Heartbreak for EKYM
East Kilbride YM crashed out of the Challenge Cup on Saturday after a dramatic collapse gifted Dumbarton Accies a place in the quarter-finals.
Goals from Ryan Kelly, Jordan Fletcher and Craig Tocher had YM 3-1 ahead after 88 minutes, but their opponents grabbed two late goals to level things up and force the match to go straight to penalties.
Shaken by the comeback, YM lost the shootout 4-1 as dreams of a last-eight slot crumbled before their eyes.
Dumbarton took the lead in the first half when McHard skipped past his marker to shoot low into the corner of the net, but to YM’s credit they fought back to take a commanding lead before the late drama.
Early in the second half YM got the goal they deserved when Mikey Carroll picked out Ryan Kelly at the back post and he fired a low shot into the net.
Encouraged by this equaliser YM went looking for a second and they found it when Jordan Fletcher’s wonderful 25-yard free-kick pulled the hosts ahead.
In the 88th minute Tocher looked liked he had secured the victory when he outpaced his marker and to slid the ball past the keeper to make it 3-1.
However, five minutes of stoppage time were added on and YM contrived to give their opponents a lifeline, conceding two last-gasp goals from corner kicks to take the match straight to penalties.
In the shootout Dumbarton were ruthless, winning 4-1 with Tocher the only man to convert for YM.
YM must now pick themselves up for Saturday when they face a journey to the Trossachs to play Callendar Thistle in the first game of their Presidents Cup section.
Meanwhile, the club’s GGPL side recorded a fine 4-1 victory at Rannoch with Ross Anderson scoring a hat-trick and Darren Litterick getting the other goal.