East Lothian side hope Scottish Cup tie sparks them into life

The East Lothian outfit were hugely impressive in last season’s competition, reaching the quarter-finals before bowing out to eventual winners  Hurlford Thistle.

Manager Cris Kay is hoping for a similar cup run this year but admits the club is yet to find their feet this season. The club have only registered one league victory to their name so far and lost 4-3 to Newcraighall Leith Vics at the weekend.

Kay said: “It’s not been a very good start to the season. We’ve also probably got about five guys out who would normally be starting on a Saturday. We’ll work hard at training this week and take it from there.

“It’s a relief it’s a cup game rather than a league fixture so hopefully this can kick-start our season.

“They (Benarty AFC) are about mid-table in a good Premier League across in Fife so they should be pretty decent. But with us being at home, we’ll give it a right good go.

“We would like another good run in the cup this year and I think that is why we got so far last year, as there was no  pressure on us whatsoever.”

Accies edge out Forrester

Edinburgh Academicals are safely through to the Scottish Amateur Cup second round after seeing off LEAFA rivals Sporting Icapb 3-2 at Forrester High 3G in their first-round  replay.

With the first encounter  ending in a 1-1 draw last weekend, both sides went into the match confident of securing their  passage into the next round,  but when the referee blew for full time, it was Academicals  who were able to embark with the celebrations.

It had all started so differently.

Icapb grabbed the lead when Luke Lewis knocked the ball in from close range but Thomas McFarlane levelled for the hosts before the break.

Paul Doohan then fired  Academicals into the lead with a neat finish before right-back John Shaw ventured forward and found the net from 20 yards to make it 3-1.

However, Icapb were not prepared to surrender meekly and they reduced the deficit when Matthew Lyst showed great composure  in lobbing the ball into the net with a cool finish, but  Academicals held on.

Sandys rout Dalkeith MW

Sandys FC returned to the top of Premier Division 1 with a convincing 5-0 victory over Dalkeith MW at Castleview Centre.

Last year’s league champions have so far enjoyed an indifferent start to their quest to regain the title, suffering two defeats in their opening seven games and doubling the amount they lost during their entire championship-winning season last year.

However, Sandys produced a crushing display to easily dispose of their opponents and were three goals to the good at half-time, courtesy of goals from James Riley, Michael Osborne and Callum Gallagher.

Andy Dailly added a fourth before a Dalkeith own goal compounded the misery for the visitors, who will look to improve when they take to the field against East Calder United in the Scottish Amateur Cup on Saturday.

Liberton fight back

Liberton Thistle produced an impressive comeback to defeat Pavilion FC 4-3 in a high tempo Sunday Premier Division 1 clash at Kirkbrae.

Pavilion took a 1-0 lead into the break after Chris Crichton’s early strike and the hosts’ chances were made considerably harder when Craig Rankin saw red for violent conduct.

The visitors’ lead was stretched in the second half when Anthony Thornton  made it 2-0 before Liberton notched their first of the match through a strike from David Aitkenhead.

Pavilion added a third, however, through Michael Stevenson, but a change in formation appeared to re-energise the home side and Dean Coyle translated that into something concrete when he made it 3-2 with a great left-footed strike.

Aitkenhead then produced a stunning piece of skill from a direct free-kick to level the match at three apiece before Sean Lothian completed a  remarkable turnaround for the ten men with the winner in the closing stages.

Liberton’s John O’Hara was delighted with the response from his players.

He said: “It was a great win and we showed tremendous character to come back from 3-1 down.

“We knew it was going to be a bigger task this year after getting promoted but we’ve managed to kick on.”