Sauchie Juniors 3 Hill of Beath Hawthorn 2

SAUCHIE JUNIORS dug deep to see out a win against Hill of Beath Hawthorn, after a controversial red card saw them reduced to 10 men.

The Reds came out the traps flying amid the horrible conditions, with Danny Smith scoring twice early on to give Sauchie a good lead.

Sauchie were to be pinned back after the referee showed Ross Kavanagh a red card for alleged violent conduct.

During an argument between two players, the linesman alerted the referee that Kavanagh had headbutted the opposition, with the striker sent off immediately.

Smith stepped up to complete his hat trick before half time, before Hill of Beath almost mounted a second half comeback against 10 men.

Luckily, Sauchie managed to shut up shop and deny the visitors, sealing a vital three points for the club.

Manager Fraser Duncan said: “The boys had to dig really deep after what I thought was a mistake from the officials, the linesman has got it totally wrong.

“Violent conduct from Ross Kavanagh is never going to happen and even the opposition players said that during the game.

“These things happen, officials tend to get a lot of things wrong right now, but hey ho, that’s the way these things go.”

Sauchie are now urging anyone with video footage of the incident to send it to them, as they look to appeal the red card decision.

Despite the red card, Duncan and his management team were delighted to get the game on and earn their points.

Heavy rainfall in Sauchie the night before had led many to question if the game would be played, with the management team hailing the work of volunteers to ensure the match went ahead.

Assistant manager Darren Cummings stated: “That game being played on Saturday was all down to Myles Breen with how much hard work he put down on the park since Saturday morning.”