Sean McIlroy held his nerve last night to earn Beith a vital penalty shoot-out bonus point after a dramatic Garnock Valley derby.
The Mighty striker blasted home the deciding spot-kick to clinch a 4-3 triumph as Johnny Millar's men mounted a Valefield rescue mission.
An early David Ramsay strike and Keir Milliken's own goal had Kilbirnie Ladeside 2-0 up at the interval.
However, a dressing down in the dressing room shook Beith into life with Paul Frize's brace ensuring a point apiece.
It all came down to penalties with Beith's trialist keeper Michael White saving from Mark Ferry before Blasties No 1 Kieran Hughes denied Joe Bradley.
Kilbirnie's Peter McGill would then blaze his effort over the bar which paved the way for McIlroy to seal the deal for Beith.
Millar's men will move into the knockout stages of the Sectional League Cup if they match or better the result in Kilbirnie's clash with Ardrossan Winton Rovers, when they travel to Dalry Thistle tomorrow night.
The Beith gaffer said: "We weren't at the races in the first half and a few harsh words were said at half-time but I thought we dominated the full second half.
Sean McIlroy fires home the penalty shoot-out winner for @BeithJuniorsFC who beat @KLFC_official 4-3 on spot-kicks after 2-2 draw to get the bonus point at Valefield. pic.twitter.com/tPdQ1mWvUl
— Ayrshire Junior Football News (@AyrshireJuniors) July 29, 2019
"I just need to give credit to the boys. We created more chances than them in the second half.
"It's good to have [qualification] in our own hands but I've never been down and had an easy game at Dalry and I'm not expecting an easy game."
Ramsay fired Kilbirnie into a sixth-minute lead before a Jamie Longworth header from Jon Scullion's corner rattled the post.
The Blasties doubled their advantage in the 41st minute when Milliken misjudged a long ball forward and ended up heading the ball into his own empty net.
But if the first half belonged to Kilbirnie, the second stanza was Beith's and they reduced the deficit in the 55th minute through Frize.
And it was midfield maestro Frize who levelled it up on the night with a long-range drive which gave Hughes, who had brilliantly denied McIlroy seven minutes earlier, no chance to ensure the shoot-out where Beith prevailed.
Disappointed Kilbirnie boss Liam McGuinness said: "I thought we done reasonably well in the first half but we didn't really come out in the second half.
"It's still early days and I'd rather this happened in the League Cup than in the league or West of Scotland Cup. These things happen but there are definitely positives."
