Thistle show experience in cup clash

Mid Annandale 2 Lochar Thistle 6 MIDS got off to a cracking start in this first round Potts Cup tie at New King Edward Park last Saturday when Luke Hammond beat the visiting goalkeeper with a tremendous free kick into the top corner inside five minutes. But, as is the custom of late, the home side could not hold onto their lead for any length of time, and the league’s second placed side, Lochar Thistle, hit the Mids with a double salvo within eight minutes to go 2-1 up after some defensive lapses. For the remainder of the half Lochar were on top possession wise but the Mids were not out of it. Ciaran Boyes made some good stops in the home goal, while chances did come at the other end, although there was no further scoring by half time. For the first 20 mins of the second period the pattern continued but, again with some defensive frailties creeping in, Lochar hit the Mids with a quick one-two to go 4-1 up. The heads might have gone down at this point but all credit to the Lockerbie side as they hit back with a scrambled effort from Darren Monteith after some tenacious work from Aaron Bell. The Mids put everything into the last 12 minutes but the experience of the Lochar side prevailed and two late goals sent the Dumfries lads home with a well deserved 6-2 victory. Mids return to league action this Saturday when they visit Lochmaben for a much anticipated local derby.