A FOURTH FOR GOOD
Rose book their spot in last eight
Linlithgow Rose finally booked their place in the last eight of the Scottish Junior Cup with victory over Maryhill at the fourth time of asking.
The match had been postponed on three occasions before finally getting the go-ahead at the home of St Anthony’s in Govan.
And it will be the Rose who will host Gartcairn for a place in the semi-finals this weekend but they were made to fight all the way for their spot in the next round against the West Region side who had already claimed a West Lothian scalp this season when they knocked out Fauldhouse United in the previous round.
Maryhill had the better of the play in the opening stages but it was the visitors who took the lead after 25 minutes when Blair Bachelor’s defence-splitting pass found Ross Gray who duly slotted home the opener from the edge of the box.
The East Region Superleague side then doubled their lead just before the interval when top scorer Coyne netted with a clinical finish beyond the reach of Jack Baker in the Maryhill goal.
However, the game was far from over and the Glasgow outfit looked a different side after the break and were able to level things up with two goals in quick succession after the restart.
Joseph Beckley was able to rifle home from 20-yards after pouncing on a loose ball before Justin Begg tied things up from a few yards out after making the most of some loose Rose defending.
That stung the visitors but they regained the lead with 15 minutes remaining when captain Colin Leiper climbed above the Hill defence and Coyne was on-hand to fire home his 250th goal for the club.
The Lochburn Park side finished the match with nine men as both Gavin
Stokes and David Matthews received second yellows in the closing stages, the latter coming from a handball that led to Coyne putting the result beyond doubt when he completed his hat-trick from the spot.
It was the striker’s third treble of the competition this season having earlier netted hat-tricks against both Clydebank and Dundee North End as the Prestonfield men marched into the quarter-finals.
Despite the win, Rose skipper Leiper insists his side need to cut out the slackness if they want to go on to lift the Junior Scottish Cup.
He admitted he was delighted to book their berth in the last-eight but was concerned by the sloppy play that saw them throw away a two-goal lead before finally crossing the line.
He said: “It’s great to be in the next round and we deserved the win but we have to sort out some of the slackness in our play.
“It has been our Achilles heel all season and if you want to win cups like this it needs addressed.”
Boss Todd Lumsden added: “It’s great to be in the next round but we made heavy work of it.”
The Rose have made heavy work of the league this campaign, sitting just above the Superleague relegation zone, but have impressed in the top cup competition in the Juniors.
They will be hoping they can continue that spell when they welcome the West Region Central Second Division side from Airdrie to West Lothian this weekend.
Kick-off at Prestonfield is scheduled for 2.30pm with tickets priced at £7 for adults and £4 for concessions.