Breadalbane entertained Arbroath side Portcullis Amateurs in the first round of the North of Tay Cup, keen to avenge last season’s Scottish Cup defeat at the hands of the Angus club.

The home side opened the match brightly, with Smith, Carr, Price and Laing regularly combining to good effect on the left flank. Indeed, this was to be the source of Breadalbane’s opening goal in 20 minutes when yet another Carr cross created panic in the opposing penalty box. Under pressure from the inrushing Lee Veitch, the Portcullis defender succeeded only in heading past his own keeper to give the blues a deserved lead.

Portcullis were far from out of the game, however, and proved especially dangerous on the break as they tried to exploit the pace of their two front men on the open spaces of the home park. Indeed it took two splendid saves from veteran keeper Garth Menzies to preserve Breadalbane’s narrow lead. One in particular, from a thunderous free kick, proved true the old adage that goalkeepers, like fine wines, just improve with age.

As the first half drew to a close, the home side appeared to have stretched their lead. Gavin Price powered home a far post header and the referee apparently turned to award the goal. However, amid protests from the defence, he made a u-turn quicker than David Cameron on grammar schools and instead signalled a free kick for an apparent shove by the big striker.

Any perceived injustice seemed to have little adverse effect on the home side as they continued the second half in increasingly commanding fashion, with Stefan Klatschak, patrolling the midfield like a sprightly Neil Lennon, proving a particularly influential force. It was Klatschak himself who doubled Breadalbane’s lead to cap a man-of-the match performance. Loitering outside the box, a half-cleared corner dropped in his vicinity. Despite appearing to slip at the vital moment, Klatschak showed accomplished technique to hammer home a volley that would not have been out of place in the Champion’s League. The bewilderment on the faces of the home fans at such a rare occurrence was matched only by that of the midfielder himself, who seemed to have no idea how to celebrate the occasion.

From there, Breadalbane commanded the match and increased their lead shortly after. Despite missing a glorious opportunity just seconds earlier, the ever-willing Ross Laing took full advantage of a defensive mix-up to poke a leg between goalkeeper and defender and trundle the ball over the goal line

Match Highlights