City sides keep flag flying in tournament

Musselburgh’s replay at Edinburgh South Vics, their rivals in the Lothian and Edinburgh Amateur FA, yielded even more goals than the original tie, which ended in a 3-3 draw at Pinkie. In the decisive game at Saughton 3G, the East Lothian visitors racked up a 5-0 lead before two late consolation strikes saw hosts Vics restore a degree of pride.

While Capital club Fernieside were humbled at Ayrshire side Hurlford in their fifth round tie, Whitson continue to fly the flag for Edinburgh in the national competition after defeating crack Glasgow club Millbeg 2-0 at home thanks to goals by Davie Garries and Willie Minto.

Whitson’s reward for their giant-killing exploits is yet another tricky trip to Glasgow, where they will face Castlemilk at Burnhill Park on Saturday.

Boss George Thomson was frank in his assessment of his team’s chances of going all the way in the Scottish Cup and expects another challenging encounter this weekend.

“I can’t see us winning the cup, to be truthful,” said Thomson. “Seemingly, Castlemilk are not far off the standard of Millbeg.

“We’re stuttering a bit just now because we lost a couple of players to other teams, but we’re picking up guys and I’m delighted to be in the next round of the cup.”

Midfielder Minto is one of the recent arrivals to which Thomson refers, and he struck the second goal after striker Garries had opened the scoring at Silverknowes. Millbeg were reduced to ten men in the second half, by which time Whitson had the match already won with an unassailable 2-0 advantage.

Cris Kay’s Musselburgh team experienced a fiesty challenge from their Premier Division 1 counterparts Edinburgh South Vics, but his side emerged victorious after racing into a remarkable five-goal lead.

A first-half brace by midfielder Craig Darcy was followed by second-half strikes from Jamie Kay (manager Cris’s younger brother), Andy McDonald and Alan Bain. Vics then struck two goals late on, with the final score 5-2 in favour of the Honest Toun visitors.

“After drawing 3-3 at Musselburgh, the replay was always going to be a hard tie. The lads showed a lot of application at training during the week and were up for it. The first-half performance, against the wind, was always going to be tough, but we sat back and caught them on the counter attack. It was quite a tough match, although the scoreline does suggest otherwise. All credit to Vics – they are a physical side. But, we got the ball down and played well.”

Musselburgh now face the prospect of a trip to play Greenock High School Former Pupils on Saturday. Boss Kay is cites a replay in Musselburgh as his club’s most realistic chance of progressing to the quarter-final.

“Greenock HSFP play in the top league in Scotland, the Central League, which is a good standard. Should we get a result, we’ll head back to Wyremill Club in Musselburgh – our club sponsor – for a wee sherry.

“It will be toughs. To get them back to Musselburgh for a replay is the aim.

“This is a stepping stone for us all – I’m new to management – and anything in the Scottish Cup is a bonus.”