Pentland punished for wasting their chances

Pentland Roadhouse could be forgiven for losing their faith in football after they contrived to concede three goals and lose a game they dominated against Oxgangs AFC to crash out of the Edinburgh and District Sunday Amateur Association Cup.

Pentland spurned a glut of goalscoring chances, with Kenny McMillan's profligacy in front of goal costing his side dearly, although the striker did notch a brace thanks to a superb strike in each half.

Oxgangs' victory was moulded by their impressive momentum early in the game, as they pulled two goals clear within the opening 12 minutes.

On ten minutes, Brian Baillie's free kick from the left found Scott Thomson at the far post, and he directed his header back across goal to send the ball past Roadhouse goalie James McGahey. Seconds later, Darren Aitken slipped the ball into the net from eight yards out and the hosts found themselves 2-0 to the good.

From then on, Pentland held the upper hand but never truly threatened to turn the game on its head.

McMillan was at the centre of most of Pentland's positive movement forward and his two assists either side of the half-hour mark set up Mark McNally and Stephen McNally with a sight of goal but neither could find a way past Oxgangs goalkeeper Darryn Lunn. Instead, it was a baffling decision by the match official that allowed Pentland to reduce the deficit to one, the referee ordering an indirect free kick when Lunn picked up a passback that had come off a player's knee - not foot or lower leg.

Nevertheless, Pentland's McMillan displayed inch-perfect accuracy by angling his shot from a lay-off eight yards out past a clutch of defenders stationed on the goal line.

Pentland made further inroads into the Oxgangs penalty area in the second half but McMillan and Chris Fortune, both trying their luck with long-range strikes, couldn't trouble home No.?1 Lunn.

Then Darren Hodge saw his thunderous strike deflected off a defender and hit the woodwork. The same man then headed over from Stephen McNally's subsequent corner.

Fortune's two piledrivers from distance narrowly missed the target and McMillan wasted another chance, albeit from an acute angle, when he sent a shot from the right past the far post with just the goalie between himself and the goal.

After an interminable period of Pentland pressure, the equaliser came on 82 minutes when Craig McNally played McMillan through on goal once more, and this time the striker curled the ball home.

Parity was to prove short-lived, though, as Oxgangs scored the winner two minutes later from their only chance in the second half after Jack McGhie converted from close range.

Oxgangs: Darryn Lunn, Steven McArthur, John Begbie, Michael Davis, Richard Davis, Mark Begbie, Jack McGhie, Scott Thomson, Jamie Finnen, Matt Gordon, Brian Baillie, Darren Aitken.

Pentland: James McGahey, David Sutherland, Paul McLeod, Kevin McNally, Kenny McMillan, Chris Fortune, Craig McIntyre, Craig McNally, Mark McNally, Darren Hodge, Stephen McNally, Robert Abernethy.