Dyce became the first north east side for decades to reach the last eight of the Scottish Junior Cup after a thrilling 1-0 victory in Ayrshire over Muirkirk Juniors in a match that saw most of the action compacted in the final minutes.
In difficult conditions, neither team had managed to break the deadlock until the final minute of normal time when a ball from the left was hammered home by Craig Mackie.
The drama wasn’t over however and in the fourth minute of stoppage time, the hosts were awarded a penalty kick which was brilliantly saved by Dyce keeper Daniel Bell.
The reward for the win is a home clash with Yoker Athletic in March at Ian Mair Park and manager Alfie Youngson was understandably proud of his squad’s performance.
He said: “It was a good result and I think it was well deserved. Although we had a couple of scary moments, I thought we were the better team.
“The pitch was probably unplayable and it was very hard in parts where the sun didn’t reach so it wasn’t a day for pretty football.
“It was a great team effort but, if I had to pick anyone out, it would have to be Daniel for saving a penalty deep in time added on.
“Some of the committee were saying it was the best result in the club’s history but we haven’t won anything yet. It is our best result in the national competition though, no doubt about that.
“Nicky Gray didn’t make it and we took a gamble on our left back Blair Johnston, who managed an hour before having to come off.”
With Banks O’Dee accounting for League One East Fife, it was a good day for the local juniors, as Alfie acknowledged.
He said: “I messaged Jamie Watt to say it was typical that we get a great result and they go one better. I’m delighted for them though, it’s a real boost for the junior game in the area.
“I sometimes think that sides from the west just expect to be better than us so it’s good to prove them wrong.”
It’s back to the bread and butter of the Superleague this weekend with the short trip to New Advocates Park to face East End.
Youngson said: “I side to the guys on the way back on Saturday that we’ve a lot of important games coming up and nobody can even think of downing tools until the quarter final.
“We’re starting to get boys back and competition for places is only going to get harder. We need to start moving up the league table so there’s absolutely no chance of complacency.”
