Cumbernauld Colts lifted the Ferrari Packaging Scottish Lowland League Cup in only their 3rd season in the professional ranks after coming from behind and having to play for 50 minutes with 10 men.

A brace from top scorer Sean Brown and one from Murray ensured that the silverware returned to Broadwood, a result which was unimaginable after just 40 minutes when defender Davidson was sent packing for a second yellow card and already being a goal down..

The game took place at the home of Gala Fairydean Rovers which provided a slight advantage to the opposition with Selkirk being near neighbours and this may go some way to explaining a sluggish start by the Cumbernauld side. Selkirk enjoyed the majority of possession in the opening 20 minutes and received their just rewards when midfielder Banjo netted after some confusion in the Colts defence following a corner.

This provoked an immediate response by the Colts with Brown striking the post and then coming close with a back post header which ruffled the side netting. Piling on the pressure it appeared as if Colts had equalised in the 38th minute when the ball crossed the line but the Cumbernauld supporters’ joy was short lived when they realised that the ref had disallowed the “goal” after adjudging that Scott Davidson, in a Joe Jordan style, had used his hand to force the ball over. Davidson received his second yellow card for this offense and promptly received his marching orders.
The Colts played out the remainder of the first half with 10 men and managed to get into the dressing room without conceding further.

The second half began with the Colts looking to get themselves back in the game and they enjoyed a fair bit of possession as the Borders side looked content to sit on their lead. A couple of decent crosses into the Selkirk box came to nothing however and this prompted a substitution on the 60th minute when McKenzie replaced McMullan for the New Town side. This had the desired effect and on the 70th minute Brown found himself one on one with the Selkirk keeper, after latching on to a through ball by Holmes, and calmly slotted the ball home to level the match.

Selkirk responded immediately and spurned a couple of opportunities in front of the Colts’ goal whilst a shot from distance was also dealt with by keeper Fallens when he got down low to parry the ball away to safety.

The Selkirk pressure meant that they were vulnerable to the counter attack and on the 82nd minute substitute McKenzie found himself bearing down on the Selkirk goal only to find his angled drive being parried by the Selkirk keeper who was then helpless to do anything about Murray’s pass into the net from the loose ball. Colts then bravely replaced Holmes with another forward in the shape of under 20s graduate Paul Nash and the introduction of another pair of fresh legs proved to be decisive in the 86th minute when Brown, once again, found himself one on one with the keeper this time slotting the ball through his legs to put the tie to bed with his second and Colts’ 3rd goal of the game. Brown was then booked for removing his jersey in the resultant celebration but considering the circumstances I’m sure the Colts’ managers will be forgiving!

The Colts were not finished however and Nash brought out a terrific save by the Selkirk keeper when he found himself one on one less than a minute later. Colts then made their final substitution when they replaced another under 20s graduate, Jeff Fergus with like for like defender Lewis Wilson who helped the visitors see out the game and lift the cup.

A truly memorable day for this young Cumbernauld side and indeed the town as a whole which sees it’s first major piece of silverware return to Broadwood where over 500 community club players are waiting to celebrate the success.