Late show helps Larkhall secure a draw, but Wishaw slump

Oct 6 2011 by David Bell, Hamilton Advertiser

LARKHALL Thistle snatched a 1-1 draw at Stoneyburn Athletic in the Emirates Scottish Cup first round on Saturday.

But Wishaw’s much-heralded first cup-tie at their new Beltane Park ground ended in disaster as Central First Division strugglers Dunipace thumped them 6-0.

Thistle hope to be in Sunday’s second round draw as they prepare to tackle the Livingston side at Gasworks Park on Saturday.

Manager Duncan Sinclair said: “It was as tough as I expected it to be, having watched them the week before.”

Jamie Dunbar and John Paul Grant linked well to create the opener.

When Dunbar was upended Grant scored from the free-kick.

Shortly after that Thistle were stunned as the hosts equalised.

The referee blew for a foul, goalkeeper Davie McEwan was told to kick it out, and when he slipped the ball fell to a Stoneyburn forward to slotted it home.

Sinclair said: “It was a stuffy game. We showed more determination in the second half, showed some real skills for spells, and created a few chances but couldn’t take them.”

Defender Jack Baptie is on holiday, but Dunbar, who picked up a slight knock in Saturday’s game, should be fit for the replay.

Wishaw boss Alex Young said: “It was very disappointing all round – I didn’t think we deserved to lose by six goals, and four of them came from set-pieces that we didn’t defend properly.

“We lost Gary Meechan when he went over on his ankle on Friday, and Kevin Barry Grant was carried off with a shin injury following a hefty tackle.

“On a positive note it was good to see Kieran Clark and John Paul McBride get 90 minutes under their belt after a lengthy spell out through injury.”