
New Dundas Park once again played host to cup final, as a late Hutchinson Vale goal in injury time sent the game into extra time, where they proved to be winners on an eventful Thursday night in Bonnyrigg.
The match started somewhat cagey - unsurprisingly given the importance of the match - and the first opening proved to be the first goal in the 10th minute for Tynecastle. A quick passing move involving Steven Shore, Ivan Alapiki and Kieran Ngwenya saw the ball arrive at the feet of Shore, who struck a lovely controlled shot into the far corner, well beyond the reach of the goalkeeper and opened the scoring.
The goal seemed to spark life into the game, and the lead nearly increased just a minute later when Ngwenya tried his luck from distance and saw his effort strike off the bar, with the Hutchie goalkeeper completely beaten.
Vale went up the other end and caused some danger of their own, Kieron Rafferty did well on the byline to gain a yard and deliver a teasing low ball into the box, causing chaos in the Tynie defence. Ultimately though Aaron Heap managed to collect the ball safely.
Hutchie began to put pressure on their opponents as the first half progressed, with a golden opportunity arriving in the 32nd minute for them. Brandon Hunter whipped in an inviting ball towards the back post where Brodie McNab was waiting, the goal looked like a formality but somehow he managed to miss the target from close range.
Three minutes later they had another great chance to grab an equaliser as a deep cross arrived to Luke McLean at the back post, however, the pace of the ball seemed to put him off, as he failed to adjust his feet in time and missed the target.
Despite being on top at that stage, Hutchie’s goalkeeper, Dean Beveridge, had to be alert just a minute before the half-time whistle, when Alapiki played in Ngwenya for a one-on-one. Beveridge was quick enough to rush off his line and smother the shot, leaving the score at 1-0 going into the interval.