’Hill, Forth progress in Scottish Cup
Bellshill boss Robert Sneddon praised his side’s “outstanding” performance as they swept Ashfield away 3-0 to progress to the Scottish Cup fourth round.
Athletic recorded a comfortable win at the fifth time of asking, and now host Sauchie in the fourth round.
Forth Wanderers joined them in the fourth round with a 2-1 replay win over Lochore Welfare at Central Park in Cowdenbeath, earning them a trip to either derby rivals Wishaw or Dundee Downfield.
Bellshill survived a few early scares before clicking into gear in the eighth minute when Paul Brennan, Jamie Stewart and Lee Nichol had shots blocked.
In 23 minutes Stewart shouldered off an Ashfield challenge as he pounced with his back to goal, to swivel and break the deadlock with a cleverly hooked shot into the net.
Bellshill should have doubled their lead in 31 minutes after Brennan was hauled down in the box, but Nichol sent his penalty wide of target.
However, they did manage to make it 2-0 in 64 minutes when Stewart burst through a gap in the Ashfield defence and collect an Andrew Gilchrist pass before firing the ball into the net.
Bellshill bagged a third in 75 minutes when a Nichol shot was deflected in for an own goal.
Sneddon said: “I thought we were outstanding for the full 90 minutes.
“We were down to the bare bones with only 14 players available, but the boys were outstanding.
“There are always going to be chances – we rode the wee bit of pressure they had, but I thought we defended rather well, and we kept a clean sheet.”
Forth, who drew their original tie 2-2 at the John Cumming Stadium while their own Kingshill Park was waterlogged, made the replay trip a rewarding one by winning 2-1.
Young Warren Grenfell fired them ahead in 33 minutes with a shot from the edge of the box into the top corner.
Then, as the first half moved into stoppage time due to a Lochore player requiring treatment, Barry Mcgeechan pounced from the edge of the box to drive the ball into the top corner.
Manager Jamie Mckenzie said: “It was a good result – we didn’t play all that well for spells, but a cup game produces an assertiveness and we took our goals well.
“In the second half a little bit of nervousness crept into our play, and as Lochore scored.
“We will have to step up our game for the next round, which could be at Wishaw.”
We were down to the bare bones