Livingston WFC sealed their place in the Scottish Cup Quarter Finals, with a dramatic penalty shoot out win over Gartcairn. Goals from Ashley Elizabeth and Eilidh Begg levelled the game to a 2-2 draw in Extra Time, before goalkeeper Schenai Gamrot made two decisive saves in the shoot out.

There were five changes from last weekend’s loss to St Johnstone, with Mike Ross forced to freshen things up with the absences of a few players. Schenai Gamrot, Fiona Walker, Sharon Hughes-Lee, Ashley Elizabeth and Emma McFadyen would come in with a slight tweak to the usual formation.

The opening stages of the game saw Gartcairn have the better share of the possession despite not creating many scoring opportunities. The game shot into life just before half time, with Livingston having a few warning signs, with Shannin Mulligan and Eilidh Begg going close.

The opener came just before half time, with Ashley Elizabeth rewarded for her tireless running in the first half. A long ball forward found Eilidh Begg, with the midfielder intellignetly cushioning the ball into the path of Elizabeth who fired a low half volley into the bottom corner.

Gartcairn came out the second half hungry for an equaliser, posing a much greater threat on the Livingston goal. The away side were boosted by a Livingston red card, with Courtney McAvoy receiving her marching orders for a kick out on Gartcairn captain Abby Skelton.

The rest of the second half saw Livingston try to hold on to their lead, but a late goal from Fern Newbigging levelled things up. The substitute fired home from inside the box after a series of chances, taking the game to extra time.

Extra time got off to an electric start, with Gartcairn building upon their momentum by taking the lead almost instantly from the restart. Megan Wands found herself free to finish a one on one beyond Gamrot, and give the away side the advantage.

However, the game was level again immediately after with Eilidh Begg scoring her first goal for the club. A Livingston free kick found Shannon Mulligan who forced a good save from the Gartcairn keeper but Begg was there to tap in and level things up yet again.

No further breakthrough was made as the 10-women Livingston held on resiliently to take the game to a penalty shoot out. Schenai Gamrot would be the hero, saving the first and the last penalties, following Natasha Frew, Jen Dodds, Vhairi Munro and Bryony Ross’ successful spot kicks. Gamrot saved Fern Newbigging’s penalty to deny sudden death and send Livingston through to the quarter finals of the Scottish Cup.

Match Report: Angus Mcgregor

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