Gala Fairydean Rovers and Coldstream go out of football’s Scottish Cup
Gala Fairydean Rovers went out of the Scottish Cup at the first hurdle for the second time in three years away to Linlithgow Rose on Saturday.
A 2-1 first-round loss to the Scottish Lowland Football League table-toppers on Saturday saw their hosts set up a round-two trip to East of Scotland Football League premier division side Bo’ness Athletic on Saturday, October 25.
That exit at the first time of asking follows a 4-1 round-one knockout at home to Sauchie Juniors in 2022, sandwiching a run to a 5-2 round-two defeat away to Pollok last time round.
Kieran Dolan scored manager Martin Scott’s Borderers’ goal past home keeper Cammy Binnie in West Lothian at the weekend on 55 minutes, followed by a sending-off for on-loan Hibernian defender Owen Calder two minutes later for a foul on Calum Rae.
On target for Gordon Herd’s Prestonfield Stadium hosts past visiting goalkeeper Reece Murray were Olly Hamilton on 22 minutes and Blair Henderson, from the penalty spot, on 58.
Also lining up for Fairydean, captained by Danny Galbraith, were Kieran Moyles, Liam Fagan, Arnault Kasa, Keaghan Jacobs, Lewis Hall, Reilly and Ethan Dougal, with Jamie Semple, Lennon Connolly, Fletcher Patterson, Mo Adam, Joe Wylie, Jamie McMurdo and Shea Dowie as substitutes.
Rovers assistant manager Stevie Craig was sad to see his side go out of the cup, contending that they’d outplayed their hosts and were unlucky to end up on the wroing end of the scoreline.
“We’re bitterly disappointed,” said the 44-year-old afterwards.
“For the majority of the game, we dominated the ball and I’d say we were by far the better team.
“Obviously the sending-off change the game but, even at ten men, we were still dominating possession.
“It was just two defensive mistakes that cost us goals. That’s been a pattern of our play over the last two or three weeks.
“That’s what happens – Linlithgow ask questions and they force you into making mistakes.
“After we went down to ten men, we changed our shape a wee bit and you could see that Linlithgow didn’t have any answers, but we just couldn’t get that final breakthrough.
“Jamie Semple had a great chance with six or seven minutes to go, and if that had gone in, we’d have carried that momentum into the last five or six minutes and who know what happens, but that’s football.
“If you don’t take your chances and you don’t defend properly and make the right decisions at key times, you don’t progress to the next round of the cup.
“I’m bitterly disappointed that we won’t be in the next round of the cup but, on the flip side, we’re really proud of every single one of the boys.”
Fairydean were one of two sets of Borderers in action in the cup on Saturday and the others, EoSFL division two’s Coldstream, also went out, losing 3-2 at home to Scottish Midlands Football League side Tayport, with a second-round trip to William Hill League Two’s Dumbarton at stake.
Matt Boyd and Connor Brian scored goals for manager David Brown’s Streamers, with Jamie Gill at the double and Ethan Samson on target for the visiting Fifers at Home Park.
That’s the seventh year running that Coldstream – 3-0 winners away to North Caledonian Football League’s Golspie Sutherland in August’s second preliminary round – haven’t managed to make it past round one, their last run further that that having ended with a 6-0 second-round knockout away to Highlanders Brora Rangers in October 2018.
Next up for Fairydean – currently eighth in the table, on 16 points from ten games – is a league fixture at home to Edinburgh’s third-from-bottom Civil Service Strollers this coming Saturday, with kick-off at Netherdale Stadium at 3pm.