Match Report
In ten years’ time, anyone scanning through the Bankies results for 2026-27 will see that we defeated Livingston United from the East of Scotland League by four goals to one in the South Challenge Cup, and will probably assume it was a piece of cake and move on.
For those who were there to witness the match, they will testify that it was something quite different, and we were only minutes away from a penalty shoot-out. Neil McLaughlin’s 86th-minute strike broke the hearts of the valiant Livingston side, and two more goals in the closing stages put a gloss on the scoreline that was harsh on the hosts.
As with the Stoneyburn game in the last round, this was a chance for some of the fringe players to stake a claim for a starting berth, but I don’t think any of the deputies advanced their case very much in that regard.
Don’t get me wrong, this match was pretty much a one-way procession towards the Livi goal, but the Bankies’ inability to get in behind the home defence was rather disconcerting. It obviously rankled Gordon Moffat as well, as he made three half-time substitutions. Not something you will see often against a side several levels below us in the pyramid.
If there is an area of the pitch in which we could do with some reinforcements, it is in defence. We seem to be prone to moments of slackness and switching off, and it reared its ugly head once again today. A careless pass inside by Monaghan to McHugh was intercepted by Garvie. The midfielder had a clear run in on goal but showed great composure to slip the ball to his left for Yorke to give his side the lead after ten minutes.
Up until then, the game was going pretty much as expected, with the Bankies pushing the Livi defence back and the support awaiting the goals which would surely come. But no, they didn’t. There was plenty of pretty passing, but not enough penetration. Sometimes we treat these games like a five-a-side exercise and almost expect to waltz past the opposition defence by playing neat five-foot passes to each other, but we wasted countless opportunities trying to be too clever.
When we finally did score the equaliser after 38 minutes, it came from a more direct route, and something we just don’t see often enough. Kieran Dolan made a fine run down the left wing and fired a dangerous cross into the penalty area, which was met by the head of Ciaran Mulcahy, who powered the ball home.
Despite the introduction of Rossiter, Leslie and the eagerly awaited return of the injured Aidan Callaghan at the break, the Bankies continued to serve up more of the same. The Livingston defence had to be resilient, and sometimes they relied on a little rub of the green, but they did a fine job of restricting the number of chances that the Bankies created.
When we finally did make some chances, we found keeper Baxter in fine form. In one passage of play, he cut off an attempt by Callaghan at his near post, which was only cleared to the edge of the box where Cairns was situated to power in a volley that the keeper blocked with his legs. Leslie followed up but missed the target when he should have scored.
Even the normally reliable Keir Samson missed the best chance of the match midway through the half. He did the hard bit by holding off the Livi centre-half, but with only the keeper to beat, the striker drove the ball against Baxter’s legs, continuing his luckless streak in front of goal.
The Bankies had no alternative but to introduce top-scorer Neil McLaughlin to try to claim the winning goal, but even he was found to be snatching at chances as the clock began to worryingly run down.
You still felt confident that we would find a way to get it over the line, but by God did we leave it late. With just four minutes remaining, Keir Samson nodded on a long ball into the path of McLaughlin, and Neil did what he does best by taking the ball on the run and crashing it past Baxter for his tenth goal of the season.
It was a body blow which floored the home side, and they unfortunately fell to pieces. Bravely, they threw four men into the attack, but it was wishful thinking on their part. Barely a minute later, the home defence stood and watched as a deflected shot spun high into the box. Samson was the most alert as he pounced on the ball and quickly turned it into the six-yard box for Rossiter to knock home from close range.
There was one more to come in the third minute of stoppage time when a deflected cross from Callaghan fell into the path of Josh Jack, who first-timed the ball past the stranded keeper.
As we always say, progressing to the next round of the cup was the most important aspect of this game. Yes, it was a frustrating watch, but sometimes games like these give the players a sharp reminder that nothing comes easy. If you are not on your game, even so-called minnows can take you the distance.
That goes doubly for games against a higher class of opposition, and we are about to experience this on Tuesday night against League One Alloa Athletic in the KDM Evolution Trophy. It is another great occasion for the club to welcome SPFL opponents to Holm Park. We have had a great start to this tournament, winning both our games, but this should be our sternest test to date. With our full line-up restored, we should hopefully give a good account of ourselves.
Match report written by Stuart McBay
