Star control cup tie but still go out

REDHALL STAR huffed and puffed but just couldn't blow down Bellshill Derby as the Capital side's Lanarkshire visitors stole a place in the latter stages of the Foster's Scottish Amateur Cup with a last-gasp goal at Redhall Park.

A mistake in defence ten minutes from time led to one of the few chances that Redhall afforded their opponents during the game and Bellshill took full advantage as Star defender Gavin Liddell was robbed of possession and James McGinnis easily converted from close range.

Despite looking firmly in control of the contest for the most part, Redhall were left to rue their wastefulness in attack.

Their lively forward pairing of Kenny Fisher and Chris White were starved of supply and, crucially, when a shooting opportunity did arise, Star lacked composure in front of goal.

Coach Keith Kinnaird agreed, saying: "I thought the team in general played really well, but the final third let us down. When they were getting the ball up, they weren't the balls we usually play into feet. But, player-wise, I was delighted with everybody."

Dangled in front of the sides was the carrot of a home tie in the national tournament's last 16, and Kinnaird was disappointed not to have advanced in the competition.

"I thought we played some nice football," he said. "We had the chances to go in a goal or two up at half-time. The thing that disappointed me was that normally we have a lot of youth and agility in our squad and want to move it slickly and quickly – but, we didn't do that.

"At that stage in any cup competition, it's never going to be a classic, it's going to be a dogfight. We deserved at least a draw, if not a win, but that's football. The club's done exceedingly well to get there given the changes we've made this year – we made 15 changes to the squad for this season.

"But, the lads deserve credit and Bellshill do, too, for grinding out the result."

Kinnaird regretted being unable to put on a better show for the 50 or so spectators who had turned out in support of his team and who almost witnessed the home side taking a first-half lead. White's header from a right-wing cross, though, came crashing off the bar.

At the other end, Redhall goalkeeper Andy Leask performed a brilliant one-handed stop to keep out Steven Jarvie's 20-yard daisy-cutter early in the second-half.

White again went close for the home side with a free-kick after teammate Stephen Finnie had been flattened on the edge of the box, but his strike whistled past the junction of right-hand post and crossbar.

Redhall, despite being unable to break the deadlock, looked as if they could choose to punish their opponents at any given time and seemed patient in their efforts to score.

From their back-line pairing of Liddell and captain Sandy Munro, through instrumental midfielder Finnie, to their forward duo Fisher and White, Star had the better of Bellshill. The standout performer for the home side was left-back Scott Kinnaird, whose rampaging runs down the flank and pinpoint delivery offered a refreshing lift to proceedings.

The defender's manager and father Keith was full of praise, saying: "As a dad, he's made me very proud. He came from Tynecastle under-21s and the very first week he came in against Uphall, their players were raving about him. He has a lovely delivery of the ball and a fantastic attitude."

For all Kinnaird junior's threat and Redhall's dominance, the decisive moment arrived on 84 minutes. The impressive Liddell tracked back to snuff out the danger of the chasing James McAvley as a long ball found its way into the Star penalty area and, although Liddell initially won possession, he attempted to dribble the ball round McAvley when perhaps a simple clearance for a corner or a throw-in would have sufficed.

Hindsight is a cruel tool of judgement for the critical observer, though, and Liddell could not have anticipated that taking such a chance would result so quickly in his side conceding the game's only goal. McAvley swept a quick, low pass across the face of goal where the unmarked McGinnis was on hand to side-foot Bellshill into the seventh round.

Redhall Star: Andy Leask, John Daly, Scott Kinnaird, Gavin Liddell, Sandy Munro, Stephen Finnie, Ross Pryde, Lyle Smith, Kenny Fisher, Chris White, Craig Cockburn, Keith Kinnaird, Morgan Black, Gary Fisher, Alan Sheriff, Darlington Matenga.

Bellshill Derby: Laurence McPolin, James McAvley, William Scott, Steven Jarvie, Owen Lennon, Marc Millar, David Roy, Mark Mooney, James McGinnis, David Dolan, James Roy, Paul Mullen, Stephen Clements, Paul Mocrus, Michael Smith, John Paul Rooney.

• UPHALL STATION are the only remaining LEAFA team in the Foster's Scottish Amateur Cup. They will play Falkirk, victors over Slamannan, in the seventh round.