Linlithgow overcome 'Shire challenge

Linlithgow Rose boss Gordon herd says his side were deserving of their place in the second round of the Challenge Cup after their 2-1 win over East Stirling.
Jack Ogilvie equalises for Linlithgow in their 2-1 win over East Stirlingshire. (Pic: Scott Louden)Jack Ogilvie equalises for Linlithgow in their 2-1 win over East Stirlingshire. (Pic: Scott Louden)
Jack Ogilvie equalises for Linlithgow in their 2-1 win over East Stirlingshire. (Pic: Scott Louden)

Rose had to battle back after falling behind to a first minute goal but two late goals turned the tie in the visitor’s favour.

A Tommy Coyne penalty on 78 minutes – which saw ‘Shire defender Kenny Barr sent off for a last man foul – was saved but Jack Ogilvie scored the rebound, before a terrific strike from distance by Alan Docherty just three minutes later saw Linlithgow through to the next round.

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Herd said he was especially proud of his players as the team had to be patched together due to absences.

“I thought we thoroughly deserved the win,” he said

“We had a wee bit of a makeshift back line. We had Willis Hare who’s a winger playing at centre half, and another winger, Conor McKenzie, playing at right back.

“It was a makeshift defence but the boys showed a lot of character after going 1-0 down. Their goalkeeper had to pull off a couple of good saves during the match too.

“The boys really dug in for us and I thought that overall we deserved the win.”

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The Rose gaffer says his team can take confidence from the win .

“East Stirling are a really good side.

"They recruited well for this season so it was a real morale boosting victory for us, especially after our Scottish Cup exit a couple of weeks ago.”

Linlithgow are back in league action this weekend when they welcome third place Broxburn Athletic to Prestonfield for a match which Herd is aiming to win to spark a push up the table.

“We’ll have a few more bodies back so that adds to the squad.

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“Broxburn are a really good side but these are the types of games that we really need to be winning.

“I think we’ve maybe been a wee bit inconsistent before where we’ve had a really good victory then drawn the week later or have been beaten.

“We’re looking to now get a bit of consistency and it’ll be a good test for us on Saturday against Broxburn.

“We’ve looked at our next few games and I can’t see why we can’t get a run of victories to get us into the top half of the table.

“We’re looking to finish as high as we can.”