermes struck with the last kick of the ball.

But, despite the disappointment, McInnes was keen to accentuate the positives and believes his inexperienced Juniors have come on leaps and bounds since the start of the season.

He told Advertiser Sport: "Had that been at the start of the season then I think we would have been looking at another Stoneyburn (a 6-1 defeat), but it just shows how far we have come.

"They were coming down here expecting to stroll over us, but speaking to the manager and some of the players after the game they said it was the toughest fixtures they have faced all season.

"You saw two of the best goals you will see all season in the last five minutes, but it was just unfortunate that one of them went to them."

French-born Rosenzweig, who is a much-respected tennis coach at Stirling University, proved he was as adept with his feet as with his hands and McInnes was signing his praises after the game.

He said: "Nicolas came in and played so well on his debut and his goal was worth the admission fee on its own."

McInnes' men had to do without talisman Danny Kleinman, who was serving the second of a two-game suspension, and the gaffer believes the striker could have made all the difference.

"I look at some of the chances we had and think they were ones Danny could have put away," McInnes added.

"But you never know if it would have been different had Danny been playing.

"We would have loved to get the win and even a draw and we did so well to match ourselves against a good side who would stroll our league.

"Bryden Nolan also deserves plenty of praise as he found himself up against two seasoned midfielders and gave as good as he got.

"Their second goal was a real sickener as you could tell they were shattered and we just had to be patient but we didn't sort ourselves out in time and then the lad hits a shot which you know is in from the moment it leaves his foot.

"But we will learn from this."

The Wee Sauchie face rivals Rosyth on Saturday as they return to the scene of a 4-0 defeat just three weeks ago.

"We are going there with a point to prove," McInnes said. "And we fully believe we can go there and get the win."