Dalkeith Thistle make history beating Burntisland Shipyard in first ever Scottish Cup tie

Dalkeith Thistle made history on Saturday with a penalty shoot out victory in a dramatic first ever senior Scottish Cup tie at Kings Park.
Dalkeith Thistle celebrated a memorable first ever win in the Scottish Cup (pic: Game Of Throw Ins)Dalkeith Thistle celebrated a memorable first ever win in the Scottish Cup (pic: Game Of Throw Ins)
Dalkeith Thistle celebrated a memorable first ever win in the Scottish Cup (pic: Game Of Throw Ins)

On a memorable day for all connected with the club came through the preliminary round replay with Burntisland Shipyard to secure a first round trip to Clydebank later this month.

A huge amount of work has gone on behind the scenes to meet the required criteria for an Scottish FA licence which allows participation in the Scottish Cup.

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And the off-the-field success was matched by on-the-field achievement on a day of high drama.

The sides drew 1-1 the previous week and it was the visitors who started the better, pinning Dalkeith back in the early stages.

But Thistle kicked into gear and Darren Leslie headed them into a 15th minute lead.

Leslie doubled the advantage five minutes later from the penalty spot, but Dalkeith were reduced to 10 men on the half-hour mark when Callum Bielski was red-carded.

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The Fife side halved the deficit through a Jack Wilson header early in the second half but Stephen Woods then bundled the ball home to restore Dalkeith’s two-goal advantage.

But with Jags understandably dropping deeper and deeper Ben Anthony slammed home Shipyard’s second on 77 minutes and a minute later Wilson scored again to restore parity.

Two wonder saves from keeper Shea Dowie kept Dalkeith in the cup and took the tie to penalties.

Both sides missed one of their regulation five kicks, but when Dowie saved the visitors’ seventh Matty Johnston then slammed home to secure the victory.

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Thistle financial manager Chris Matson said it was a great day for everyone connected with the club – albeit a tense one – and one he hopes can act as a catalyst for more people in the town to become involved and support the progress the club is making.

He said: “There were lots of familiar faces back on Saturday and a lot of coaches and members of our wider community club, so there were quite a lot of children and young folk there with their Dalkeith Thistle tops on.

"That was really pleasing to see and a few of them are saying they want to come through to Clydebank for the next round as well.”

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