McIntosh brace sets up final with Spartans

Tynecastle will face Spartans in the final of the Image Printers East of Scotland Qualifying Cup after a second-half double from influential captain Wayne McIntosh turned around a first-half deficit.

McIntosh, who played in an attacking midfield role, took his goal tally for the season to 19.

"We got a real roasting from David Bingham at half-time when we were losing 2-1 and we came out fighting in the second half," said McIntosh. "It was a brilliant result and I'm delighted for our management team because, as far as I know, this is the first time that Tynecastle has ever won at Rosewell and it takes us into the final."

On a heavy but perfectly playable Ferguson Park, the game opened at a frantic pace. A Paul Devlin header from a Dale O'Hara free kick drifted wide then, at the other end, a Kevin Morrison 20-yard free kick hit Tynecastle's defensive wall.

Whitehill thought they had a penalty claim when Ross Allum was brought down by Tynecastle goalkeeper John Gilbertson but the referee, Michael Scott, awarded a corner.

Tynecastle took the game to the home side and Devlin shot wide from a good position, Robbie Arthur had an effort blocked and John Williams saw his header hit the post.

The visitors were rewarded in the 15th minute when a loose ball from 20 yards out was met by on-loan Hearts defender O'Hara and his low shot found its way through a crowded penalty box and into the net.

Whitehill immediately retaliated. Tynecastle's Williams conceded possession which allowed Scott Gormley and Darryl Devlin to combine for the latter to score from eight yards.

Tynecastle were dealt a sucker punch two minutes before half-time when Paul Devlin missed a chance and Whitehill rushed to the other end of the pitch were Jordan Hall hit an unstoppable shot into the roof of the net from six yards.

Whatever the Tynecastle management team of Murray Balloch and David Bingham said to their players at the break obviously worked. They brought on Eddie Mearns and Wayne Sproule and within two minutes they had drawn level when a Darran Thomson low cross picked out McIntosh who turned and drilled a shot into the net via the post.

The game was evenly balanced until, midway through the half, a long clearance from Gilbertson into the Whitehill penalty box bounced off the back of Arthur into the path of McIntosh who rounded Youssef Bejaoui and guided the ball into the unguarded net.

Whitehill did have opportunities to take the game into extra time but efforts from Danny Taylor and Andrew Kidd bothhit the bar.

Balloch said: "Whitehill Welfare did not have to work hard for their goals because we did not track their runners. It was frustrating so at half-time we made two changes and went with three up front. We were more disciplined and we won more balls. It might not have been pretty but it was effective and we scored two well-taken goals.

"I could not be more pleased for the whole squad because Rosewell is a difficult place to come and get a result. Hopefully this win will kick-start our season and we can move up the league table."

Paul Cavanagh, the Whitehill manager, said: "We missed a couple of chances to go further ahead then we conceded two sloppy goals. It looked as if we would force extra time but fair play to Tynecastle who defended very well."

Whitehill Welfare: Bejaoui, Hall, Morrison, Robertson, Gibb, McGlashan, Devlin, Taylor (Lunn, 81), Gormley, Kidd, Allum (Beattie, 80). Subs: Caddow, MacBrayne.

Tynecastle: Gilbertson, Aird, O'Hara, Young, Williams, Thomson (Dunn, 77), Arthur, Elliot (Mearns, 46), Devlin, McIntosh, McCormack (Sproule, 46). Subs: Law, McMullen.

Whitehill Welfare 2

Tynecastle 3