St Cuthbert Wanderers hit by "sucker punch" in Dalbeattie Star defeat

dailyrecord.co.uk:

St Cuthbert Wanderers were hit by a “sucker punch” by Dalbeattie Star in the Utility Hut South of Scotland Challenge Cup. The Kirkcudbright side faced the Lowland League outfit in the second round last Wednesday, going down 2-0 thanks to goals from former Saints striker Dale Milligan.

Boss Josh Gardner said: “We conceded in injury time of both halves. “For the first goal, one of our central defenders has got injured and instead of maybe going down he’s tried to play on, they’ve been able to run through and scored.

In fairness, it was a brilliant finish. “There wasn’t much in the game between both teams. The second half was the same, it was pretty even. “Dalbeattie maybe had the better of the chances but we had a few opportunities.

Our final pass in the final third maybe let us down. “At 1-0 we were trying to push to get an equaliser and we got hit on the break and conceded the second goal. “It’s one of those things when you’re 1-0 down late on and you need to have a go but we were hit by a sucker punch.” Despite the result, Gardner was pleased with how his side fared against a team from the Lowland League – even if their defeats to Edinburgh University and Gala Fairydean Rovers mean their relegation is all but confirmed.