Amateurs: Civil Service Strollers claim draw from 5-1 down

Civil Service Strollers looked down and out against Dunedin Athletic before snatching a draw

Dunedin got off to a flyer as Ross Downie struck a peach of a free-kick into the top-left corner from 25 yards.

Strollers hitt back with an equaliser through Lewis Cavanagh but Dunedin dominated the rest of the half.

Downie finished off a quick break from his side to make it 2-1. Just a few moments later, he rounded off a first half hat-trick as his shot from wide on the left was deflected in past goalkeeper Raymond Adams.

Dunedin had a comfortable lead and they added to it before the break as Scott Downie fired in from the penalty spot to make it 4-1 before his namesake Ross grabbed his fourth and Dunedin’s fifth on the stroke of half-time.

Strollers looked down and out but they began the second half looking the better side. William Wells scored in the six-yard box before Adam Tait finished well to reduce the arrears.

Then, Callum McLelland was first to react to a loose ball in the Dunedin box to put them just a goal behind.

The comeback was well and truly on and, with 15 minutes to play, Strollers got back on level terms.

Michael Dunlop created space on the right of the box before smashing into the bottom-left corner to make it 5-5.

• Hermiston Vale edge 11-goal thriller

Hermiston VALE came out victorious with a tight 6-5 Championship win over Clermiston Star at Forrester High School.

In what was an incredible game on the 3G pitch, Clermiston gained the early advantage, Ryan Wilson making it 1-0 with a right-footed strike from outside the box.

It was a frenetic start and it set the tone for the rest of the game. Hermiston did well to reply quickly as Andy Morris headed in against his old club. With that goal, Hermiston were on their way and they never looked back.

The goals kept coming as Vale’s Jamie Aitchison finished off Alan Rutherford’s free-kick to make it 2-1. Then as the half progressed, a brace from Connor Aitchison and a goal from Jamie Aitchison the other side of the interval, meant Hermiston comfortably led 5-1.

Clermiston had been below par but they started to put things right early on in the second period.

Scott Gibson won possession at the heart of the Hermiston defence to send the ball in before Wilson went on a scoring spree with three goals to make it 5-5.

There was a frantic finish as both sides looked to nick a winning goal.

Chances passed both sides by before Hermiston made theirs count thanks to Derek Paterson’s late strike.

• EoS Cup progress for Tollcross

Tollcross Thistle reached the East of Scotland Cup fourth round with a 3-2 win over Camelon Albion at Saughton. Camelon struggled to deal with their opponents and the opening goal came with 20 minutes gone. A low ball into the box was turned in by Nick Coull.

Tollcross let their opponents back into the game just before half-time. Callum Heeps burst through the Tollcross defence to score one-on-one with goalkeeper John Nisbet.

The goal refocused Tollcross and they began to dominate but they couldn’t quite make their superiority count before the break.

But it wasn’t to matter, though, as they found the net twice to give themselves breathing space midway through the second half.

Michael Hornig delivered a ball into the Camelon box which captain Rees Allan nodded in. Then, shortly after the second, came a third. Ethan Rathore tapped in from close range off another Hornig assist.

At 3-1, Tollcross were cruising. Camelon hot back with another goal from Heeps but the Edinburgh outfit comfortably held out for the win.