CUMNOCK were desperately unlucky to lose to Kilbirnie in an entertaining Ardagh Glass Cup semi-final on Wednesday, August 31.
In an intriguing first-half, the teams cancelled each other out with very little action in front of goal.
Both teams created half-chances in the first five minutes, but neither keeper was troubled until the first real opportunity fell for the visitors.
Keir Samson embarked on a run before cutting the ball back towards Sean McKenzie, but a perfectly-timed tackle from Ryan Haxton thwarted the danger.
Minutes later, Adam Hunter pounced on a sliced clearance by Ciaran McElroy, but could not finish.
Another timely tackle, this time by Mark Staunton on McKenzie, brought another good Cumnock move to an end after Andy Hunter had threaded through a pass.
Then Scott Anson played a defence-splitting pass into space, but none of his team-mates read it well enough to capitalise.
Stephen McKenna took one for the team when he was booked for hauling back McElroy, who was showing a burst of pace.
A further booking, for Del Eslpin after the referee deemed his hand-ball deliberate, proved to be a double whammy for 'Nock.
From the resultant free-kick, substitute Mick O'Byrne rose above everyone else to give Kilbirnie the lead.
Just before the break, John McKeown's men were unlucky not to get a break of the ball during a goalmouth scramble.
Having rode their luck on that occasion, Ladeside started the second half on the back foot as Cumnock were quickly on the attack.
McKenzie gathered a long ball and shot just over, but the equaliser was only five minutes away.
Anson got on the end of a free-kick and, with the home defenders appealing for offside, slipped an angled shot past keeper Kieran Hughes.
While the match had provided decent entertainment in the first period, it was played at a hectic pace in the second half.
David Anderson was inches away from pouncing on a loose ball before a Hunter free-kick caused panic in the Kilbirnie ranks.
McKenzie was then put through on the keeper by Anson, but Hughes came out to smother the ball at his feet.
That was to be Anson's last significant contribution as he limped off shorty after – a big loss to Cumnock?
It did not appear so as Samson sent an inviting ball across the face of the goal, but a sucker punch with less than five minutes remaining shattered Cumnock.
Eddie McTernan first-timed a McElroy pass high over Darren Johnstone, who kept it at 2-1 minutes later when he bravely saved from Liam Gormley.
John McKeown said the players 'gave him everything and that's all you can ask for in the semi-final of a cup'.
Looking forward to Saturday's first home league match of the season against Rob Roy, he added: “We just need to keep working hard. We all know the league is our bread and butter.
“It is all about staying in the league this season so we just need to lick our wounds and get on with Saturday.
“It is another huge game for us, but our form has been good at Townhead Park so far and we are hoping we can do it again at the weekend.
“Kilbirnie have an excellent squad and that is what you are up against in this league. We just need to keep building.
“I am still quite keen to another couple of players of quality into our squad and we will have Calum McRobbie back from injury soon.
“Guys like Johnny Lindsay as well. We were a wee bit short on numbers tonight but if we show that same fight and determination throughout the season we should be all right.”
CUMNOCK – Johnstone; Muir, Crawford, Lundie, McKenna, Esplin (Montgomerie 64), Hunter, Burns, Anson (Wells 68), McKenzie, Samson.
Unused subs – Auld, Shirkie, Buchanan (g/k)
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