THE DAY BRAVE BONNYRIGG ALMOST CAME UP ROSES
Brave Bonnyrigg are denied glory by last-gasp goal before extra-time agony
Bonnyrigg rose goalkeeper Mark Weir insists his brave band of players have shown the whole of scotland that the Lowland League should be treated with the utmost respect.
The part-timers came agonisingly close to producing a huge scottish Cup upset against Championship side Dundee in saturday night’s televised tie at Dens.
The Dark Blues, who had beaten league leaders Hearts just seven days previously, looked to be heading for a shock exit as Bonnyrigg held on to a precious lead, courtesy of a first-half Lee Currie penalty.
Weir’s heroic performance between the sticks had denied the home side time after time and, as the seconds ticked down, a place in the third round was within his and Bonnyrigg’s grasp.
However, their resistance was finally broken in the fourth minute of stoppage time as Dundee’s on-loan Celtic striker Jonathan Afolabi beat Weir.
it was a huge hammer blow for the rosey Posey but they astonishingly picked themselves up off the canvas in extra-time to take the lead once more with another Currie spot-kick.
The dream was back on but it was shattered again as Lee Ashcroft equalised for Dundee who then took the lead — and the tie — as osman sow struck in the 112th minute to break Bonnyrigg hearts.
However, Weir insists despite the gut-wrenching defeat, robbie Horn’s side can hold their heads high.
‘on a personal note, that has to be one of my best games,’ said the keeper, who works for an edinburgh pensions company.
‘obviously the result didn’t go the way we wanted but, from my point of view, it's always great to be live on the television and play as well as I did.
`I just wish we could have held on for another few moments and got into the next round. I didn't know long the referee' as adding on, but we had it in one hand. We could almost feel it.
'We're proud of how we've done, but we're gutted at the result. We can leave with our heads held high.'
Weir added: 'I hope this shows the whole of Scotland that the Lowland League is one of the most competitive and best leagues in the country.
'Some people might look down on us because we're a few leagues below. But wh ni you look at the likes of us and ob iously Kelty Hearts, BSC and East Kilbride, it's a great league.
'I'd like to think the performance the boys put in shows the entire country that we're a top team and we don't
just want to be in the Lowland League.
‘ We want to keep on pushing and see how f ar we can get because we’ve j ust gone toe-to-toe with a top Championship team.’
Weir (right), in his second spell at the club after time in Tennessee on a football scholarship, said the Bonnyrigg pl ayers had been relishing the chance to test themselves against Dundee.
‘We’re a part-time club against a f ull- team team,’ he said. ‘ They’ve got Charlie Adam, who has played down south and has Scotland caps, and Osman Sow. They’re top players. ‘For me, and the boys were saying in the dressing-room, nights like this are why you want to be playing football. ‘You want to be coming up against the top players. And you could see we’re lucky to have a few boys in our team who could play at a higher level. ‘Not many people would have given us a chance against Dundee. I’m sure we would have been big outsiders everywhere so to go and perform like that shows we’re a club that wants to compete at the highest level we can.’ Bonnyrigg Rose’s devastation was in sharp contrast to the delight and relief in the Dundee camp with Afolabi admitting his last-gasp goal will be one he will savour for years to come.
‘The keeper had a very good game, so it was great to get my goal,’ said the Ireland Under-21 star. ‘It was a huge relief as we were in the last seconds of the game and I am delighted it went in. I just want to kick on now at Dundee.
‘This is a game I will remember for a l ong time. It i s one of my f i rst professional games and it is good to get a last-minute goal like that. It is something you always dream of as a kid. I am just glad it happened.
‘The main thing, though, is that we are in the next round.’
DUNDEE (4-3-1-2): J Hamilton; Fontaine, Forster, Ashcroft, Marshall; Robertson (Afolabi 56), Byrne (Anderson 71), Adam; McGowan; Mullen (Moore 115), Sow. Subs not used: Ferrie, N Hamilton, Strachan, Murray. Booked: Adam, Robertson, McGowan. BONNYRIGG ROSE (3-5-2): Weir; Young, Horne, Martyniuk; Brett, Currie, Stewart, S Gray (Barrett 100), Hoskins; Hunter (R Gray 76), McGachie (Wilson 87). Subs not used: Turner, Docherty, Mair, Barrett, Andrews. Booked: Brett, Currie. Man of the match: Mark Weir. Referee: Gavin Duncan.
We want to keep pushing to ee just how far we can get