Pentland on brink of Highland Amateur Cup final
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PENTLAND United are one game away from the Highland Amateur Cup final after coming through an extra-time rollercoaster at Lochinver.
The Dunnet side were made to work hard for their win by their hosts but managed to emerge with a 4-3 victory.
Stuart Mackay had three times given the home side the lead only for Pentland to hit back and then clinch victory with goals from Sean Campbell (2), Innes MacIntosh and Andy Hardwick. United had Aiden Reid sent off, while Lochinver’s Ben Bruce also saw red.
United will now face Ross-shire side Contin in the semi-final at an as-yet-undecided neutral venue on August 4, while Lerwick Spurs and Maryburgh will contest the other last four tie.
Pentland boss Ross Sutherland said: “It was a rollercoaster of a game. We started brightly and had three good chances, including one that hit the bar.
“That seemed to wake Lochinver up and they took the lead not long after. We managed to get back into it on the half-hour mark with a slice of luck when Sean’s cross into the box took another turn of direction and flew straight into the net.
“We started the second half sloppily and conceded again. It was only until the last 15 minutes that we finally got going.
“We left it very late as deep into injury time, Innes fired in a superb free kick from 35 yards to take us into extra time. But after getting out of jail, we found ourselves back in it as in extra time we let them score again. Thankfully Sean fired in a shot into the top corner to level things up again.
“Much to our relief, Andy Hardwick slotted in the winner. We were delighted to get off the hook.”
With Pentland going for both a league and cup double, Sutherland insists that pressure to win both will not be a factor.
He added: “Of course there’s going to be some pressure at this stage of the season. But that’s the sort of pressure we wanted at the start of this campaign.
“It’s a cliché but we’re taking each game as it comes. We’ve a lot of important league fixtures. Contin are top of their league, and they will give us a tough game.”
