St Johnstone 2 Stenhousemuir 0: Cup dream over for Warriors

Brown Ferguson’s men had spells in the game when they more than matched their top flight opponents - but they only registered one shot on goal and in general, their inability to create any real clear cut chances ended any chance they had of causing an upset.

This was St Johnstone’s first game since their two week winter break, but it didn’t take them long to get back into the swing of things- Steven MacLean grabbing the opener with a well timed header in the 5th minute.

It was the worst possible start for Stenny, and you feared the worst for them at this early stage in the match.

But the Warriors recovered well from the initial set back, and slowly but surely started to gain a foothold in the affair.

Disaster struck on the half hour mark however, the hosts doubling their lead thanks to a neat finish from Blair Alston. Steven MacLean’s backheel was collected by the former Falkirk man, before he hit a low driven effort into the corner of the net, past a helpless Colin McCabe.

Stenhousemuir’s only opportunity of the first half came when Oliver Shaw latched onto a loose ball in the area, before trying to cut an effort back. This was easily collected by Zander Clark and summed up Stenny’s lack of potency in the final third.

The second half was a more fruitful affair for the Warriors as they enjoyed a large share of the possession and battled well to keep the score at a reasonable level.

Their one shot on goal came on 60 minutes, with Willis Furtado making a bursting run before laying the ball off to Alan Cook at the edge of the box. Zander Clark had no problem with the winger’s ambitious shot however, scooping up the effort with minimal fuss.

Stenny did well not to concede late on, with Graham Cummins wasting two chances to extend St Johnstone’s lead in the dying moments of the match.