Brechin City reached the quarter-finals of the GPH Builders Merchants Highland League Cup with a 4-2 victory against Rothes.
The Glebe Park club needed two penalties to break the resolve of the Speysiders, who had led twice, in an action-packed encounter.
Brechin boss Andy Kirk said: “It was a tough game and Rothes were really well organised.
“I don’t think it was our best performance by any stretch of the imagination, but we managed to get the result and get through to the next round.
“We’re delighted with Botti Biabi, but we’ve set high standards within the group and today we felt short in most areas of the pitch.”
Rothes shocked the league leaders in the third minute when Greg Morrison fed Aidan Wilson and he beat Dean Easton with a well struck 15-yard drive.
Brechin levelled three minutes later when Greg Morrison was adjudged to have brought down Marc Scott in the box. Grady McGrath stepped up and gave Sean McCarthy no chance from the resultant penalty kick.
In the 25th minute the Speysiders regained the lead when the ball broke to Morrison and he drilled it low past Easton from the edge of the box.
Three minutes from the break Brechin levelled with a simple tap-in from former Swansea, Falkirk and Stenhousemuir attacker Biabi.
Within a minute of the restart Brechin City took the lead for the first time when a Scott cross was turned home by Biabi although Rothes captain Bruce Milne may have made the final touch as the ball found the back of the net.
Ten minutes from time Biabi was denied by a superb stop from McCarthy and at the other end a Mathias Machado drive flashed over.
FULL TIME | Brechin City 4-2 Rothes
Despite going behind twice, City advance to the 2nd round of the Highland League Cup thanks to a penalty from Grady McGrath and a hat-trick from Botti Biabi. pic.twitter.com/TAF38yhIzb
— Brechin City FC (@BrechinCityFC) November 12, 2022
In the 89th minute Brechin were awarded their second penalty kick of the game when Ryan McRitchie put in a high challenge on Scott and Biabi fired straight down the middle to complete the scoring.
Rothes manager Ross Jack said: “I thought we gave a great account of ourselves to be undone by two penalties, an offside goal and an own goal is really tough to take.
“I don’t think the referee covered himself in glory out there today, but the crucial goal came within a minute of the restart when we got caught cold and that really knocked us out of our stride.”
🏆 𝗛𝗜𝗚𝗛𝗟𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗟𝗘𝗔𝗚𝗨𝗘 𝗖𝗨𝗣 𝗗𝗥𝗔𝗪
The draw for the 2nd round of the GPH Builders Merchants Highland League Cup was made this evening, with City being handed an away tie against @NairnCounty.
The tie is due to take place on Saturday 3rd December 2022. pic.twitter.com/ZNoZlO5DzV
— Brechin City FC (@BrechinCityFC) November 12, 2022
Deveronvale 1-3 Buckie Thistle
Deveronvale manager Craig Stewart felt his side were unfortunate in their 3-1 Highland League Cup defeat against Buckie Thistle at Princess Royal Park.
Buckie went ahead five minutes before half time when Jack Murray’s eight-yard header was deemed to have crossed the line despite efforts to clear the ball.
Deveronvale keeper Sean McIntosh produced several excellent stops to deny Buckie a second and Vale made the visitors pay by equalising after 71 minutes when Horace Ormsby dinked a cross into the box for Dane Ballard to head home from close range.
Eleven minutes later Marcus Goodall went down on the edge of the box following a challenge from Jayden Goldie. The home players were adamant the contact was just outside the box but referee Lee Robertson deemed it to be inside the area and a penalty was given.
Andy MacAskill dispatched the spot kick and with a minute remaining Max Barry made the scoreline more comfortable for the visitors with a third.
Vale boss Stewart also felt Buckie defender Lewis McKinnon was lucky to only receive a booking for denying Antonio Jam a late goalscoring opportunity.
He said: “We feel something needs to be done as we are held accountable for our performances and results so referees should also be held accountable for their displays.
“I thought we deserved to take the game to penalty kicks as we did well to get back level.
“Buckie are a good team and I feel my players didn’t deserve to lose as their work rate was really good.
“We definitely didn’t deserve to lose the game the way we did.”
Buckie manager Graham Stewart praised his side for their display, which set up a quarter-final showdown with Formartine United at North Lodge Park on December 3.
He said: “We were outstanding and had it not been for their keeper we could easily have scored seven or eight goals.
“Maybe it wasn’t a penalty but to be honest we could and should have scored more.”
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