DESPITE a resolute second-half showing, Sauchie Juniors were knocked out of the Scottish Cup following a defeat to Highland League side Buckie Thistle.

Manager Fraser Duncan made just two changes from last weekend’s stalemate in Glenrothes; Ross Hutchison and Danny Smith coming into the starting eleven in place of David Churchill and Mark Smith.

The home side started the game with intent, an early through ball from Danny Smith for Ross Hutchison to run onto, but defender Joseph McCabe was there to clear. 

Andrew MacAskill would get Buckie’s first real chance, an attempt put over the bar at the near post after some excellent ball work to get into the box.

Sauchie’s Ross Kavanagh would have an opportunity at the opposite end, a cross into the box from full-back Connor Willaghan, but the target man could not deliver his chance.

Reflecting on his side’s start to the game, manager Fraser Duncan mentioned: “I think the first half started really well for us, I thought we were the better team and right at Buckie.

“We’re dominating the game and have had two very good chances.

“After that, it was all Buckie, I thought they controlled the first half. For me, just really disappointing how many times that we’ve given the ball away."

Thistle got the game’s opener on the 24-minute mark, a shot inside the box from Marcus Goodall to shoot past Sean Robertson following a pass from Joshua Peters.

The visitors would look for their second before the interval, chances falling for Jack McIver and Cohen Ramsay, these were seen out and behind as the defence sighed with relief.

A rejuvenated Sauchie appeared for the second half, chances for Sam Collumbine and Stuart McDowell within a minute of each other, but neither would result in an equaliser.

Kavanagh also piled on the pressure again, Ridgers saving the close-range effort to deny the goalscoring opportunity.

Despite Sauchie's large spell of dominance, the game was sealed when Darryl McHardy rose tall and headered a McIver cross into the back of the net to double the visitor’s lead.

In reflection of his team’s performance, the Sauchie boss said: “Really disappointed to get knocked out of the Scottish Cup, we want to stay in it as long as we can.

"For me, two totally different teams out there between the team in the first half and then the team in the second half, a big difference.” 

Addressing the elephant in the room, this was Sauchie’s third straight game without scoring.

The manager emphasised: “There is a concern, we don’t score enough goals, we don’t create enough chances, so we’ve rectified that and brought in a few new faces.

They’ll hopefully spur the other boys to get involved as well, we need to start putting more balls into the box.”

Sauchie Juniors are back in action this Saturday, welcoming Dunbar United to Beechwood Park. This is an East of Scotland Premier Division match with a 2:30pm kick-off.

Now with a point deduction to overturn, Duncan stressed: “This is a challenge we’re going to face head-on, and we’re looking forward to it.

"We’d much rather be challenging at the top end of the table, but this is the task we’ve been given, and we’ll deal with it.”

Sauchie Juniors: Robertson, Willaghan, Hutchison (Harrison 89’), Sc. Davidson, Thomson (Isaacs 82’), Collumbine (Fisher 89’), Caves, Kavanagh, D. Smith (Sa. Davidson 82’), Williamson, McDowell (M. Smith 58’)

Substitutes Not Used: Burt, McBurney, Griffiths.