Conor McKenzie was the late Linlithgow hero as his injury-time winner fired the Rose into the Scottish Cup second round.
The substitute slammed the ball home from 8 yards in the closing moments to seal a dramatic 2-1 win over Berwick Rangers in a fiery affair at Prestonfield.
The East of Scotland Premier Division hosts controlled much of the first half and were deservedly in front at the break after Connor McMullan had bundled home from close range on 15 minutes after Alan Sneddon headed back across goal.
Rangers defender Michael Travis would have an eventful afternoon with the first flashpoint arriving in the 25th minute when he went down inside the box, alleging he had been struck by an opponent.
Inside a crowded penalty, none of the officials saw the incident.
That brought a bit of atmosphere to a contest that had been a slow-burner with Berwick’s Griffin Sabatini and Linlithgow’s Alex Webb both seeing yellow moments later.
Mark Stowe went close with an effort from just outside the box as the home side went searching for a second.
However, the half-time break appeared to do the visitors the world of good as they started the brighter of the two teams after the break.
Alex Harris was denied by Cameron Binnie before seeing an effort cleared off the line while Rangers striker Lewis Allan was proving a handful.
Travis’s match was brought to a premature end just shy of the hour mark when a coming together with Sneddon resulted in the defender’s studs connecting with the Rose striker’s head as he lay on the ground.
That incident was seen by the officials and the centre-back was swiftly shown a red card.
It seemed to galvanise Berwick, though, who would take control of the game despite the numerical disadvantage with Allan going close from 20 yards before they got themselves on level terms after 73 minutes.
David Ferguson bundled the ball over the line but took a whack to the head in the process, forcing him off the park.
Rose almost answered back immediately only for Callum Antell to produce a wonderful save to deny McKenzie while Allan forced Binnie into a brilliant stop at the other end as both teams went searching for a dramatic late winner.
And it would arrive in the third minute of injury-time as the Rose piled forward. Antell produced a great initial save but the rebound fell into the path of McKenzie who gleefully fired home to spark jubilant scenes as Prestonfield as the Rose booked their place in the second round draw.
.
Linlithgow gaffer Gordon Herd admitted they weren’t at their best but heaped praise on his side.
He commented: “To be fair to Berwick, I thought they were probably the better side and they took the game to us when they went down to 10 men.
“They created a few good chances but we defended brilliantly. With the way we’ve been playing it’s been the attacking players getting all the headlines but it was the defence today.
“To be honest, we weren’t at it and it was one of the worst performances of the season but we’re in the hat.
“But we’ve beaten a Lowland League side that has a lot of quality.”
He added: “The subs came on and made a real difference and obviously Conor’s scored the winner but the squad depth is excellent.
“There was maybe a wee bit of relief as well as delight in the celebrations but I did think we were having the better of the play just before that.
“Football’s an unforgiving environment sometimes and Berwick will be feeling it just now.
“We’ve rode our luck a wee bit but the spirit shown was tremendous.”
As for the next round, the gaffer says he fancies his side’s chances against anyone, especially at home, commenting: “There are some big teams coming into the draw and it’s exciting to be in it.
“I’ll quite happily take anyone at Prestonfield. We fell in the first round last year so we’re all delighted to have gone one step further and we’ll just see who we get.”
Don't miss the latest news from the West Lothian Courier. Sign up to our free newsletter here
