Just too little left in the tank as tired Selkirk fade in cup final

David Banjo (partially hidden) puts Selkirk 1-0 against Cumbernauld Colts in the Lowland League Cup Final at Netherdale.

The experience of their first cup final in a decade sadly proved a game too far for Selkirk, as the strains of a long season with a small squad caught up with them.

Ian Fergus’ men opened the scoring at Netherdale in Sunday’s Lowland League Cup Final against Cumbernuald Colts.

But they succumbed 3-1 after a roistering second-half perfomance by the Broadwood side, who were down to 10 men but managed to hit three goals in the last 18 minutes.

“We were just too tired in the end, and it showed in the last half hour,” said Fergus. “We had several really good chances to go 2-0 up and didn’t take them – maybe that was th story of how the day went. But credit to Cumbernauld – they worked really hard and looked a bit fitter than us. They deserved it – maybe not over the whole 90 minutes, but certainly for the second half and the way they reacted after going down to 10 men. They really went for it and stretched us a lot.

“It was an off day for us. We ran out of gas in the end but we’re not taking anything away from Cumbernauld.”

Fergus has already started the search for new players and reckons six or seven will be needed if Selkirk are to compete at the same level next season.

He praised the squad for its performances in 2017-18, which had included a fifth-place finish in the league, a record win (10-0 over Hawick Royal Albert), a near-100 per cent record of wins and no defeats in the Borders derbies, and a cup final appearance – mostly just 12 players.

Selkirk were unbeaten in seven matches when they lined up on Sunday for their fifth match in 15 days.

Colts began sluggishly and Selkirk enjoyed the majority of possession in the opening 20 minutes – theey were deservedly rewarded when midfielder David Banjo netted after some confusion in the Colts defence.

Cumbernauld thought they had equalised in 38 minutes but defender Scott Davidson, who had already been booked, used his hand to force the ball over the line, and was orderd off for a second caution.

However, the dismissal appeared to galvanise Craig McKinlay’s side and they decided on an aggressive approach, mounting a series of charges against the Souters.

They won the cup with a brace of goals from top scorer Sean Brown and one by Craig Murray.