A DRAMATIC weekend saw Dunfermline Knights lose narrowly to Uddingston in the SCL Premier League on Saturday but beat top Edinburgh side Grange in the Scottish Cup on Sunday.

It was certainly McKane Park for thrills with both games going to the wire but the West Fifers will feel they should have won both of them.

On Saturday their match with Uddie was the only Premier League fixture in the country to beat the wet weather.

Home skipper Gowtham Rai won the toss and inserted the visitors and got an instant boost when Cammy Farrell bowled former Scotland all-rounder Paul Hoffman first ball of the match.

Uddingston continued to struggle as the home attack kept up the pressure and good work by Amir Shazad saw them slump to 87 for 5.

Calum McLeod managed to survive and put together a solid knock of 49 and he received good support from Alex Day and Mohamed Karam but home supporters were disappointed that the in-form Farrell, who took 2 for 17 from seven overs, was not recalled to the attack.

Shazad finished with 3 for 17 as Uddie made 174 for 8 in the 44 overs the overhead conditions allowed.

Wynand Schmidt made a good start to the Dunfermline reply after Rai had gone cheaply but wickets were falling steadily at the other end and only Siva Jayahanthan kept the scoreboard ticking along.

At 97 for 9 things looked bleak but Yasser Arfat, along with Jayahanthan, took the score past 150 and within reach of the target.

They took the total to 167 with an over left and both players looked capable of winning the match and only an incredible piece of fielding saw Dunfermline denied.

Jayahanthan thumped the ball to the boundary and was sure it was heading for four when the athletic McLeod pulled off a magnificent stop and then hurled the ball in fully 60 yards to the wicketkeeper who dislodged the bails with Siva just short of his ground.

Uddingston 174 for 8, C McLeod 49, A Shazad 3 for 17, C Murray two for 17; Knights 169, S Jayahanthan 55.

It was tough for the Dunfermline side to take but they went into Sunday's home cup second round tie with Grange with confidence and had no hesitation in batting.

Player/coach Kevin McLaren batted solidly and made 42 and a quickfire 19 from Vasu Reddy kept the scoreboard moving along.

When Shazad replaced McLaren he kept up the good work but steady bowling from Grange ensured that there were no easy runs on offer.

With the game reduced to 47 overs through a heavy shower the former Stenhousemuir player stepped up the attack and got the total well past 150 and some good late hitting by teenager Jordan Davidson saw Dunfermline end on 193.

The hosts needed an early breakthrough and got it when Reddy, in a fine spell of seam bowling from the Liggars Place end, dismissed Scotland opener Gregor Maiden very cheaply and he was unlucky not to pick up another two wickets as he regularly beat the bat.

Only visiting overseas amateur Siaka looked comfortable and he moved effortlessly to 42 before being removed and then Safyaan Shariff entered proceedings with three good wickets which saw Grange slump.

When Scotland middle order man Neil McCallum went for very few the Edinburgh side were in trouble but some good work from their young tail kept them in the picture.

Steve Smidt nipped in with a couple of wickets and Reddy came back into the attack to finish things off with Grange 13 runs short, earning Dunfermline a quarter-final tie with Championsip sides Kelburne or Ferguslie away from home on Sunday 3rd July.

Vasu Reddy feels that Dunfermline could repeat their performance of the 2009 season when they got to the Scottish Cup final.

He said, "With us beating Grange and Ayr beating Carlton the two fancied teams are out of the tournament.

"It makes it one of the most open national cup competitions in years so we must look to get through the quarter-final tie which would put us just one game away from the final.

"However, while winning against Grange was very good we should not have lost in the league to Uddingston the previous day when our batting was below standard." Knights 193, A Shazad 55, K McLaren 42, S Reddy 19, J Davidson 13 not out, N McCallum three for 40; Grange 180, L Siaka 42, S Shariff three for 37, S Reddy two for 18, S Smidt two for 31. There is no Premier League action for Knights this Saturday as they host a section of the Murgitroyd Twenty20 Festival on Saturday.

Things get under way at McKane Park at 11am when Stirling meet West Lothian to be followed with Dunfermline playing RH Corstorphine at 2pm.

The two winners contest the final at 5pm.

Meanwhile, Dunfermline all-rounder Safyaan Shariff has been called up for the Scotland Twenty20 squad for their matches with Holland this week.