Stenhousemuir a point off top spot in cup pool after penalty shootout win at Partick
Stenhousemuir are only a point off pole position in their Premier Sports Cup pool after following up a 2-1 win away to Brechin City on Saturday by edging out table-toppers Partick Thistle on penalties three days later.
The bonus point earned by that 5-3 shootout success, after ending open play tied at 2-2, takes the second-placed Warriors to eight points from three fixtures, setting up this coming Saturday’s visit from Livingston, with kick-off at 3pm, as a decider for their group’s top spot.
Thistle remain on top for now, on nine points, but they’ve played all four of their fixtures, so a win for either Stenny or third-placed Livi, currently on seven points after thumping Forfar Athletic 8-0 at home on Tuesday, would see them take over.
Though only a point behind Partick, a draw wouldn’t be enough for Stenny to oust them, unless it were accompanied by a shootout bonus point, as their goal difference is seven inferior.
The Warriors’ scorers at Glebe Park on Saturday were Michael Anderson on nine minutes and Dale Carrick just ahead of half-time, sandwiching a 43rd-minute equaliser for their hosts by Dale Hilson.
Their goals at Firhill Stadium in midweek in front of a crowd of 2,046, 147 of them travelling fans, were put away by Euan O’Reilly, from the penalty spot, on six minutes and Callum Penman on 23 but that 2-0 lead only lasted ten minutes, with Oisin Smyth getting one back on 33 minutes and Tony Watt equalising on 81.
Tuesday’s match also saw defender and captain Ross Meechan, formerly in Thistle’s youth set-up, make his 300th appearance for Stenny.
Those games have been played in two spells, from 2014 to 2018 and since 2023, with the 31-year-old turning out for Forfar and Darvel in between.
Manager Marvin Bartley is delighted to see his side remain unbeaten in the cup and is hoping that will hearten his youthful squad as they bid to make it to mid-August’s round of 16, either as one of eight group winners or the three best runners-up, and potentially go up against the likes of Celtic, Heart of Midlothian, Rangers, Motherwell or Hibernian in pursuit of a place in September’s quarter-finals.
“We’ve got a really, really young group in there,” the 40-year-old told Warriors TV.
“I do think at times when things are going too easy, it’s not a case of keeping your foot down on the metal and they come off it a little bit, but we’re learning. We’re learning together and they’ll learn a lot from that.”
Stenny go into Saturday’s group-stage finale looking to end a ten-match losing streak against their visitors from West Lothian, having only beaten them once before, by 3-1 away in 1997, and having last taken a point off them with a 1-1 draw the year after.
Since then, they’ve lost to them by 3-1 in the Scottish Cup in 2023 and 4-0 in the league cup in 2020, both at home, and eight times on league duty.
The latest of those league losses were by 1-0 home and away in 2017 and 4-0 at home and 4-1 away in 2016.
They followed defeats by 3-0 and 2-1 at home and 2-1 away in 2011 and 4-1 away in 2010.