Crossgates Primrose 6 Kirkcaldy and Dysart 3, Alex Jack Cup, first round; Crossgates Primrose 1 Thornton Hibs 0, East of Scotland Qualifying Cup, second round

CROSSGATES Primrose began their defence of the Alex Jack Cup by winning a nine-goal thriller on Saturday, before advancing in the East of Scotland Qualifying Cup.

Alan Campbell’s side, who lifted the trophy with a 3-0 success over Leith Athletic in last season’s final, welcomed Kirkcaldy and Dysart to Humbug Park in the first step of their bid to retain it.

In what Campbell described as a “really crazy game”, Primrose fell two goals behind to their opponents from the division below inside 20 minutes, before Archie Campbell’s hat-trick, and strikes from David Cross and Lewis Ward, saw them turn things around in style before the break.

James McAteer added a sixth goal in the second half, before the visitors scored a late consolation, as Crossgates bounced back from their first league defeat of the season, at home to Sauchie, last midweek.

Thornton then made the trip to Humbug on Tuesday and, in a much tighter match, Craig Reid’s 24th minute goal proved decisive.

“I thought that these two games were always going to be tough,” Campbell noted. “It was a real effort from the players to get through the ties, and we’re really happy with them.

“The first one on Saturday was a really crazy game; it could’ve been 10-4 or 10-5 the way it went. We got ourselves in a sticky position at the start, but we got out of it with some clinical finishing and good play going forward.

“On Tuesday night, we asked the players to play a bit more tight. Thornton are a good side, so we were happy with the clean sheet.

“Against Sauchie, we played really well – probably as well as against Musselburgh (a 4-2 win in their opening East of Scotland League, Premier League match) – and, going into the closing stages, I would have been disappointed with a draw, never mind a defeat.

“We got hit by a late sucker punch, but to have that reaction shows the mentality we’ve got.”

Rosyth 3 Fauldhouse United 2, Alex Jack Cup, first round; Rosyth 2 Linlithgow Rose 3, East of Scotland Qualifying Cup, first round

ROSYTH co-manager Russell Craig saluted his players’ performance despite defeat against Linlithgow Rose on Tuesday – and reckoned they played better than in their victory three days previously.

Fauldhouse United, two leagues below the First Division hosts, then Premier League Rose provided the opposition in two cup competitions following last midweek’s late league loss at Leith Athletic.

Matthew Gallagher gave Rosyth an early lead in Saturday’s Alex Jack Cup tie but, after two goals in a 10 minute spell, they found themselves trailing at the break. Following some stern words in the changing room, the home side improved after the break, with two goals from talisman Tam Hampson steering them to victory.

They followed that up with a match against Linlithgow and, although they fell two goals behind to Mark Stowe, Rosyth kept at it and halved the deficit before the interval through man of the match Callum Strang.

He would complete a brace, after Stowe had bagged the match ball, before being shown a late red card, a fate which also befell Mikey Ness, as the West Lothian men advanced.

“Saturday was a slippery one, against a team from two leagues below,” Craig said. "But they’ve come into the East of Scotland League just a couple of years after us, so the standard is still there.

“I’m not a shouty manager, but they were left under no uncertain terms at half time what I thought of the performance, and the second half was a lot better.

“In the three games that we’ve lost, we’ve played better and came away with nothing, and, in the game we’ve won, we’ve played as well.

“On Tuesday, people said to me ‘It’s a free hit’. It’s only a free hit if you swing a punch – and didn’t we swing a punch. I can only applaud their efforts. The way we came back after going 2-0 down was reassuring.”

Oakley United 6 Newburgh 0, Alex Jack Cup, first round; Livingston United 0 Oakley United 2, East of Scotland Qualifying Cup, second round

OAKLEY UNITED bounced back from defeats in their two opening Premier Division matches by progressing in both cup competitions.

After a home loss to Inverkeithing Hillfield Swifts, and a 6-0 defeat at Dundonald Bluebell last midweek, Peter Goldie’s team hit half-a-dozen of their own on Saturday against Newburgh.

Aidan Kemp sent them on their way before a double from Reece Bernard, and goals from Derek Murray, Ryan Yapoudjian and debutant Brian McAdam, sealed an emphatic success.

That was followed by a win at Livingston United, thanks to efforts from Jack Cowan and Mark Mooney, and Goldie, who has also signed Brett Young and Daniel Niven, was very content.

He said: “In the first four games, there were plenty of positives for us to take, especially with the squad we’ve had available to us.

“The two cup games came at a good time for us. I’m fairly happy with the way we’ve started, but you’re always looking to improve. The guys are starting to believe. Scoring eight goals in two games will give the strikers belief, and two wins will give us confidence.”

Inverkeithing Hillfield Swifts 2 Edinburgh College 1, Alex Jack Cup, first round; Heriot-Watt University 2 Inverkeithing Hillfield Swifts 0, East of Scotland Qualifying Cup, second round

SWIFTS are through in the Alex Jack Cup but lost out in the East of Scotland Qualifying Cup.

Goals from Liam Evans and Greig Spence helped Pat Scullion’s team to victory over Edinburgh College on Saturday, but efforts from Josh Wishart and Adam Robertson saw them lose to Heriot-Watt on Tuesday evening.