Owen Paterson's late penalty seals Jags win over brother Ross' Lossie side
Register for free to read more of the latest local news. It's easy and will only take a moment.
Strathspey Thistle battled their way into the next round of of the Highland League Cup with a 1-0 win over Lossiemouth at Grant Park on Saturday.
An 87th minute penalty from Owen Paterson saw the Jags through to the last eight, where they will take on Fraserburgh – who won 9-0 against Deveronvale.
It was also a first win of the season for the Grantown side.
The game was extra special for Forres-based Paterson as he was facing his brother, Lossie midfielder Ross, in a competitive fixture for the first ever time.
He said: "I scored one in pre-season so I got the ball and nobody was taking it off me.
"I felt confident when I was stepping up and taking it because I thought I had an alright game – and I wanted to get one over Ross!
"It was weird playing him. I felt sorry for my mum and dad. My mum was a bit anxious before the game but it's just one of those things.
"During the 90 minutes we weren't near each other, really, but after the game we shook hands and now we'll be best mates again.
"We got the warning last night from our mum and she said 'I want a fair game!' but she was fine today.
"I feel for Ross a little bit but I'm sure Lossie will bounce back and hopefully it will kickstart our season."
Lossiemouth started the better side, with Dean Stewart seeing a free-kick tipped wide for a corner, which he then headed just over the top.
Ryan Farquhar raced through one-on-one after latching onto Brandon Hutcheson's ball over the top on 23 minutes, but Strathspey keeper Steve Martin did well to smother the ball at his feet.
The visiting side grew into the game throughout the half and had two efforts before half-time – first when Jack Davison sliced wide from 25 yards and then when Michael Mckenzie's shot was bravely blocked by Stewart's head.
Into the second half and the away side picked up where they left off before the break. Allan Kerr – playing centre-half – almost bundled home Ross Logan's cross on the hour mark.
With just a little more than 10 minutes to play, Mckenzie dispossessed Stewart on halfway and raced through on goal, but shot a yard wide of the post.
The game was seemingly headed for penalties before a moment of madness from Lossiemouth goalkeeper Ollie Kelly with just four minutes to go.
After gathering a ball into the box, he dropped it down to clear up the park – but was tackled by Owen Loveland, who he then pulled back to deny him the chance to slot into an empty net.
Referee Harry Bruce awarded the penalty and Owen Paterson calmly slotted into the bottom right-hand corner.
The goal sparked a manic end to the game, with a sensational goalline clearance from Kerr denying James Leslie an equaliser after he was teed up by Ross Morrison 10 yards from goal.
Three minutes into stoppage time, Owen Paterson appeared to foul Hutcheson in the box – but no penalty was forthcoming as Strathy held on.
Lossiemouth manager Frank McGettrick said: "First half we played quite well and had two or three good chances.
"Second half we were outfought. They are a big, strong side, and it was a silly goal we lost.
"Over the piece they did the basics better than us and deserved to win. It was disappointing from us.
"There are no excuses, we were beaten, fair play to Strathspey and good luck to them in the next round."
Lossiemouth have Nairn County on Wednesday in the North of Scotland Cup, while Strathspey Thistle take on Forres Mechanics at Mosset Park.
