League: South Challenge Cup

Attendance 160

On a heavy overplayed park it was going to be tough .  Ross Nimmo was the first to have a pop at goals in three minutes but Jordan Pettigrew in the hosts goals gathered comfortably On six minutes Blantyre should have taken the lead  when Aaron Black was through on goal but Connor Wallace saved well before Jordan Wright cleared the danger . Ross Allum had an opportunity to score in 10 minutes when trying to lob the keeper from close in . Ross Nimmo made a good run down the right before sending a good ball into the box before Pettigrew  cut the ball out before reaching the strikers . Half way through the half Ross Allum blasted well over from the edge of the box . Shortly after a succession of corners for the visitors failed to get a score with desperate defending by the home side . Blantyre took the lead against the run of play when good play down the left produced a ball into the box that the visiting defence did not deal with and CONNOR O’DONNELL steadied himself before wrong footing Wallace to fire home . Blantyre got a lift from this and shortly after may have gone further ahead when Lewis Warnock fired a ball across the box but there were no team mates to take a opportunity . Broxburn got on level terms on 43 minutes when Nimmo put a good ball into the danger area for ROSS ALLUM to score .

The second half started with Blantyre getting the first chance when Black sent a ball to Ronan Kearney who shot wide . It was Broxburn who took the lead though on 52 minutes when Andrew Gillen put a ball into the box where it was knocked down to ROSS ALLUM to fire home from close range . Fifty seven minutes gone and the ball broke out to O’Donnell who fired a shot that Wallace saved well . Blantyre were trying hard to get back on level terms and Kearney forced a save from Wallace on 65 minutes . Ross Allum saw an effort come off the bar that anywhere else would have been in the back of the net  .They got on level terms a minute later when good play again down the right saw a cross met by CONOR O’DONNELL  to fire his side level . The visitors had a chance on 80 minutes when Nimmo gave the ball to Gillen before firing a good cross over where Brass headed over . Broxburn thought they had secured a win on 86 minutes when Ross Nimmo put a ball into the box for ROSS ALLUM to score  his hat trick . But Blantyre had other ideas and a minute later they equalised when GRANT BRENNAN got the ball in the box and fired home past Wallace .

Extra time and the first period was pretty much lacking in chances apart from when Aaron Black was through one on one with Wallace but the big Keeper saved well and the danger was cleared .

Wallace save well from Kearney at the start of the second period of extra time . At the other end Andrew Mair saw a shot saved . On 114 minutes a good corner to the back post saw Greg Nicol head over the bar .  With four minutes remaining Andrew Mair saw another attempt blocked and Blantyre raced away through Aaron Black and fired a shot wide right from the left .  Penalties was now needed to separate the two sides  . Blantyre went first with Dale Jones scoring  ,Jordan Wright stepped up for the visitors and made no mistake from the spot . Connell Boyle  scored his sides second with Wallace almost saving . Greg Nicol  gave the home side the adavntage when failing to score . Aaron Black made it 3 out of 3 for the home side .Jackson Barker was next for the visitors but his miss put the hosts in the driving seat . Connor Wallace gave his side a chance by saving two goal hero Conor O’Donnell’s penalty .Hat trick scorer for Broxburn stepped up to keep his side in it but fired over the bar giving Blantyre Vics a passage into the next round . We wish our hosts all the best for the next round .

BLANTYRE VICS PETTIGREW , JONES , GIBSON , MARSHALL , KERR , WHITLEY (BRENNAN 63m ) , BLACK , WARNOCK (BOYLE 104m) , KEARNEY , O’DONNELL , MACNAIR .  SUBS MACKENZIE , HUGHES , McKEOWN .

REFEREE MR D. GRAVES   ASSISTANTS MR S. FOGGIN , MR L. DOUGALL

ATTENDANCE 312

With both teams making enforced changes it was a hard one to call . In 2 minutes a throw in from Ryan Finnie landed at Jordan Sinclair who so his shot go wide of the target . Along ball through on twenty minutes was just too long for Greg Binnie and the keeper gathered .  With 25 minutes gone Gordon Donaldson was booked for a foul twenty yards out . The resultant free kick taken by Jordan Sinclair  went inches over the bar .  A good one two  involving Grant Nelson and Ciaran Heeps  saw Nelson cross the ball deep into the box and Calum Smith met it but headed just past the post . Just past the half hour mark great play by Sean Stewart saw him get the ball to the bye line before sending over a cross which Jordan Wright headed clear before Smith got there .  Just before half time  Chris Townsley got cautioned by the referee after Quote from Berwick Rangers twitter  ” where Finnie stole 20 yards at a throw in ” and Chris complained !!!!  .  Broxburn took the lead on 56 minutes when Ross Allum was sent clear down the right before sending a low cross across the box which was met by ANDREW MAIR who had the easiest of chances to turn the ball home from two yards out . A couple of minutes later Berwick responded but Stewart fired over from 20 yards out not troubling Shaun Donoghue in the visitors goal .  On 67 minutes Ross Allum created another chance this time for Joe Tait who met his cross at the back of the box but he fired his effort over the bar . Berwick changed their formation after a shot from Sinclair went wide from 30 yards out . This seemed to work as on 73 minutes a ball into the box fell to CALUM SMITH who was allowed to play keepy uppy 12 yards out before slotting the ball into the bottom left hand corner . A one two on 80 minutes finished with Donoghue tipping a Graham Taylor effort round the post . Broxburn thought they had sealed a winner with 6 minutes remaining a long ball was flicked over the home defence by Allum and Jackson Barker ran through on to it but saw his shot crash off the crossbar and over for a bye kick .

Extra time and it was Broxburn who created first when Mair played a ball across the box but Jack Cook turned it behind for a corner . The corner came in and this time Grant Nelson turned it behind for another corner to the visitors . This corner was met by Ross Allum who headed over . With eleven minutes of extra time gone John Ward went on a great run before firing in a shot the Donoghue done well to parry before clearing .Cameron Dow sent a good ball into Kieran McGrath who turned and shot but  Donoghue saved with his legs . Berwick hit the woodwork twice in the last two minutes of extra time , the first was when a free kick went to Graham Taylor who crossed in to  McGrath  who set up Jamie Pyper  who shot off the post from ten yards . Then when a blocked effort from Sinclair fell to McGrath he cracked one of the post also . With 120 minutes not separating these two sides it was down to penalty kicks .

Broxburn went first and Shaun Harrison saw his effort crash of the woodwork and away .  Jamie Pyper stepped up and scored for the hosts . Goal scorer Andrew Mair was next for the visitors his shot was saved but was unlucky as the ball just failed to cross the line . Grant Nelson missed the hosts second spot kick . Jordan Wright gave the keeper no chance with his sides third . Next up Sinclair  who makes no mistake in finding the net . Liam Ireland scores his penalty with ease . Cameron Dow blasted his attempt well over the bar leaving it 2-2 after 4 penalties each . It was now down to who could hold their nerve as Ross Allum despatched his penalty into the back of the net to put the visitors in front in the shoot out for the first time Kieran McGrath made it 3-3 after 5 penalties each and now sudden death . Greg Nicol sent his penalty off the cross bar leaving  Graham Taylor to score to send the home side through but Shaun Donoghue had other ideas and pulled of a wonderful save  to keep his side in it . Jackson Barker was next and he gave the visitors the advantage again . David Ferguson was now handed the responsibility of keeping the Lowland League side in the cup but he could do nothing about Donoghue’s magnificent save to put his side through into the next round  draw scheduled for week beginning 25th October , with the next round  to be played on Saturday the 20th of November . Would just like to thank all who made the long journey down over the border to support the team it was much appreciated with everything else that was going on on Saturday .

BERWICK RANGERS  McNEIL , FINNIE (WARD 46m) , FERGUSON , COOK , PYPER , SINCLAIR , NELSON , DENHOLM , SMITH (McGRATH 82m) , STEWART (TAYLOR 74m) , HEEPS  (DOW 91m) , SUBS  BAKER , SWINTON

REFEREE MR K. LINDSAY    ASSISTANTS  MR A. BROWN , MR C. DOYLE