TWO men from Kilwinning were bottled outside Bellsdale football ground on Saturday following the Buffs shock Scottish Junior Cup victory over Beith Juniors.

As fans left the match, bottles were thrown from an unknown section of the crowd, striking a 20-year-old man and a 23-year-old man both from Kilwinning.

The men suffered lacerations to the head and received first aid treatment before being taken to Crosshouse and Ayr hospitals, where they received stitches.

The incident happened after underdogs Kilwinning Rangers dumped Beith out of the third round of the Scottish Junior Cup.

Kilwinning chairman Danny Watt declined to discuss the incident, adding: “We cannot comment on what we haven’t seen.” However, club secretary Alan Poole issued the following statement: “Kilwinning Rangers are aware of the crowd trouble outside of the ground after our recent Scottish Cup tie at Beith.

“We would like to take this opportunity to thank the Beith physio and committee in the quick application of first aid to a young fan injured in the incident. We do not condone this type of behaviour and strongly support Beith’s lead in banning for life any culprits identified as being the cause of this trouble.

“Any incidents of a similar nature at Abbey Park will be dealt with in the same way.

Beith Secretary Robery McCarter said: “Through the police, we will be hoping to identify the perpetrators but unless someone comes forward and confesses it will be difficult to identify who did this.

“However, if anyone is found guilty we will definitely consider a lifetime ban.

“We know there are rivalries locally and at the match there was singing and banter but I was amazed when I found out it had escalated outside the ground.” Police Scotland revealed no suspects have yet been identified and said their inquiries were ongoing.