Fairmuir had the first chance of extra time as Samson headed the ball against the post before seeing a volley from Rory Jagusinski’s kept out by Malarky.

Blantyre could only clear a Jagusinski cross as far as Matthew Nelson, but he could only skew his volley wide as the first half of extra time ended goalless.

With 11 minutes remaining, Fairmuir broke the deadlock through Jagusinski. The wingback delivered a cross from the right that caught out Malarky and landed in the net.

Blantyre pushed for an equaliser but were nearly undone as Malarky’s misjudged throw landed at the feet of Ross Hazel, who fired wide from 20 yards with the goal at his mercy.

Jake Grady went close to doubling Fairmuir’s lead at the death as the hosts hit Blantyre on the break. Mark McCrory provided the pass but Malarky was equal to the striker’s effort.

It was clear from early on in this match that it was going to be a low-scoring affair. A combination of tricky conditions and strong defensive performances from both sides meant that the tie was going to be decided by a moment of magic or a stroke of luck. Unfortunately for Blantyre, it was the latter that saw them bow out of the competition.

They will feel that they played well enough to have at least taken the game to penalties, but ultimately their failure to capitalise when they were on top early in the second half cost them the match.

Despite that, reaching the quarter finals of the Scottish Cup is nothing to be sniffed at and they will have learned some valuable lessons as they turn their attention to domestic silverware for the remainder of the season.

As for Fairmuir, this was far from a vintage performance from them, but cup football is all about the results. From the first whistle to the last, they stood up and matched Blantyre physically, which clearly took its toll in the latter stages of the match as several players played through cramp and niggles to get the team over the line.

While the football was far from vintage, the tactical discipline and streetwise approach was impressive, and once again Rory Jagusinski provided the goal in a big game for Fairmuir.

With only 180 minutes of football separating them from Youth Football’s biggest prize, Fairmuir have shown all the qualities that Scottish Cup winners of the past have demonstrated and while they might not be the favourites for the competition, they should have no fear ahead of the semi-finals.