Scottish Cup: Camelon Juniors create history as Mariners reach fourth round after dumping out SPFL side

Camelon Juniors’ current crop created history on Saturday afternoon as they came out on top of a classic Scottish Cup tie to make the coveted fourth round.

The Mariners - who sit fourth in the East of Scotland Premier Division - edged out SPFL League Two side Edinburgh City 2-1 on home turf to secure a spot in Sunday’s draw. And they could now be paired up against the likes of Scottish Premiership sides Celtic, Rangers and Falkirk having reached the latter stages. Tam Scobbie’s team already wrote themselves into the history books by getting to the third round - and they have now made it three wins on the spin at the Moore Equipment Hire Stadium in this year’s competition.

Dean Watson was the home hero. The frontman burst forward in injury-time with the score level and calmly slotted home past City’s Mark Weir to secure a famous victory. Prior to that, the Mariners had to dig deep. They somehow managed to stay above water as the fourth-tier visitors searched for a winner following ex-Camelon defender Lewis McArthur’s leveller nine minutes from time.

It was a classic cup in front of a sizeable home crowd. The opener was a moment to remember too for the Mariners’ faithful. Ross Kavanagh may have headed home on 48 minutes - but it was Ben Scarborough’s brilliance out wide that made the goal. He nutmegged Malik Zaid, drove to the byline and sent an inch-perfect lofted cross to the back post.

Having led Camelon to the fourth round for the first time, former Falkirk full-back Scobbie hailed his players’ strong mentality after a hard-fought win.

Camelon create history in Scottish Cup

“Most teams would have crumbled when Edinburgh equalised,” he told the Falkirk Herald. “They were putting us under pressure. But I always felt that we would get an opportunity and we brought on two fresh strikers and it paid off. Dean Watson was so calm in that situation and I don’t think you can get a feeling much better than a 90th-minute Scottish Cup winner. The boys dug deep. I’m so proud of them all.”

On the topsy-turvy tie he added: “We restricted them to very little in the first half. Our shape was excellent. The message at half time was to go back out believing and to simply do the basics well. We frustrated them at times but fair play to Edinburgh City, they are a good side and you can see that with how they have dismantled League Two teams this season. They had long spells but I couldn’t ask more of the boys. The guys who came on made a massive contribution and it was a real team effort.”

Scobbie joined Camelon in March having previously been boss of Scottish Lowland Football League side Berwick Rangers, and the the Westquarter-born boss says that the Mariners are a club on the up - and that they are targeting bigger and better things. The Lowland League will split this summer and that opens up a great opportunity for the FK1 club to reach the fifth tier.

Boss Scobbie reckons Camelon can climb further

“We wanted to be in the next round and it is massive for us to get there,” he said. “The club targeted getting through a few rounds and we have managed to break that. We now have the excitement of the draw and being able to enjoy this win. We’ll take whoever we get. We’ve managed to make history already. The club is forward-thinking. When I spoke to Steven (Allison), the sporting director, I felt that he really had a good vision and plan. It’s not just the Scottish Cup, it’s about the league and progressing. I jumped at the chance to come here. We are moving forward in the right direction and the crowd today showed that. The Camelon fans, especially the young ones, made the difference and showed up in big numbers.”

Elsewhere, Stenhousemuir secured their spot in round four with a comfortable 4-1 win over Clachnacuddin at Ochilview. In what was expected to be a tricky tie against the Scottish Highland Football League high-flyers, the SPFL League One Warriors cruised through. A Finlay Gray double and goals from Michael Anderson and Ross Taylor had the hosts ahead by four goals before the break. Gary Naysmith’s side sit second in League One and reached the fourth round last season, eventually losing out to Championship side Dunfermline Athletic away from home.