SCOTTISH GAS	SCOTTISH CUP	ROUND 1
Glenafton Athletic	3 (3)	Maley, Lindsay, Mullen
Invergordon	2 (0)	Ross, Lambie
Sat 27 Sep 2025	KO 3:00 pm	Loch Park, New Cumnock

A minute’s silence was held before kick-off, in memory of Glenafton fan and Glenafton Supporters Club member Gary Traunter. Our thoughts are with Gary’s family and friends at this sad time.

Glenafton made one change to the eleven that started against Bridge of Don Thistle last Saturday with Blair Anderson replacing David Craig, joining Ollie Rowe and Cammy Ross on the injury list.

Our opponents, Invergordon Football Club won the North Caledonian League and Cup double last season. They currently sit 4^th in the league with a 100% record of 4 wins out 4 and and goal difference of 24; those teams above of them course have played 3 or 4 games more than them. In the Scottish Gas Scottish Cup Invergordon beat South of Scotland League Side Lochar Thistle 3-1 in Preliminary Round 1 and East of Scotland side Dunipace Thistle 3-1, after extra time, in the Preliminary Round 2.

Invergordon kicked off against the wind on an overcast day, with the forecast of heavy rain yet to materialise but don’t worry it did! Both sides mounted decent attacks which were quickly repelled in turn until the Glens opened the scoring in 9 minutes.

Evan Maley gathered the ball wide on the right with Cammy Mackintosh tight on his shoulder but after applying the brakes and a quick turn he created space to pick out Michael Mullen on the left-hand side of the ‘D’ who broke deep into the box but with his sight at goal blocked by two defenders he attempted to clip the ball back to Shuggy Kerr on the penalty spot only for it to roll past the striker and fall for Evan Maley now at the right hand-side of the ‘D’ to drill a low diagonal shot from 22 yards beyond the reach of the diving Jayden Reid and into the net at the back post. Glens 1 Invergordon 0, 9 minutes.

Play raged back and forth again and it was the home side that doubled their lead. Mullen from just inside the Invergordon half and wide on the right curled a ball into the box for the incoming Jared Willet only for defender Kyle Taylor to intercept, however his intended clearance saw the ball fall for Ross Lindsay on the outskirts of the ‘D’ to curl a shot from 24 yards that whizzed past the keeper beating him at his near post. Glens 2 Invergordon 0, 12 minutes.

Play again fell into a pattern of back and forth.

On 17 minutes the visitors won a free-kick just inside the Glens half from where James Ross launched the ball high into the box for the leaping Blair Morrison which keeper David Markey cleanly clutched the ball. At the other end Chris Erskine gathered the ball on the right-hand side of the box only for his shot from the corner of the six-yard box to be deflected back towards the touchline where Lee Duncanson was quick to gather and pick out Erskine, now further back from the six yard box and with the keeper covering the near post, he chipped the ball towards the back post which dipped inches wide of the junction of the post and cross-bar with Reid a relieved spectator.

Back came the visitors and with the Glens defence pushed forward to the half-way line, a long ball was launched upfield to be chased down by the club’s top goal scorer Torran Lambie and with Lindsay on his heels he broke into the box only for Markey to rush from his line and strip the ball from his feet. Soon after, Taylor from tight on the right picked out Lambie in a busy box and with his back to goal hooked the ball goalward only for it to fall just wide of the post.

Midway through the half Willet, from wide on the left, laid the ball off to Mullen who drifted wide towards the edge of the ‘D’ to fire a shot that flew high and wide of target. Glens continued to press with numbers in the box and had a couple of shots blocked before Willet pounced on a loose ball at the edge of the ‘D’ to crack a sweet shot that keeper Reid dived at full stretch to push the ball wide of the post.  The corner kick was headed clear to the edge of the box from where Maley’s shot went the same way as Mullen’s.

Invergordon countered through Lambie gathering the ball on the right just inside the Glens half and with a neat touch held off Willet and Maley to thread a square ball inside to Kenneth Morrison who pushed forward to the edge of the ‘D’ before picking out Ben Bruce to curl a shot from just inside the box past the advancing Markey only for the ball to dip over the bar. Soon after the keeper rushed from his line to smother the ball at the edge of the box as Bruce and Callum Murray closed in. 

Back came the Glens with Kerr winning a corner on the left which Lindsay floated into a packed six-yard box and although Blair Morrison won the aerial battle it was Blair Anderson that snapped up the loose ball only for his cross to be deflected wide for a corner on the right. Ross curled the kick high and with the wind in his favour the ball looked net bound only for the keeper Reid to leap and with an outstretched arm get a touch that denied Craig McCracken a header on the line and sent the ball wide of the back post.

Back to the left side and Lindsay’s corner generated a spell of head tennis in the box beginning with a leaping Ross and then a leaping Lewis Currie before the ball fell for Kerr only for his header from a standing position some 8 yards to fall safely into the keeper’s hand.

Glens continued to press with a wave of attacks. Erskine gathered the ball at the outskirts of the ‘D’ and forced wide he pushed towards the bye-line before whipping a cross to the back post where both Kerr and Mullen were lurking only for the leaping keeper to finger-tip the ball of their flight-path. Soon after, Duncanson won a corner on the right which Lindsay curled high and into the six-yard box packed with 16 players and although Blair Morrison won the aerial battle the ball bounced out for a corner on the left. Lindsay kick descended on the six-yard line beyond the leap of the Ross and fell for Kerr only for his header to bounce just wide of the left post.

Play then flowed back and forth for a spell without either keeper being tested.

However just before half-time Maley gathered the ball wide on the right in the Invergordon half and jinked his way past a number of defenders (and team-mates) about six yards into the box and as he weaved between Rio Hastings and Blair Morrison, he was abruptly brought down with a whack on the shins from Kenneth Morrison, in full view of the referee and a penalty kick awarded. Up stepped Michael Mullen to send the keeper the wrong way and slam a low shot into the left corner of the net. Glens 3 Invergordon 0, 44 minutes. 

The home side didn’t rest on their laurels and chased down the ball after the visitors kicked-off. Lindsay from wide on the left curled a high ball into the box for the incoming Erskine only for Reid to catch cleanly. Erskine then burst down the right with Blair Morrison lagging behind and squared the ball to Mullen arriving in the box to blast a shot between Ross and Taylor before it flew wide of target.

HT Glens 3 Invergordon 0

The visitors made three changes at the break with Euan Henderson, John MacLeod and Ruaridh Patience replacing Kyle Taylor, Callum Murray and Kenneth Morrison

The forecast rain had arrived, light at first, as the Glens kicked off and play quickly fell into a pattern of back and forth.

Mullen gathered a Duncanson shy from the right on the outskirts of the six-yard box two yards from the bye-line only for his attempt to square the ball across the goal mouth to be blocked by Blair Morrison. Hastings pounced on the loose ball to prevent the corner kick and played a one-two with Bruce before launching upfield where McCracken on the half-way line got the jump on McLeod to head the ball back down the touchline. Bruce gathered the loose ball and sped up the wing before cutting inside along the outskirts of the box and as he tried to get past Lindsay, the Glens man stood his ground and Bruce tumbled in full view of the referee. Despite Lindsay’s claim that he won the ball the referee thought otherwise and awarded a free-kick a couple of yards outside the box. James Ross sweetly curled the free-kick round the four-man wall and beyond the reach of Markey on the goal-line and into far corner of the net. Glens 3 Invergordon 1, 53 minutes.

The tempo of the game went up a notch as the visitors’ tails were now up. McCracken blocked John McLeod’s shot in a busy box and the loose ball was recovered by Invergordon and eventually Lewis Mackay rolled the ball wide to Ruaridh Patience on the right touchline to whip a cross to the back post where Bruce and Markey leapt in unison, with the keeper getting two strong hands to punch clear.

On 63 minutes Glens brought on Callum Wilson in place of Ross Lindsay.

Played continued to rage back and forth with the defences still on top, albeit the visitors understandably tended to break forward in numbers to try and close the two-goal gap.

Invergordon came close midway through the half when Lambie won the ball on the right and with three red shirts in the vicinity he pushed to the outskirts of the box before rolling a perfectly weighted pass deep into the box for the overlapping Mackintosh to gather and drill a low angled shot that beat Markey at his near post only for the ball to drift inches wide of the back post.

The visitors continued to press and a corner from the right was floated high to the back post where McCracken won the aerial battle heading the ball high up into the air before Ross mishit on its descent sending it into a packed goalmouth where Maley stretched to clear the ball clearly in some discomfort; he had picked up a bad knock some minutes beforehand. 

On 69 minutes Glens made the substitution with Evan Maley making way for Kelvin Daniel and the tall defender was soon in the thick of the action. Hastings from wide on the left floated a free kick to the back post for Lambie who leapt in unison with Daniel and Currie – unclear who won the header but it was Bruce that leathered the loose ball high over the bar.

McCracken from just inside the Glens half launched a high ball into box with Willet giving chase while defender Patience kept his eye on the ball, meanwhile keeper Reid rushed from his line – and it was Willet of the trio that leapt to head the ball goalwards with Reid now back-tracking and relieved to see it roll inches wide of the post. Despite the Invergordon appeals the referee oddly awarded a corner-kick to the Glens which was headed clear by the industrious Bruce.

The visitors then strung together a slick box to box passing move finishing with Lambie on the edge of the box where he was stopped in his tracks by Anderson and McCracken at the expense of a free kick.  Up stepped Ross at the edge of the ‘D’ and curled the ball round the four-man wall again aiming for the top right-hand corner of the goal only for Markey to push it away with both hands, sending the ball out for a throw-in which eventually set up Mackintosh to chip high ball to the near post for Bruce which drew Markey from his line to clutch the ball safely.

Mullen gathered the ball inside the Invergordon half and flicked it on to Kerr to push forward and slip the ball down the right for overlapping Duncanson to whip it into the box for the inrushing Kerr only for Morrison to intervene and bullet a header wide for a corner. Wilson floated the kick from the right into a busy box where McCracken’s powerful downward header bounced off the six-yard line only for Morrison to return the favour with a downward header that fell at the feet of McCracken only for his shot to deflect off Morrison for a corner, which was promptly cleared.

Back came Glens with Erskine breaking from the centre circle before laying it off to Duncanson on the right who in turn rolled the ball up the wing for Erskine to gather and complete a slick one-two before giving two defenders the slip at the edge of box only for his shot to sail over the bar. The home side continued to press a time only for the final touch to desert them.  

On 85 minutes Invergordon brought on Jordan Knight for Ben Bruce and soon after Glens brought on Robbie McDougall for Chris Erskine.

Both sides were going all out in the heavy rain and a frantic finish was guaranteed after Invergordon scored on the 93^rd minute after Ross launched a free kick from a few yards inside the visitors half high into the left-hand side of the box where Morrison leapt to send a diagonal header to the far side of the outskirts of the six-yard box for Torran Lambie to guide his clinical header into the far side of the goal. Glens 3 Invergordon 2, 93 minutes.

On 95 minutes Invergordon won a corner on the left and throwing caution to the wind keeper Reid joined his team mates in the Glens box. The kick was played low to the near post where it was deflected out for another corner. In stark contrast the one that followed was played high to the back post where Lambie headed it high back beyond the near post which sae keeper Reid’s downward header bounce of Duncanson at the post and McDougall cleared the ball out for a shy to deny a third corner.

A long throw from the left saw Morrison and Anderson leap and challenge for the ball and although it was unclear who won the header the ball flew high into the air and descended on the 18 yard line where Duncanson bravely dipped his head to clear the ball from the box only to be pushed from behind by Morrison and facing the raised boot of Henderson from the front. One free kick for the price of two!

The final whistle blew on 97 minutes much to the relief to the home support after a spirited comeback by the visitors.

FT Glenafton 3 Invergordon 2

Let’s not forget however, the exceptional first half that the players delivered and the victory takes us through to the Scottish Gas Scottish Cup 2^nd Round – well done!

GLENAFTON ATHLETIC
1.David Markey 2. Lee Duncanson 3. Jared Willet 4. Craig McCracken 5. Lewis Currie 6. Evan Maley (15. Kelvin Daniel) 7. Blair Anderson 8. Ross Lindsay (17. Callum Wilson) 9. Hugh Kerr (captain) 10. Michael Mullen 11. Chris Erskine (14. Robbie McDougall) Subs Not Used: James Hart (gk) 12. Callum McFadyen

INVERGORDON
1. Jayden Reid 2. Kyle Taylor 3. Rio Hastings 4. James Ross 5. Blair Morrison 6. Lewis Mackay 7. Ben Bruce 8. Cammy Mackintosh (captain) 9. Torran Lambie 10. Callum Murray 11. Kenneth Morrison. Subs Used: 12. Euan Henderson 14. Ethan Brown 15. John MacLeod 16. Ruaridh Patience 17. Jordan Knight Subs Not Used: 21. William Godding 18. Hamish Loftus

Match Photos

Glenafton Athletic vs Invergordon