Linlithgow Rose’s hopes of an historic Scottish Cup last-16 berth were dashed by Raith Rovers as the Championship side ran out 2-0 winners at Prestonfield.
A sold-out crowd under the Prestonfield lights set the scene for another night of Scottish Cup drama and intrigue.
While there would be no repeat of Darvel’s heroics against Aberdeen from 24 hours previously, the East of Scotland Premier Division outfit more than held their own against their full-time second-tier opponents.
They should even have been in front at the break as Mark Stowe squandered the best chance of the half for either team when he lifted the ball over Tom Lang and left himself with only Jamie MacDonald to beat but dragged his effort wide.
The hosts also had a penalty shout turned down when Stowe looked to have been clipped inside the box.
Raith enjoyed plenty of the play, especially down the flanks, but lacked the final touch as they were unable to offer up anything more than a string of half-chances.
That changed after the half-time break, though, as the visitors took the upper-hand almost immediately following the restart. In a bizarre moment just three minutes in, Jamie Gullan appeared to have given them the lead when he pounced on an errant Alex Webb header back to the keeper and dinked the ball over Cammy Binnie.
The striker was clearly in an offside position but looked to have been played on by Webb’s errant header.
After consulting with his assistant, referee Graham Grainger awarded the goal – only to have a second chat with the same official and change his mind and rule it out for offside.
But the striker didn’t have to wait long to snatch the lead – for certain this time – as six minutes later he raced on to a pass over the top and beat the onrushing Binnie to the ball before firing home.
Dylan Easton clipped the post on 58 minutes as Raith’s superiority began to show while the game descended into a 100mph scrap.
Gullan was thwarted by Binnie as the Rose flung everyone forward. But the striker had the final say on the counter-attack as Lang’s long ball forward was latched on to by the 23-year-old who duly put the tie to bed with a calm finish.
Despite the result, proud Rose boss Gordon Herd said: “I’m disappointed that we didn’t show how good a footballing side we are, but the idea was to still be in the game at half-time and we did that.
“They showed their quality in the second-half but I’m really proud of the boys. We beat a couple of Lowland League sides to get here so it’s a great achievement.
“It was always a bonus to get to the fourth round but when you get a taste of it, you want that wee bit more.”
He added: “I thought Mark could have done a bit more with his chance. I think he had more time on it than he thought but I do think it was a penalty later on. I thought he got clipped.
“Maybe that changes things but the reality is we can’t have any complaints because Raith deserved their win and we wish them all the best in the next round. It wasn’t a game that was going to define our season.
“We’ve got a first league title in 10 years to win and that’s our aim for the season.”
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