Hill of Beath stun Lowland League Tranent in Qualifying Cup

And for the Haws it saw a famous win over Lowland League opposition.

Hill of Beath Hawthorn 4 Tranent 1

THE Haws blasted their way into the fourth round of the East of Scotland Qualifying Cup by convincingly beating Lowland League side, Tranent, at Keirs Park.

The visitors have been enjoying a good season in the tier above the Premier League, but they had no answer to the movement and pace of Hill of Beath who created chances at will.

Given the pressure that had been building, the opening goal came as no surprise and arrived in the 20th minute when a corner was swung in and Dan Watt was able to nod home from close in.

A second goal came shortly before the interval when Brandon Luke created the opening for new loan signing from Stirling Albion, Sam Featherstone, and he fired home a well-placed shot.

Sam Featherstone lifts the ball beyond the Tranent goalie to put Hill of Beath 2-0 up. (Image: David Wardle) Early in the second half there was another good opening for Hill of Beath when a Scott Reekie volley was heading for the net but struck Watt and stayed out.

But they didn't have long to wait for the third goal with Watt steadying himself before firing the ball into the top corner.

Tranent were desperately trying to get a foothold but conceded again, with 12 minutes left, when Jordan Tosh slid the ball home from close range.

Haws kept looking for more goals and Calum Adamson was denied by a fine save by the goalkeeper, who also thwarted Ross Allum with a brave stop.

In the closing seconds Tranent grabbed a consolation.

Haws boss Robbie Raeside was delighted by the performance of his side, against a team who are only two points off the top of the Lowland League, and said: “I cannot praise the players enough for a very impressive performance against a team who have been producing a lot of good wins this season.

“We created a lot of chances with some excellent football and defended very well when we had to.

“Hopefully we will have a game this weekend, as it is meant to be a local cup-tie, but the previous round has been postponed twice and the match is supposed to be played this midweek.”

Bathgate Thistle 1 Dundonald Bluebell 2 (after extra-time)

Second Division Bathgate made life tough in this Qualifying Cup tie but Bluebell eventually booked a spot against local rivals Hill of Beath in the next round.

The home team are second top of the league and were highly competitive as Dundonald took the game to them in the early stages, creating some decent openings in the first half hour.

The opening goal came in 32 minutes when Fin Graham worked a good position and he fired a low drive past the Thistle ‘keeper.

That was how it stood at the break but Bathgate started the second period positively and on the hour they took advantage of hesitancy in the ‘Bell defence to level.

Both sides had chances to win it but the defences held firm and the tie went to extra-time.

Midway through the first period the Bluebell got the goal to win the tie when midfielder Corey Battrick thumped a fine drive into the Thistle net.

Dundonald manager, Jason Dair, said: “It was a tight game and the lads kept at it and edged the win.

“Meeting Hill of Beath at Keirs Park in the next round will be a tie everyone at the club will be looking forward to.”

Lochore Welfare 2 Crossgates Primrose 2 (Welfare won 7-6 on penalties)

AN excellent King Cup first round tie at Central Park in Crosshill went the distance before Lochore eventually edged through on spot kicks. 

These two First Division rivals have yet to sparkle in the league campaign but produced some good football in this cup-tie.

Crossgates opened the tie well and grabbed the lead in eight minutes with a neat finish from James McAteer.

The tie between Lochore and Crossgates went all the way to penalties before a winner could be found. (Image: David Wardle) They could have gone further ahead but Lochore gradually worked their way into the game and created some good chances with Michael Watt, Lucas Reilly and Ciaran Healy going close.

There was nothing between the sides as the second period wore on, with Welfare starting to create clear openings with sub Joe Kirby prominent in their better moves.

Primrose ‘keeper Zander Gilchrist kept his side in front with some fine saves until four minutes into time added on when Gregg Page levelled the tie. 

Kirby had been pulled down on the edge of the box and after Crossgates were reduced to 10 men - with a second yellow card for the tackle - his free-kick was headed home by Page.

That took the tie into extra-time and in the second period, Primrose were down to nine men after Brandon Callaghan was fouled.

Kirby put Lochore in front when he curled a free-kick into the net but Crossgates fought back and Lewis Anderson levelled to take the tie to a penalty shoot-out.

Both sides missed spot-kicks but Lochore held their nerve to take this dramatic tie 7-6, with stand-in goalie, 41 year-old Craig McMaihin, making two saves.

Saturday’s fixtures: (2pm kick-off unless stated) - East of Scotland Premier League, Haddington Athletic v Dundonald Bluebell 2.30pm. East of Scotland First Division, Crossgates Primrose v Camelon, Arniston Rangers v Lochore Welfare. East of Scotland Third Division, Lochgelly Albert v Edinburgh Community.