VALE of Leithen boss Ger Rossi heaped praise on his side’s character after refusing to wilt against Bo’ness United.
The Innerleithen side found themselves two goals down inside five minutes away to the Lowland League East outfit before suffering a 3-1 defeat and exiting the East of Scotland Qualifying Cup at the second round stage.
Goals from Jackson Mylchreest and Hamza Nimaga had the hosts flying but Vale more than held their own against a side three division above them after recovering from the double early blow.
Jake Houten netted to reduce the arrears with a fine strike just before the break but Vale’s hopes of a major cup upset fell short as Nimaga doubled his tally on the hour mark.
Vale boss Ger Rossi said: “The conversation we had before we went out was trying to stay in the game for as long as you can and we go two goals down quickly. We probably couldn't have started the game any worse.
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“Once we settled down and into our shape, we started taking part in the game and we brought it back to 2-1 just before half-time. They scored again and we missed a good chance to get back into the game.
“They had a lot of the ball, they had a lot of chances and we gave ourselves a mountain to climb but credit to the boys because they worked really hard and were brave against a Lowland League side. To go two down so early, they could have capitulated but they gave a really good account of themselves.”
He added: “I hate using the term free-hit because you never know what can happen in a one-off game. Obviously we weren’t kidding ourselves on about it being anything other than a very difficult game but we went into it with confidence from performances and results in our own league. We were well in the game and it wasn’t ever out of reach, albeit we had to suffer a bit more than we would at our level in league games.”
This weekend it’s cup action again with Vale hosting West of Scotland Premier Division side Drumchapel United in the Scottish Cup second preliminary round with Rossi hoping to do the town proud.
He said: “These are the games everyone always looks forward to because it’s the top cup competition in the country. There’s excitement and great feeling but we also know the challenge ahead of us.
“It’s a home tie and hopefully we can get a decent support and do our best for the town.”
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