IT was not to be for Lochar Thistle last weekend in the Cup Winner’s Shield as they lost 4-2 at home to Whitburn.
The two teams met on Saturday at a packed Wilson Park, with a place in next season’s Scottish Cup up for grabs.
Whitburn started the stronger of the two teams and went ahead after nine minutes when their big striker wriggled free on the right touchline. He crossed into the box and a glancing header was sent past Konar Pietsch.
Whitburn doubled their lead on 25 minutes in controversial circumstances. A knock on in the Thistle box resulted in a diving header making it 2-0.
Lochar started to find their rhythm in the final ten minutes of the half and brought themselves back into the game three minutes from the interval when Luis Dalziel’s curling effort from distance evaded the visiting keeper.
The hosts started the second half on the front foot and nearly drew level five minutes in when a Reece Irving cross was volleyed inches wide by Lewis Todd.
A couple of minutes later Robbie Hogg out stripped the defence but the Whitburn keeper made a great save to deny the attacker.
With sustained pressure Lochar had a really good shout for a penalty when Finlay Kennedy was bundled over in the box but no whistle came.
Lochar just could not unlock the shackles of the stubborn Whitburn defence, and against the run of play a slack pass in the Lochar midfield saw the away side break. And when the forward saw Pietsch off his line, he clinically lobbed the keeper from 40 yards to send Whitburn a step closer to the victory.
Kennedy tried to pull Lochar back into the game but saw two cracking free kicks crash off the bar.
The game was then put to bed three minutes from time when another counter attack saw a header at the back post being cushioned into the net to make it 4-1.
Hogg got Lochar’s second on the stroke of the final whistle when he tapped home.
Over at New Abbey, Ben Wallace and Dylan Bruce got the goals for Abbey Vale as they suffered a 5-2 league defeat to Newton Stewart.
