Goal action from Davie Brown & Mark Donnelly

Full highlights from Davie Brown & Mark Donnelly

After a trip north in the 2nd round Pollok headed east in the 3rd round of the Scottish Junior Cup for a first ever match against Linlithgow Rose Community FC. The game was played at the impressive Prestonfield ground which was bathed in sunshine throughout.

Pollok made three changes from the previous week?s defeat to Hurlford with Russell, Fraser and Coutts in for Duff, Forde and Boyle. The first five minutes set the pattern for the whole game with Linlithgow happy to sit in and frustrate Pollok.

With Linlithgow keeping their shape superbly Pollok?s hopes of a break-through were dealt a blow in the fifteenth minute when Gary McCann had to go off injured. Pollok had lost their wingman who could have provided the trickery required to unlock the stubborn defence.

Despite almost constant pressure Pollok created few clear cut chances. The best fell to Russell who blazed over after a cute dummy from Stuart McCann. Fraser then had a free kick go just over the bar. The Linlithgow keeper was a busy man but it was mainly taking goal-kicks and picking up errant crosses rather than making saves.

On one of Linlithgow?s very few forays into the Pollok half they won a corner which Lumsden had to fist away and the first half ended goalless.

The second half was very much like the first. Pollok?s chances suffered a further blow when Stuart McCann had to go off injured in the sixty-fifth minute. He was replaced by Grant Evans and in the ensuing reshuffle Tony Coutts was pushed forward into midfield.

As time was passing and chances thin on the ground the frustration was growing amongst the away support and Pollok needed to find something. In the seventy-fifth minute Danny MacKenzie felt that need and decided it was a need for speed. Playing almost as a left winger he kicked the ball past the right back and ran round the other side of him to collect the ball on the bye line. It was the first time Pollok had really got at a defender. Although Forde?s shot from MacKenzie?s cut back was blocked it showed Pollok could get in behind, it gave the away support renewed hope and put a seed of doubt in the tiring Linlithgow defence.

The breakthrough finally arrived in the eighty second minute when a long cross from Evans was taken out of the air by Forde with a touch and turn that Dennis Bergkamp in his pomp would have been proud of. Forde then showed the type of awareness the Dutchman possessed to calmly square the ball to allow Coutts to slot home from eight yards. It was a rare moment of genuine quality.

In the ninetieth minute Fraser and Forde combined superbly to set Russell through. The first defensive challenge forced him a bit wide but he put the brakes on and the defender went flying into a second challenge which took Russell out. As clear a penalty as there will be in the Junior Cup this year. Russell took the penalty himself and coolly slotted into the bottom right hand corner.

Linlithgow Rose will take the plaudits from the game but ultimately it was their cup hopes that crashed and burned. For Pollok it was job done but another couple of worrying injuries added to the collection. With the Fourth Round draw to look forward to there was one other bit of good news for Pollok. Due to results elsewhere there was a re-shuffle of fixtures for Saturday the 2nd of November with Pollok?s trip to Rutherglen replaced with a home game against Kilwinning. A first game at Newlandsfield for 42 days. Peter Thomson

Live updates:

90: Iain RUSSELL from the spot concludes the scoring and secures Lok’s passage to the next round. 2-0 FT.

82 mins: Tony COUTTS gives Lok the breakthrough! (1-0)

Another Lok change – Evans on for S. McCann

Into the second half…

The sides go in at the break all square

SUB: Early blow for Lok with Forde on for G. McCann