Border Telegraph | Sport | Mistakes force cup exit

Friday, 5th December, 2008

Published: Wednesday, 31st October, 2007 10:30

Mistakes force cup exit

By David Knox

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Chris Anderson skips away from Lewis Sloan during Saturday's cup tie.

A FIRST half comedy of errors saw Selkirk crash out of the Scottish Cup on Saturday.

And squander their best ever chance of reaching the draw of the highly lucrative third round

Both Andy Brown and Gary McShane were singled out for mistakes that led to the two goals.

But the rest of the experimental five-man defence wasn’t too clever at times either.

Fraser Lothian’s defensive formation came in for a bit of stick, but the boss was quick to endorse his tactics at the final whistle.

He told the Border Telegraph: “It was some of the players that cost us the game not the system we played.

“A few of them know they should have done better – they just didn’t perform at a level good enough to win games like this.

“I’m not sure if it was nerves but I needed more from them.”

Selkirk should have opened the scoring on 15 minutes when Stuart Anderson’s perfectly flighted cross was headed a foot wide by the usually lethal Craig Livingstone.

The 20-year-old fencer was only a shadow of his normal self as he hobbled around holding his thigh for much of the opening period.

Chris Anderson tested the visitors’ goal on 20 minutes with a powerful freekick that Graham Wright did well to hold.

But despite the majority of pressure Selkirk fell a goal behind on the half hour.

Lewis Sloan’s cross-field pass to Alan McClymont was missed by Brown and the winger squared for the unmarked Gary Redpath to slot home from close range.

Within a minute Selkirk should have leveled. Craig Tyson’s shot was palmed into the path of Craig Lothian who could only fire into the side netting with an open goal at his mercy.

Livingstone volleyed inches wide a few minutes later as the home side pushed for an equalizer.

But problems at the back were exposed again on 38 minutes. Gary McShane had all the time in the world to clear a speculative through ball but he sliced his kick straight into the path of Redpath who volleyed into the top corner.

And it could have been three just before the interval. Grant Parker took advantage of the confused back line to wander into the penalty area unmarked but John Dodds produced a fantastic block.

With players finally being pushed forward after the interval Selkirk did look like they could claw their way back into the game.

John Waldie directed a Tyson corner towards goal only for Redpath to block on the line.

And just after the hour Livingstone rounded keeper Wright only for Gary McMinn to slide in with a block.

But any hope of a comeback departed as strikers Alan Jackson and Livingstone were withdrawn from the game.

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