Captain Graeme Rodger felt Formartine United could be proud of their display in defeat against Falkirk in the Scottish Cup third round.
For long spells the Breedon Highland League side kept the League One leaders at bay at the Falkirk Stadium.
Midfielder Rodger, 32, said: “We can be pleased with the fight we put up. I thought we did well apart from a mad five-minute spell in the first half.
“For the first half hour I thought we were quite comfortable in our shape, the first goal was a great strike and their tails were up.
“Overall, we did well and restricted to them to pretty limited chances so we can be proud of our efforts.
“We had a few half chances in the final third where if our touch had been better or if we’d had a bit more composure we could have created a chance.
“It’s always difficult against a side like Falkirk, but the overriding feeling is that we’ve done well.”
This was Formartine’s eighth third round appearance in nine seasons.
Skipper Rodger added: “The hard work for clubs at our level is getting to the third round and you want to enjoy these games.
“Of course you want to win, but you’ve got to try to enjoy it because the previous couple of rounds are the hard bit to get to the third round.
“It was a good day out for the fans, who I hope enjoyed it, I thought we gave a decent showing.”
🎥 🏆 @FalkirkFC v @FormartineUtd
A 3-0 win took last season's semi-finalists, Falkirk, into the Fourth Round.#ScottishCup pic.twitter.com/9LzelpIhhc
— Scottish Gas Scottish Cup (@ScottishCup) November 26, 2023
Quickfire treble does for United
For the opening 34 minutes Formartine were excellent and limited Falkirk to few chances.
Ross MacIver’s scuffed attempt that was hacked off the line was the only moment of alarm for the Pitmedden side, despite the Bairns having the majority of possession.
United did have a few promising moments going forward. In the 26th minute Julian Wade scampered into space on the right, but with Rodger and Adam Emslie waIting in the middle, a heavy touch meant the chance was lost.
Matthew McLean’s long throw-ins also caused some moments of concern in the home penalty area.
But a blistering Bairns burst settled the tie with the opener arriving in the 34th minute.
From Calvin Miller’s corner on the right – which United felt should have been a goal-kick – the ball was headed out as far as Ethan Ross at the edge of the area and the former Don fired a superb left foot volley into the top right corner.
Three minutes later Aidan Nesbitt released Callumn Morrison on the right and his cross to the back post was nodded home by Miller for the second.
Two became three in the 39th minute. Miller’s cross from the left flank found MacIver and the ex-Ross County striker finished into the bottom left corner.
Before the half was over Morrison shot narrowly wide from 25 yards.
After the break Liam Henderson clipped the left post with a 25-yard drive and Morrison tested United goalkeeper Ewen Macdonald.
Formartine got into some good areas and won corners, as well as free-kicks around the penalty area, but couldn’t test Falkirk goalkeeper Nicky Hogarth.
On 77 minutes Bairns sub Jordan Allan shot against the left post from six yards when he ought to have scored after being teed up by fellow sub Alfredo Agyeman.
Praise in losing cause
Despite their defeat the Formartine players received a standing ovation at full-time from the band of 125 supporters that made the trip south.
United boss Stuart Anderson said: “Until the first goal we were well in the game, in terms of our shape we limited them to very little.
“The first goal is a great hit and the next five minutes were always going to be crucial, we spoke about it before the game.
“Unfortunately we lost two goals in that period, two goals we could have done better with.
“But in terms of the game I thought the boys were excellent. It’s a difficult place to come so the boys can be very happy with their efforts.
“We’ve got a history of reaching the third or fourth round as a club and we’ve done that again.
“We were delighted to be here, it’s a good experience for the players to play against a team like Falkirk.”
