When all hope seemed lost, Jamie Longworth found a glimmer.
With 93 minutes on the clock, EK were staring down the barrel of a 2-0 defeat and a seemingly insurmountable deficit against a team of Cove’s quality.
Heading north to Aberdeenshire knowing they would need to score at least three goals to progress inside 90 minutes would have been a huge ask against a side who haven’t lost at home all season.
But when the Kilby substitute latched on to Sean Winter’s header across the box, he showed the composure and quality that had been sorely lacking all game – giving EK a lifeline.
Turning his marker, he nudged the ball past a second defender before arrowing a strike into the far corner.
That last-gasp goal could prove the turning point in this tie.
And Kilby will be praying it is.
“I think going up there 2-0 down would have been difficult, so to get one back gives us a wee chance,” said Longworth.
“Towards the end it was looking like we might nick a goal, so we kept plugging away.
“The ball fell nicely to me and I’ve done well to get the shot away.
“It’s down to the boys keeping going right to the end and not giving up.
"We haven’t got anything to lose now being behind, so we’ll go up there and give it everything.
“Fingers crossed it is us who are celebrating and going into the next round.
“But we need to be switched on from the word go and firing on all cylinders to get there.”
So used to dominating games at Lowland level, East Kilbride were under the cosh for much of the match.
Cove could rue their profligacy in front of goal, given they could easily have put this tie to bed before welcoming EK to Balmoral Stadium.
And it’s hard to see the Lowland champions producing as poor a performance when the sides meet again.
Longworth added:“It wasn’t the best performance but in these games it isn’t about playing amazing.
“It’s about getting over the line. I think we took a bit of time to get going, but hopefully we go up there with a wee bit behind us after the goal.
“Cove scored at good times – quite early on and before half-time – and they pressed us quite high up the pitch.
“They didn’t let Graeme Holmes, Anton Brady and Owen Bell dictate the play – and they’ve been excellent for us the past few weeks.
“So maybe that hurt us and I think Craig Malcolm was a bit isolated at times.
“They are a good side. They’ve scored over 100 goals this season and hardly conceded any, so it was never going to be an easy tie anyway.
“Hopefully we can turn it around.”
Park: We caught Kilby cold
Cove Rangers midfielder Daniel Park reckons they beat EK at their own game after a quick-fire start handed them the advantage in the playoff semi-finals.
Park provided the assists for both Cove goals from corner kicks and he said: “We were expecting East Kilbride to come out the traps quickly,
so we thought we’d surprise them and do it ourselves.
“It definitely worked.
“With guys like Harry Milne and Scott Ross in the box you know if you hang it in there the boys will get on the end of it eventually, because they are aggressive in the air.
“East Kilbride are a good side, so if you’d offered us 2-1 before we came down, we’d definitely have taken it.
“It was a hard game, but they got the goal right at the end that means they are still in it.”
East Kilbride Thistle boss blasts ref for ruining their cup dreams
