Largs AFC 3-1 Bon Accord City

Largs AFC secured a spot in the fourth round of the Scottish Amateur Cup with an impressive victory against their Aberdeen opponents at Barrfields on Saturday.

The weekend’s tie followed a 2-2 draw between the sides in Aberdeen.

Largs’ early nerves were settled when they took the lead with 15 minutes on the clock. A corner kick from Russell was met at the front post by Dunlop, who glanced a header beyond the Bon Accord ‘keeper.

The goal injected some confidence into the Largs players, who began dominating possession.

It was the visitors who looked sharper in the opening exchanges of the second period and they had a chance to restore parity almost straight away, but the Bon Accord striker failed to find the target when through on goal.

Ten minutes into the second half, Largs made a change - Aaron Alexander replacing Calderwood. A reshuffle saw Dunlop move to centre forward and Alexander take up his familiar role in the middle of the park, where he quickly set about stamping his authority on the match.

With the game beginning to stretch on the large Barrfields park the introduction of Brendan Hill and Gordon Wilson added some fresh legs to the Largs ranks.

Hill used his pace on two occasions to get behind the Bon Accord defence but couldn’t find the crucial second goal that would have ended the tie. Instead, it was elder brother Alexander who doubled Largs’ lead with 20 minutes remaining, curling home a sweet right-footed shot from just inside the 18-yard box.

Largs’ final change saw Chris McMillan introduced in place of Dunlop. Cunningham’s hopes for what would have been a well-deserved clean sheet were dashed with the game approaching injury time. The goalkeeper saved well from close range, but the ball rebounded off the post, struck the number one before being forced over the line by the Bon Accord front man, though there were strong protests from Largs that their opponent had used a hand in the process.

Largs, however, were in no mood to let their opponents force extra time and almost immediately restored their two-goal cushion. Following a scramble in the penalty box, the ball broke to the impressive Wilson, who expertly found the top-right corner of the net with the inside of his right boot.

The final whistle was greeted with warm applause from a healthy home support. Largs will now travel to Balmoral United AFC in the fourth round, which will be played a week on Saturday. Before that, they face Knockentiber in the Donsport Trophy this Saturday. Barrfields is, again, the venue, with a 1.30pm kick-off.

The local side would like to thank JG Sharps for their continued support and post-match hospitality, which was thoroughly enjoyed by both sides.

Thanks also goes to the Largs Thistle community for ensuring the amateurs were able to play such an important tie at the weekend.

Largs: Cunningham, Robson, McGowan, Turley, Hawkins, Dunlop, Russell, Cameron, Mitchell, Clark, Calderwood. Subs: Alexander, Hill, McMillan, Mackie, Wilson