Continental v Ellon Thistle

North of Scotland Cup 2nd Round

Ellon Thistle travelled to Kingswells to face Continental in the second round of the North of Scotland Cup and were confident of progressing into the next round despite being without several key players. The Jags had won their last four games while the home side had shipped twenty goals without reply in the Scottish Cup just a fortnight ago.

Continental arguably had the better of the early exchanges as Ellon's midfield struggled to get to grips with the game. Neither goalkeeper was tested before Matthew Cowie put the visitors in front when he diverted Keith Reid's cross into the net to continue his excellent goal scoring form. But for the second consecutive week, Thistle's lead lasted a matter of minutes as they were punished for failing to clear their lines from a corner.

With the scores level at the interval, Thistle manager Kevin Kennedy expected a much improved performance in the second period but it was not until the introduction of Mark Cockburn and Mark Kennedy that the game swung in Ellon's favour. The former should have put Ellon 2-1 up but was denied by the home side's goalkeeper when through one on one. Cockburn was involved again inside the Continental penalty area in the build up to what would prove to be the winning goal. Mark Kennedy provided the finishing touch to give Thistle the lead once more.

Despite a let-off in the closing stages when a Continental forward blazed high and wide with the goal at his mercy, The Jags did enough to progress into the third round and continue their good run of results.

Final Score: Continental 1 Ellon Thistle 2

Ellon Thistle: Adamson, Simon Cruickshanks (Cockburn), Anderson, Henderson, C. Duncan, Stephen Cruickshanks, Davidson, Gillan, Reid, Cowie, Beaton (Kennedy). Subs not used: .

Man of the Match: David Anderson