Elgin City lose out to League 2 new boys East Kilbride in Premier Sports Cup
A third consecutive Premier Sports Cup defeat for Elgin City.
The Black and Whites found League 2 new boys East Kilbride to be slick opponents, winning 4-1 at Borough Briggs.
City have now lost three out of three in their section and conceded 11 goals in a tough section.
Manager Allan Hale handed a debut to former Aberdeen keeper Tom Ritchie and recalled Brian Cameron and Lyall Booth as full backs from the starting line-up at Inverness in midweek.
Elgin started brightly with Josh O’Connor caught offside in the East Kilbride box within 20 seconds, but a goal did come at the other end.]
With exactly two minutes on the clock, Jack Leitch took a pass from Sean Fagan and his shot took a deflection and beat debut keeper Ritchie.
That lead should have been doubled on seven minutes when Jack Healy worked space for a cross on the right which picked out David Ferguson in the centre but he wasted a close range header, nodding it wide with the goal at his mercy.
A controversial moment arrived on the quarter-hour mark when O’Connor chased a through ball when he was pulled back by Ferguson in full flight.
Referee Josh Hay didn’t even give a foul when a red card should have been the outcome.
Kilby took advantage and scored a brilliant second goal on 21 minutes from a corner given for Ritchie’s fine tip over from a Healy drive.
Ex-Elgin man Nathan Flanagan’s corner was fizzed in low and Leitch produced a memorable moment by back heeling the ball and sending it looping over every into the far corner of the net.
City settled into the game and MacIver was denied a goal by a goal-line clearance from his superb free kick from the left side on 28 minutes.
But it could easily have 3-0 three minutes later when Kilby’s John Robertson was put clean through on goal and Ritchie saved well with an outstretched foot.
Reegan Mimnaugh then flashed in a drive for the visitors and Ritchie pulled off his third fine save of the day with a tip over.
Elgin got one back three minutes before half time when Miko Virtanen sent Hyde overlapping into the area and he raced towards goal and got a touch before keeper Freddie Owens who brought him down for a spot kick.
Owens was booked and MacIver sent him the wrong way from the spot to halve the deficit.
The home team made a strong start to the second half, creating three great chances within the opening four minutes.
In the first minute Virtanen was played in by Sargent but snatched at his shot and screwed it wide from 14 yards with just the keeper to beat.
Two minutes later City were awarded a free kick 30 yards from goal and MacIver swerved it inches wide.
Before Kilby could recover, O’Connor sent Kane Hester scurrying through and he outpaced the away defence and slid a low effort past Owens but the ball nudged the base of the right hand post and went wide.
Instead of getting back to 2-2, Elgin found themselves 3-1 down on 53 minutes when the pacy Healy broke down the left and rolled the ball across goal for Nathan Flanagan to tap in.
A fourth East Kilbride goal arrived on 65 minutes as Flanagan slipped a pass from the right to John Robertson who weaved one way then the other before crashing home a low drive from the edge of the box.
Had it not been for keeper Ritchie it could have been worse for the home team.
The former Dons man acrobatically touched away a Healy blast from 12 yards on 68 minutes.
Ritchie then pushed away a Robertson drive and produced an even better stop to claw away Mimnaugh’s fierce blast out of the top corner.
O’Connor did force a good stop out of East Kilbride goalie Owens in between, but there was no denying the visitors’ superiority over the piece,
Elgin: Ritchie, Hyde, Draper, Murray, Booth (Ross 72), Cameron, Virtanen (Ewan 68), MacIver, O’Connor, Hester (Gavin 68), Sargent (McDonnell 72).
Subs: Fraser, MacDonald, McHale.
East Kilbride: Owens, MacKenzie, Ferguson, Fagan, Mimnaugh, Foster, Spence (Sula 78), Leitch (Trialist 86), Flanagan (Cleland 72), Robertson, Healy (Lyon 72).
Subs: Morrison
Ref: J Hay
Att: 569