Stenhousemuir exit Scottish Cup after 3-0 defeat at Michael Tidser's Dunfermline Athletic

The Warriors found it tough going against the full-time Pars – who had new manager Michael Tidser in the dugout after he made the switch on Friday from Stenny’s League One rivals Kelty Hearts.

And the hosts were on top from the off, with winger Kane Ritchie-Hosler giving Kinlay Bilham a torrid time down the right-hand side during the early stages.

Lewis McCann had the first half-chance of the tie when he connected with Ritchie-Hosler’s cross at the near post, but he couldn’t direct the ball toward goal.

Soon after, the winger cut inside and saw an effort fly wide of target as the Pars pushed for an opener.

Stenhousemuir did create one big moment, with Matty Yates going close with a free-kick in what was a decent position for the in-form attacker.

The hosts’ dominance did eventually pay off however, and Chris Hamilton slammed home in the box to open the scoring after 16 minutes.

He was given all the space needed to take down the ball and find the top corner, with the Warriors’ backline not closing him down quick enough.

Gary Naysmith’s side – who came into the tie sitting second in the third tier table – did stem the tide after that goal for a period of the match.

They should have levelled when a long ball caught out the Pars’ defence on the half hour mark but Michael Anderson got caught in two minds.

He did test Tobi Oluwayemi in net but he allowed the Celtic loanee stopper to come out and close him down when he ought to have went for goal earlier.

Any chances of a comeback were extinguished four minutes before the break when the Warriors were punished for more lapse defending.

Ewan Otoo did show nice footwork to work himself into a position to slot home past Darren Jamieson – but had way too much space to pick his spot.

In the second half, it was a similar story to the opening period. Dunfermline dominated from the off.

And it looked like it was going to be a long 45 minutes for Stenhousemuir when McCann made it three just after the restart.

Ritchie-Hosler sent a dangerous cross to the back post area and the forward had a simple task to score, tapping home from a yard or two out.

The Warriors did slightly improve in the second half, and new loan signing Ben Black showed a couple of decent moments off the bench, but the game was long gone by that point.

Stenhousemuir now return to league duty next Saturday when they host fifth-placed Cove Rangers at Ochilview.

Teams

Dunfermline Athletic: Oluwayemi, Comrie, Benedictus, Fogarty, Chalmers, Hamilton (16’), Otoo (41’), Wotherspoon, Ritchie-Hosler, McCann (46’), Kane.

Subs: Briggs, Wighton, Clay, O’Halloran, Sutherland, Young, Cooper, Mebude.

Stenhousemuir: Jamieson, Meechan, Buchanan, Banner, Bilham, Wedderburn, Jacobs, Anderson, Alston, O’Reilly, Yates.

Subs: Lyle, Tomlinson, Taylor, Aitken, O’Donnell, Black, Ewen, McGill.

Referee: Peter Stuart.

Attendance: 2353 (214 away).