St Andrews United lose out to the Glens

St Andrews United were knocked out of the South Challenge Cup by a strong Glenrothes side currently sitting top of Conference B.

Glenrothes took the lead in the 12th minute when Reece Brown was given far too much time to shoot and picked his spot from 25 yards.

Glenrothes dominated proceedings for the rest of the first half and the men in red wasted several good chances.

Early substitute Ian McManus fired a shot over the bar following good work down the left by Cammy Lumsden, Blair Smart headed the ball straight at Kyle Moran from an unmarked position at the back post and a great cross by Callum Kinnes went out for a goal kick.

Glens eventually added a second goal in the 43rd minute Dylan Honeyman reacted quickest to a rebound in the box to net from close-range.

Jake Grady subsequently missed a good opportunity at the other end by dragging a shot wide of Crowe’s right-hand post but Glens moved further ahead in the 59th minute when McManus found the net following a goal-mouth scramble.

Not surprisingly, Glens continued to press forward in search of further goals towards the end of the encounter.

Glenrothes hit the post twice during the final half an hour.

Saints also managed the odd break up the park but the visitors struggled to keep possession against bigger and stronger opponents, whilst supporting runs were not made frequently enough.

However, United managed to grab a consolation goal in bizarre circumstances three minutes into injury time.

Substitute Harris Haleef was making his way back from an off-side position when Rollo returned a long clearance in his direction.

Former St Andrews United captain Ryan McInnes was also slow to retreat so he played Haleef onside.

The 21-year old strikertook a delightful touch before skilfully chipping the ball over Crowe to score. The players can take some positives from the game into Saturday’s King Cup tie at Ormiston.