Scottish Junior Cup Fourth Round

JEANFIELD SWIFTS 2

BEITH JUNIORS 6

BEITH took advantage of the window in the winter weather to claim a place in the 16 of the Scottish with a win that was fairly comprehensive in the end after a topsy-turvy first half.

The visitors were quick out of the traps and swept into the lead after only four minutes when Keir Milliken rose in a crowded box to head home a nicely delivered Joe Bradley corner.

The hosts were allowed no time to recover and went close to conceding another in the next attack when the post kept a Ryan Docherty shot out. Beith kept the pressure on and they doubled their lead only minutes later when Milliken turned the ball home after a Thomas Collins header had been blocked from another corner.

The perfect start was undone however when Swifts pulled a goal back with their first effort on goal. Scott made the chance with good work up the left and his pass inside found Daniel Kelly who found the net with a mis-hit shot which deceived Stephen Grindlay.

Beith were quickly back on the attack and Collins headed a Joe Bradley cross past from a good position. The young energetic Swifts side were growing in confidence after their shaky start and they drew level in the 20th minute when Robbie Holden rifled an unstoppable shot into the top corner from 25 yards after the ball fell kindly to him. The goal, however was shrouded in controversy as most, on and off, the pitch believed the referee had awarded a free-kick when Tommy Martin was taken out by a challenge seconds before. However the goal stood and the contest was now on.

The busy hosts were seeing some more of the ball now but Beith continued to look the more dangerous up front despite a disjointed midfield and efforts from Collins, Milliken and Darren Christie went close before one of several corners produced another goal a few minutes before the break. Taken short to Joe Bradley, he turned in the box and cleverly picked out Collins, who shot home from six yards. Swifts centre back Deans collected a yellow card in the last action of the half.

Beith started the second half purposefully with resulting corners threatening the hosts goal. A Connor McGlinchey free kick also swung inches wide as Beith now took a firm grip on proceedings. The hosts' cause received a major set back when they were reduced to 10 men in 64 minutes when Deans rightly collected a second card for a bad challenge on Paul Frize.

The visitors duly upped the ante again and keeper Mitchell made a fine last ditch block to deny Thomas Collins in the box before they found the net again to give them some breathing space. Another corner led to several attempts being blocked before the ball was laid back to Bradley and he found the back of the net with a perfectly measured chip shot.

That goal knocked the stuffing out of the young Perth side and Beith promptly increased their lead with John Sheridan heading home another corner and soon after, to great acclaim, sub and returning hero Andy Reid, burst forward onto a Christie pass to find the net with his usual aplomb.

The full-time scoreline somewhat flattered Beith but they will be more than happy to have won through and will hope they can now get a run of fixtures to sharpen match fitness and hopefully regain their sparkling early season form.

JEANIELD: Mitchell, McDermid, Mollison, Reid, Deans, Mackie, Scott, Holt, Holden, Kelly, Fergus. Subs: MacKenzie, Anton, Mills, Davies, Yates.

BEITH: Grindlay; McGlinchey, R Docherty, MacDonald, Sheridan, Martin, Christie, Frize, Collins, Milliken, Bradley. Subs: McPherson, Burke, Cunningham, N Docherty, Reid.