Currie felled by Tower but coach still has high hopes in the League

WEST LOTHIAN side Tower defeated Currie by scoring with the last kick of the ball in extra time during the fifth round Foster's Scottish Sunday Amateur Trophy tie at Saughton – and the victors could now face Newton Heath, Edinburgh's only remaining team in the competition.

Currie missed the chance to set up a clash against Heath, fellow members of the Edinburgh and District Sunday Amateur Football Association, despite leading for the majority of this contest.

Craig Cockburn's early opener was cancelled out by an equaliser 15 minutes from full-time, then the Midlothian side were punished in the cruellest fashion after a full 30 minutes of extra-time when Tower grabbed a last-gasp winner.

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Newton Heath had been scheduled to face Glasgow's Sandymount AFC to determine who would be pitted against the winner of the Saughton encounter but, due to freezing conditions in the West, the match was postponed for a second time.

Heath will now look to overturn their opponents in the shadow of Ibrox stadium this weekend in their bid to set up a clash with Tower, although manager Dean Philp is taking nothing for granted. "Sandymount are in Glasgow's first division and are lying second," says the Heath boss.

"I normally like to find out as much as I can about our opponents, but there's not much information available on them. As ever, we'll take each game as it comes."

Philp was present at the Currie-Tower game at the weekend to cast a watchful eye over his side's potential future opponents, and says he will have no fear of Tower should Heath win through to face them.

"The way the game was going, we weren't bothered who we got," he says. "Tower were a good team and well-organised, but they didn't look that brilliant.

"They have a big reputation, having been to the quarters and semis every year, but only one player really stood out for them – their right winger was causing problems all afternoon.

"Currie had more chances and, had they gone without the injuries they had throughout the game, I think they'd have gone on to win. We've never played Currie before, and I think it'd have been great for the league if we'd met them in the sixth round, guaranteeing at least one Edinburgh team in the next round."

Currie coach Andy Macaulay saw at first hand the danger that the West Lothian side could pose to Heath, should the Capital side progress to the sixth round of the national tourney.

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"Tower are a very experienced side," said Macaulay. "They got to the semi-final of the Scottish Cup last year (before losing to Gantry in the last four of the competition], and in years gone by they've actually gone all the way and won it. What won them the game against us was their experience.

"I think that Newton Heath have a wee chance. I know Dean Philp through the association – he'll know what to expect, but to go into the heart of Glasgow to play a match can be quite daunting."

Macaulay expressed disappointment at failing to secure an all-Edinburgh tie in the latter stages of the most prestigious Sunday amateur tournament, especially as he felt his team deserved some reward for their efforts against Tower.

He said: "Without sounding biased, we were the better team in the first half. I think we took control of the game for long periods – they had a spell after half an hour, but other than that it was fairly evenly-matched.

"After they equalised with 15 minutes to go, they really came at us until the end of the 90 minutes, but we held our nerve and took it to extra-time. Then, we were the better side in the first half, but in the second it levelled out a wee bit, and with the last kick of the ball our goalkeeper dropped it – which is unlike him – and they scored."

Macaulay was bullish about his side's chances of claiming some form of silverware this season despite the disappointment of the weekend cup game.

"We're mid-table, but we have games in hand because we've been involved in all the cup competitions," he said. "If we win our games, we'll go top, and our outlook this season is to win the league.

"We're the best team in the league. The standard is good, but I fancy our chances. We've got a good chance of winning both the league and we're in both association cup quarter-finals."

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