Beith and Auchinleck Talbot are perceived as two of the top clubs in Junior football so it was only fitting that they served up an outstanding William Hill Scottish Cup spectacle on Saturday.

A healthy Bellsdale Park crowd were treated to a never less than exciting and fiercely competitive cup-tie in which Beith twice took the lead only for a typically battling Talbot to twice come from behind and eke out a 2-2 draw they probably didn’t deserve on the balance of play.

And the delight at earning a Beechwood Park replay was mixed with a degree of disappointment over the untypical paucity of his own side’s performance in visiting boss Tommy Sloan’s summations afterwards.

He said:”It’s fair to say I wasn’t best pleased with our overall display not least of all what appeared to be a lack of appetite on our part out there today so I’m very happy to get away with a draw.

“Beith played very well and I’m not wanting to sound disrespectful in saying we helped them look good however the fact their first goal was scored by Jamie Wilson after he broke through two tackles on the edge of out box speaks volumes.

“That would never have happened if we were on our game.”

Certain boxes require ticking if a 90 minutes match-up is to raise the blood-pressures of spectators and there is no doubt a moment of refereeing controversy with Beith leading 2-1 had home supporters reacting with predictable fury.

And hard to blame them after Talbot midfield dynamo Steven White ,already with a yellow card to his name ,blatantly brought down Kenny McLean as the Beith striker skipped past him and brought both sets of players to converge in an accusative melee while Talbot striker Graham Wilson received treatment .

Once peace had been restored, East based whistler Peter Stuart pulled a yellow card from his pocket but to everyone’s astonishment flashed it at McLean (must have been for something said) and awarded a foul to Beith.

Mighty defensive cornerstone Kevin McDonald said ,” That incident was something of a turning point as we felt Whitey was a cert to get his marching orders but he was left on the park to spearhead Talbot’s fightback over the closing stages .

“ Obviously it would have been easier to hold out against ten men but that’s no excuse for shipping a late goal when Gordon Pope was afforded acres of room at a free kick and blasted in an equaliser for 2-2 .

“Such small margins decide games often between evenly matched teams and losing a goal so late on felt like a defeat afterwards mainly because we had dominated for fully 60 minutes against a very strong Auchinleck side.

“Next week we have to do the same for 80 minutes or more because everyone knows they never give up until the final whistle blows.”

Auchinleck had started the better of the two sides but suffered a hammer blow with barely 15 minutes played when skipper James Latta had to come off with a shoulder injury to be replaced by Dylan Stevenson.

Visiting striker Keir Milliken then passed up a glorious opportunity for the game’s opening goal when firing over the crossbar but the sinner made amends approaching half time when his inviting cross from the left flank was volleyed home by Bryan “Butch” Young with the aid of a slight deflection.

The roar of approval from Talbot supporting throats was still being heard when Beith went upfield and levelled matters through Wilson’s well struck 18 yard shot that fizzed past Andy Leishman and proved to be the last touch of the first half.

Beith ‘s wresting control of the midfield saw a few openings carved out on the resumption of their own. and they deservedly took the lead when a slick interpassing move led to McLean clipping over a low cross that Nikky Docherty sidefooted beyond Leishman .

And they continued to look the more likely of the sides to score again until Pope’s late riposte ensured the sides will meet for the third time in eleven days next Saturday.

Meanwhile , Rob Roy and Hurlford United are the Super Premier Division pacesetters after both sides racked up second consecutive victories with Lee Gallagher (2) , Willie Sawyers and Kevin Watt on the mark as the Kirkintilloch outfit overcame Cumnock 4-2 while Ryan Donnlley netted the only goal of the game in Hurlford’s win away to Largs Thistle.

Arthurlie picked up their first point of the season with a 1-1 draw at Kilbirnie Ladeside for whom Ciaron McElroy netted an to cancel out a Scott Gair score for the Barrhead men.

A share of the spoils was also the outcome at Abbey Park where Kilwinning Rangers led early on with a Ben Lewis penalty kick awarded when Bryan Boylan was fouled inside the area however Glenafton fought back to level matters through Cameron Marlow.

And back on the rails after successive defeats are Pollok following a 3-1 Newlandsfield victory over Troon where a 2-0 lead earned by defenders Tom Hanlon and Colin Walker was halved by a goal from Troon substitute Adam Forsyth that promised to set up a rousing

But the home side prevailed to snatch another score by Liam Rowan that might atone for him missing a late penalty kick award.