The Anvils were bidding to reach the third round for the first time in their history, while Drumchapel were playing their first ever season in the competition.
Gretna had a nightmare start after they conceded a penalty in the first five minutes, Drumchapel playmaker David Templeton tricked through the Gretna midfield and slipped a pass into Martin Grehan who was brought down. Grehan stepped up to take and he sent Ali Adams the wrong way. And Grehan soon had his second when he nodded in a looping cross.
Lewis Bell pulled one back for The Anvils right after half time when he fired a right footed shot low and hard across Blair Lochhead. However, Gretna’s comeback was short lived, Templeton curled a cross straight to Grehan, Adams saved the striker’s first effort and the rebound, but following a few seconds of deliberating the referee adjudged the ball to have crossed the line and awarded a third goal to Drumchapel.
And the Glasgow side added a fourth when Martin Orr fired past Adams, Templeton claiming another assist.
The Anvils threw the kitchen sink at it, but it was not to be their day and Drumchapel progressed.
Gretna: Adams, Moyles, Dickinson, Gormley, Condie, Bell, Caves (Short 72), Teviotdale (Patterson 78), Muir, Currie (Munro 78), Morris (Mbewe 45).
Subs not used: Main, Duffy.
Drumchapel: Lochhead, Orr, McLaren, Coleman, Bowers, Templeton (Deas 80), Finnigan (McInally 80), Docherty, Mackenzie, McWaters (Hardie 70), Grehan (Mills 70).
Subs not used: Glazier.
Ref: Blair Fraser
Reassess and go again
THE curtains fell on Gretna’s cup hopes for another year after they were beaten 4-1 by Drumchapel United at Raydale Park on Saturday.
Martin Grehan notched a hat-trick for the Glasgow side and Martin Orr added a fourth, while Lewis Bell netted the consolation for The Anvils.
Speaking after the match, Gretna goalkeeper coach Liam Robertson said: “It’s frustrating, I thought in the first half we didn’t really play the way we wanted to, in the second half we started really well, got the goal that we deserved and then I thought it looked like we were going to get it (the equaliser).
“And then, I’ll need to watch it back, but from where we were it looks like Ali has made the first save and then made the second coming forward, so I don’t know if it was over the line or not, but it’s deflated us.
“We’ve went all guns for it and got hit by the fourth, from our side it’s four frustrating goals to lose, we gifted them two in the first half.
“We’ll just have to reassess it and take it again.
“Football is a bit of a funny game, we had a bit of a go at the boys at half time and said to them 2-0 is a dangerous scoreline, if we get the next goal we are right back in it.
“We did that and we were right on top of them.
“We’ve got a hard run of games coming up, but we’re in that league for a reason, we’ve done well recently so we’ve just go to pick ourselves back up and look for the next three points.”
Gretna welcome Bo’ness United to Raydale Park tomorrow afternoon, kick-off is at 3 pm.
