Three first-half goals contribute to a giant-killing

Cameron Toll confidently swept aside higher league opposition to march into the third round of the Edinburgh & District Amateur FA David Temple Memorial Cup.

First Division side Pentland Thistle were on the receiving end of a first-half battering by their third-tier visitors and were unable to make up lost ground in the second half, having conceded three goals in the opening period and ultimately losing 3-1.

Cameron Toll rained the shots on Pentland's goal early on, but it was an inauspicious strike by Grant Wanstall that forced the breakthrough. The midfield playmaker struck a high but reasonably lightweight shot towards the top right-hand corner and the well-positioned Thistle goalkeeper Gary McGilvary was in line to catch it, however the No?.1 allowed the ball to slip between his grasping hands and merely pushed it into the roof of the net.

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Cameron Toll dominated the opening exchanges, driving forward through tricky goalscorer Wanstall and solid at the back thanks to captain Seung Kim, whose vision and composed distribution of the ball was a joy to behold.

After netting the first, No.?8 Wanstall played a significant part in orchestrating the game's second goal on 38 minutes. Controlling a high pass forward on the halfway line, he deftly flicked the ball over his marker and strode goalward, before launching a perfectly-weighted pass out wide to team-mate Mark O'Neill.

With one touch to take the ball down wide on the right and level with the 18-yard line, O'Neill crashed a sumptuous half-volley over an unsuspecting McGilvary and into the far, left-hand corner of the net.

Four minutes later, Cameron Toll inflicted further pain on Pentland with their third goal. Kenny Cameron sidestepped his marker in the box and capped his simple close-range finish with a celebratory gymnastic routine of which Nadia Comaneci would have been proud.

Wanstall continued to catch the eye in the away side's midfield and he took his impressive form into the second half.

His strike from long range shortly after the restart sailed straight into the arms of McGilvary and he then sent a tantalising cross towards Cameron, only for the latter to fail to connect despite a desperate lunge forward with the goal gaping.

Down and out, Pentland may have been expected to post an indifferent second half performance, but instead spiritedly pushed for a consolation goal. On 20 minutes, they gained some reward as John Stephens stole in at close range to poke Mark Hermiston's left-wing cross past the Cameron Toll goalkeeper.

Thistle's Craig Martin thrust forward from midfield and shot narrowly over the bar five minutes later, and from there the hosts appeared consigned to defeat.

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A flicker of hope for Pentland was ignited then swiftly snuffed out on 87 minutes. Alex Fowler cleverly flicked the ball over the sprawling goalkeeper at a one-on-one but saw his goalbound effort cleared off the line by the seemingly omnipresent visitors' skipper Seung Kim.

Pentland Thistle: Gary McGilvary, Alex Fowler, Alasdair Fraser, John Stephens, Sean McLemon, Ewen Brown, Craig Martin, Mark Hermiston, Patrick McDermid, Sean McAllister, Mark McLoy Stevens, Walter Berwick.

Cameron Toll: Stuart Inglis, Gary Morrison, Kasim Rudiq, Seung Kim, Grant Dalton, Kenny Cameron, Grant Wanstall, Chris Barr, Kevin Murphy, Mark O'Neill, Graham Ross, Daniel Gilliland, John Wanstall, Kris Stewart.

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