Fife and Lothians Cup, 1st round:

Rosyth 4

Sauchie Juniors CFC 0

ROSYTH enjoyed a comfortable passage to round two of the Fife and Lothians Cup after a convincing victory over Sauchie on Saturday.

Brian Muirhead’s side, beaten 3-2 in a league meeting between the clubs last month, turned the tables on the Clackmannanshire side at the Fleet Grounds.

The hosts were without the experienced Barry Sibanda and Scott Gilfillan but, towards the end of a closely-fought opening period, Gregg Page was on hand to put them ahead.

That set the scene for home debutant Sean Johnston to help take the game away from Sauchie by firing home a well-taken shot as the contest moved into the final 20 minutes, before Tam Hampson netted from the penalty spot to make it 3-0.

Johnston then tapped home his second, and Rosyth’s fourth, after good work by Stuart Gibb to create the opportunity, to complete the scoring for the home team.

SFA South Region Challenge Cup, 2nd round:

Preston Athletic 3 Inverkeithing Hill Sw 2

LEE DUFFY admitted to feeling disappointed after watching Inverkeithing Hillfield Swifts bow out of the SFA South Region Challenge Cup.

But, despite stating his belief that his side were capable of a better performance, he says he’s chuffed with how they’ve started the season – which continues with a first-ever cup quarter-final at home to Premier Division Musselburgh Athletic in the Alex Jack Cup this weekend.

Although Callum Strang and Tam Graham found the net, three goals in reply from a Preston Athletic side that they had beaten 4-2 in the league seven days previously knocked them out.

“We were beaten by a better team, who were more hungry than us and who probably wanted to beat us because of the result last week,” co-manager Duffy reflected.

“It wasn’t the greatest performance and, when we look back, we should be better than that. But in the league, and the two previous cup games, we’ve been good; we’ve played 10, won seven, and already have nearly amassed more points than we achieved last season.

“The season is going well but, as a management team, we were disappointed.”

Ahead of this weekend’s tie, he added: “It is a brand new experience for the Swifts as a whole, as this is our first cup quarter-final.

“Musselburgh have never been to Ballast Bank, so might not know what to expect, and our home form has been very good.

“All our boys are going to be fired up and we’re looking forward to it. Hopefully we’ll have a big local support come down.”

Caledonian Braves 4 Crossgates Primrose 0

PRIMROSE boss Alan Campbell felt his side were on the end of a harsh final scoreline as they exited the SFA South Region Challenge Cup.

The Humbug Park outfit travelled to Caledonian Braves – currently fourth in the Lowland League, one division above them – but were undone by two goals either side of the break.

Ross McNeil scored the opener after 16 minutes before doubling his tally 10 minutes before the break, with Neil McLaughlin making it 3-0 after rounding Grant Henderson to score in the 64th minute.

McLaughlin completed the scoring with two minutes to go, and Campbell commented: “Our first-half performance was reasonably good; we had two or three really good chances, they had two, but it was a case of that they took theirs.

“In the second half, in a cup tie, there was no point sitting in so we had to have a go. We started the better team but got caught with a goal with an hour gone, and the game was done.

“The last 25 minutes, the game fizzled out which was not nice to watch, but they deserved to win.

“I didn’t think it was a 4-0 game but you have to take your chances in these types of games and defend better.”

l Saturday’s fixtures (kick-off 2.30pm): Central Taxis East of Scotland League, Premier Division – Dundonald Bluebell v Crossgates Primrose. First Division, Conference A – Oakley United v St Andrews United. Alex Jack Cup, third round – Inverkeithing Hillfield Swifts v Musselburgh Athletic. McBookie.com South Premier League – Rosyth v Kirkcaldy and Dysart.