The Hill crash out of the Soccershop Challenge Cup.
Match Report by Campbell Finlayson:
Despite being on top for large spells, Maryhill lost 2-1 to Johnstone Burgh this afternoon to exit the Soccershop Challenge Cup in the second round.
It was Johnstone who began the better of the two sides and they took just ten minutes to open the scoring, Ricky McArthur firing a penalty under Garry Black after what was a harsh handball decision against Jamie Gray on the goal-line.
Maryhill bounced back quickly though and equalised soon after when good work from Jack Easdon released Andy McLaughlin down the right, with his quick feet creating some space to fire a low ball across goal where Jay McInally was waiting to knock the ball into the net.
Luke Martin couldn’t divert his header into the net while McInally flicked the ball onto Gray whose shot was saved by the Burgh keeper as Maryhill moved onto the front foot.
Johnstone had chances of their own before the break with Dominic Boland seeing his shot go wide with his cross also put wide by David Collins.
In the second half, the Hill were dominant. McInally was heavily involved and had a couple of chances, first shooting wide before lifting his second effort over the bar. Roan Fitzpatrick was also impressive and drilled the ball across the box but no one could apply that final touch.
Black in the Maryhill goal didn’t have much to do until the 80th minute when he got down well to keep out Collins, who sent the rebound over the bar.
There were big shouts for a Hill penalty with three minutes to go when Fitzpatrick looked to have been cleaned out by the defender, but the referee didn’t point to the spot and Darren Kennedy could only shoot wide.
Then in typical Mayhill fashion, the opposition went straight up the other end and scored. A cross to the back post was sent back into the middle where Jojo Gillespie was on hand to slam the ball home and sneak a win for Johnstone that sees them into the draw for the third round.
Maryhill line-up: Black; McEwan, Meechan, O’Donnell, Martin; Fitzpatrick (Dobbs, 89), O’Neil (McNeil, 60); Easdon (Bamba, 89), McLaughlin (Kennedy, 71), Gray (Wallace, 60); McInally
Johnstone Burgh line-up: S. Collins, Bolland, Brady, Stafford, Fyfe, McCready, Esplin, Burns, Marriott, McArthur, D. Collins