Shotts boss John McKeown was delighted to see Sandy Thomson net their winning penalty to be a cup hero – after an emotional week for the club’s goalkeeper.
The Hannah Park No.1 lost his gran in the build up to Saturday’s South Challenge Cup Third Round tie but put in a performance she would have been immensely proud of, as he produced a man of the match display to knock out Lowland League Albion Rovers on penalties after the game finished 0-0 after extra-time.
Not only did he keep a clean sheet, but Thomson netted the winning spot-kick in a 5-3 shootout success to set up a fourth round tie at home to Kilwinning Rangers this Saturday.
McKeown, who side are without a win in the West of Scotland Premier League so far and bottom of the table, said: “We defended really well and we had an excellent goalkeeping performance from Sandy Thomson as well.
“He had a tough week with his gran passing away. He’s had a hard time of it, so it was great for him to be the hero for us.
“We hit five good penalties and Sandy got the winning penalty for us. He was brilliant throughout the game and then he got the winner, so I was delighted for him.
“It is a scalp for us with Albion Rovers being from a higher league. Where we’ve been in terms of results this season, this is a real positive for us and hopefully it can kick-start our season.
“The boys were excellent from start to finish. We had to dig deep at times but we expected that.
“They threw a lot of dangerous set-pieces at us but we dealt with them really well. I’m really pleased.
“We worked their goalie too and had some chances so it was quite an even game. They probably dominated the first 20 minutes but I thought we did well.”
Shotts now hope to get their fourth round tie on with wintry conditions hitting the country this week.
McKeown added: “There’s a bit of an icy blast set to move in so hopefully we get it on.
“We played Kilwinning last season and they’ve got a good squad. They’ve had a wee bit of a mini-rebuild, but it will be really tough.
“We drew with them a couple of times in the league and they put us out of this cup last season, so we’ll be hoping to go and avenge that this weekend – if it’s on.”
Albion Rovers boss Sandy Clark also praised Thomson for his heroics on the day.
He said: “Credit to Shotts, they had to defend well and they did that. Their centre-halves and their goalkeeper, especially, were exceptional. Good luck to them in the next round.
“Penalties are just a lottery, it is a toss of a coin. We missed one and they didn’t.”