Stenhousemuir 3 Forres 1: Warriors through to face St Johnstone

Colin McMenamin's hat-trick got Stenhousemuir past Forres

The Warriors earned the right to play Premiership side St Johnstone in the next round after a first competitive home win since March.

Colin McMenamin opened the scoring for Stenny on 12 minutes. A shot from 20 yards looped off a defender and left Forres keeper Stuart Knight helpless.

McMenamin doubled his tally and Stenny’s lead when he headed Mark Gilhaney’s cross into the bottom corner only three minutes later.

For ten minutes it looked like it could have been five or six. Knight had to pull off a good save to deny Ally Roy, and Stenny had a goal disallowed when the keeper was fouled whilst claiming a corner.

However, Forres settled into the match. Simon Allan, who scored a free-kick in the 2-2 draw at Mosset Park, saw his curling dead ball fly narrowly wide on half-time.

The second half was feisty, with seven yellows and two reds shown by referee Scott Millar.

Colin McCabe’s poor kick led to the first booking. David Marsh crunched Scott Graham, setting off a skirmish and finding himself in the book.

The resulting free-kick led to another flashpoint, with Forres players feeling a foot was left in late. The referee brandished three bookings, one of which was for Stenny.

Knight was close to disaster on 70 minutes when a heavy touch and a slip left him struggling, but the Forres stopper managed to chuck himself at the ball before Ally Roy missed from six yards when it seemed easier to score.

Colin McMenamin finished off an impressive hat-trick on 80 minutes when substitute Alan Cook pulled the ball back for the 35-year-old to smash low into the net.

Forres didn’t stop their search for a goal when they fell 3-0 behind and had two disallowed in the last ten minutes.

An overhead kick from substitute Liam Baxter was ruled offside, before Scott Graham had a header chalked off for a foul on McCabe.

Forres were awarded a penalty, though, when David Marsh was caught pulling in the box. The centre-half was sent off and Liam Baxter lashed the penalty into the roof of the net for 3-1.

The game was not quite done there. The referee sent Forres’ Craig McGovern off on 92 minutes for a late challenge.