The belated union of 78-year old Beith Juniors and the ETHXenergy-sponsored Scottish Junior Cup took a massive step closer on Saturday when the Mighty ran out 3-0 winners in their semi-final first leg tie with Ayrshire neighbours Kilwinning Rangers.

And the manner of their deserved Bellsdale Park triumph suggests Beith have timed this first victory over the Buffs in five starts to perfection given they appear to have as good as one foot already in this season’s cup final going into next weekend’s Abbey Park second leg.

It’s undoubtedly advantage Beith who will surely have their tails up during preparations for the next 90 minutes instalment.

But a glimmer of hope for those dejected looking Kilwinning supporters in the near 1500 crowd trooping away at Saturday’s final whistle will surely come from believing their team cannot again perform so badly and will handle the pressure so much better in their own backyard.

And of the same mind is winning gaffer Johnny Millar who was certainly not thinking the last four clash is in the bag going by his post-match comments.

He said: "I’d much rather be 3-0 up than 3-0 down, but this semi-final is anything but a foregone conclusion at what is essentially half-time.

“Today’s game has hinged on Kilwinning missing the penalty kick - I felt it was a very soft decision in the first place - and our players getting a lift that has resulted in us getting a head of steam up to put the ball into good areas from where we have scored another couple of goals.

“And it was so fitting for big John Sheridan to head home our final goal as he was absolutely immense out there despite having struggled to be passed fit right up until last Monday night.”

The game’s first foul coming in just three seconds showed nerves were apparent in Bellsdale's opening 45 minutes that can best be described as woeful with defences totally dominant as both combatants lacked for inspiration in the forward going areas.

But six minutes after the interval came the much-needed spark of an opening goal netted from close range by Beith hitman Andy Reid.

He was in the right place to capitalise on strike partner Kenny McLean taking a fresh air swipe at a Darren Christie cross ball.

Within minutes Kilwinning came close to levelling when firstly Buffs substitute Bryan Boylan struck the post with an opportunist effort and the ensuing goalmouth scramble saw team-mate Ross Stewart brought down by an Ian Fisher challenge that whistler Steven Reid adjudged to be a penalty kick offence.

Buffs talisman Ben Lewis did not appear confident placing the ball on the spot and his tame scoring attempt was easily held down to his left by Beith goalkeeper Stevie Grindlay, much to the obvious delight of his team-mates.

This raising of Beith’s spirits culminated in the best move of the game and the doubling of their lead to 2-0 when Paul Frize’s surging run forward ended with a pass to substitute David McGowan, who teed up Christie for a low snapshot at goal that struck the upright on its way into the net.

Kilwinning’s dugout was then forced to remove injured stopper Martyn Campbell from the fray.

However, introducing striker Ian Cashmore proved their undoing in 81 minutes when a disorganised backline allowed Sheridan - the ETHXenergy Man of the Match- to rise unchallenged and power home a header from Richie Burke’s corner kick to make the scoreline read 3-0.

Buffs boss Chris Strain said afterwards: "We’ve had a chat in the dressing room about all manner of breaks going against us out there and nobody is too despondent even though our failure to play anywhere near the standards we’ve set ourselves this season was the main cause of our downfall.

“We have the capability and will be doing our best to put that right next week not least because everyone feels gutted for letting down our supporters today and we owe it to them to try and make amends.

“We came into this game on the back of a superb 20 game unbeaten run and I still insist our proud record remains intact because this particular cup game is played over 180 minutes and not 90 so let’s see where things are seven days from now.”

The wild cheering of Beith’s supporting throng was not in the slightest bit diminished by word coming through that their Super Premier Division placing had worsened as a result of basement rivals Arthurlie managing a 2-2 draw away to Glenafton to go above them in the standings.

Bottom markers won their first league match in ten starts thanks to Shaun Fraser heading home the only goal of the game against Kilbirnie Ladeside while Petershill's hopes of escaping the drop suffered another blow when losing 6-0 at home to title challenging Auchinleck Talbot for whom there were six different scorers, Martin McGoldrick, Dwayne Hyslop, Keir Milliken, Steven White, Mark Shankland and Graham Wilson.

Super First Division frontrunners Largs Thistle extended their lead to ten points after twice coming from behind to beat Yoker Athletic 3-2 through goals from Graham Muir, Kevin Struthers (pen) and Gary Fleming.