Roslin Da Vinci hit late winner to leave The Jolly inconsolable

With The Jolly leading 1-0 going into the closing stages courtesy of James Reilly’s strike, Roslin seemed destined to be on the end of a cup final heartache.

However, Roslin coach Stuart Scott was delighted with the resolve shown by his players who managed to fight back from the brink of defeat.

Scott said: “I thought it was never going to come and it looked as if we were going to come up short. I felt we played better in the first-half than the second but a couple of the boys tired towards the end so we made some substitutions.

“The guys are delighted to win a cup in what has been a tough season as we have struggled to find any sort of consistency but next year we want to be pushing for the league.”

The surface at the Civil Service Sports Ground was in excellent condition and enabled both sets of players to keep the ball low which produced some crisp passing movements.

Roslin’s Stuart Paterson fired a shot straight at The Jolly goalkeeper Darren Marshall after good link-up play with Steven Baillie and continued to look the most threatening within the opening ten minutes. However, The Jolly almost gained the initiative with their first real opportunity of the contest.

A terrific run and pass from Scott Anderson gave Jamie Boyle a clear sight on goal from the edge of the area, but his rasping drive was tipped round the post by Roslin keeper Marc Stephen.

Another superb cross from Anderson then found striker Reilly free in the Roslin box, but the target man failed to keep his header down and it drifted harmlessly over the bar.

Despite the players’ endeavours in search of the first goal, a lack of composure in the final third of the pitch proved frustrating to both sides’ managers.

Shortly after the restart, The Jolly’s Anderson was the player guilty of passing up the game’s best opportunity.

Midfielder Boyle’s incisiveness was the key to finding the unmarked Anderson who charged down on goalkeeper Stephen and seemed sure to give his side the lead. However, the striker appeared unsure of his positioning and fired a shot prematurely which was straight at the goalkeeper.

The Jolly’s more positive start to the second-half was duly rewarded, however, moments later. With little in the way of options in the Roslin penalty area, Reilly, who had possession at the edge of the area, decided to try his luck and produced a fine strike into the far corner of the net to give his side the lead.

Roslin responded well with Baillie looking to emulate goal-scorer Reilly’s effort from outside the penalty box. However, on this occasion, the ball was too high to trouble Marshall in the Jolly goal.

Then Reilly should have doubled his tally after being put through on goal by Kevin Pacitti. The No. 9 won the race to the ball ahead of Stephen but with the angle narrowing, Reilly could only knock the ball wide of the target.

With Roslin throwing everything they could muster in the closing stages, their patience was rewarded when they grabbed an equaliser. With Scott Edwards having pushed forward, the defender drove the ball across a heavily congested six-yard box, and with the aid of a deflection, the Midlothian-based outfit were back in the tie.

Unwilling to settle for extra time, Roslin continued their surge on the Jolly goal. A long ball from Edwards into the penalty area was missed by everyone, including Marshall, but the ball clattered off the outside of the post.

Roslin’s jubilation, however, was confirmed with virtually the last kick of the game. Chris Robertson found acres of space down the left-hand side to cross, and with the Jolly’s defensive individuals posted missing, Paterson knocked the ball in with his second attempt after Marshall had made a last-ditch attempt to deny the striker.

Roslin Da Vinci: Marc Stephen, Barrie Davidson, Daniel Scott, Kevin McBeth, Scott Edwards, Ross Connell, Murray McRae, Steven Baillie, Stuart Paterson, Michael Wilson, Paul Smiles, Craig Edwards, Darren Connell, Rory Edwards, Chris Robertson, Terry McBeth.

The Jolly: Darren Marshall, Paul Murray, Ryan Rodgers, Daniel Donoghue, Callum Conaghan, Kevin Pacitti, Harry Turner, Jamie Boyle, James Reilly, Scott Anderson, Liam Robertson, Ian Crease, Ryan Campbell, David Millar, Robin Williams, Robert Thorburn.