A STUNNING 25-yard Bert Wright strike deep into stoppage time tipped the scales the way of Petershill in a thumping 4-3 confrontation with Glenafton.

Just watching from the sun-baked terraces in Springburn left me physically drained, yet both sets of players contrived to serve up a high-energy and hugely entertaining classic of a Junior football match.

This game sizzled from first kick to the last, with it taking the visitors only eight seconds to grab the opening goal.

The ball was sent out right to Daniel Orsi straight from the kick-off and his exquisite clipped cross was bulleted home by the head of Alain Kinney while a leaden-footed Peasy defence looked on.

Petershill responded with a spell of probing pressure which was orchestrated by midfielder Tony Stevenson.

Three glorious chances were created for Peasy striker Scott Sally. The first saw him fluff his shot with only Brian McGarrity to beat.

And with his third effort he beat the Glens keeper with a lob, only for the ball to carry wide of the target.

But, in between, the former Albion Rovers ace superbly guided a header from a Mark Lamont cross into the net.

Now fully recovered from their early setback, Petershill went 2-1 ahead when Richie Burke poked the ball home.

But another twist ensued straight from the kick-off as Kinney was felled inside the box by a Craig Palmer tackle.

The resultant penalty was slotted away with aplomb by the Glens frontman.

The home team suffered a blow when Jason Ellior limped off. But before sub Wright could even get on the pitch Stevenson received a lay-back from Sally and despatched an unstoppable 25-yard shot into the postage-stamp top corner to give Peasy a 3-2 lead.

Again Glenafton surged back upfield and came within inches of levelling once more in this ding-dong affair.

Sub Pat Walker, on for the injured Adam Strachan, raced clear and fired in a shot that Peasy keeper Steven McNeil touched on to his post before grabbing the rebound with Kinney waiting to pounce.

Not surprisingly the end-to-end action was considerably tamer in a second half that was dominated by Glenafton.

The show was being run at this point by Stuart McKernon but Glens' switch to a three-man defence looked suspect against the pace of Lamont and Sally on counter-attacks.

Midfielder Cameron Marlow passed up a glaring chance to level matters for the visitors when he headed wide with the goal at his mercy.

But he made amends with 17 minutes left to play when a sublime passing movement ended with Marlow ghosting in to cleverly sidefoot the ball home and make it 3-3.

Glens continued to enjoy more possession and, going into the closing stages, looked the more likely of the teams to snatch a winner. But they were undone two minutes into added-on time when Wright controlled a defensive header on his chest and surged past one opponent before sending a screamer past McGarrity.

AFTERWARDS the matchwinner said: "Suspension ruled me out of our first four games this season and ever since I've had to sit on the bench and wait my chance as the guys have done so well.

"So I'm hoping that my first goal for Petershill will show that I have something to offer and will lead to me getting a run in the team."

Gutted Glens gaffer Tommy Bryce conceded: "Wright hit an unbelievable blast that I knew was a goal from the minute it left his foot.

"But that doesn't soften the disappointment we all feel at losing out today.

"It was a great match, but not from my perspective, as we let ourselves down with bad defending at Petershill's first two goals.

"Lessons have to be learned from this if we are to make progress as a team."

Petershill's dramatic win lifted them to fourth spot in the league standings.

They're three points behind front-runners Irvine Meadow, who made it three victories out of three after a disputed Willie Sawyers penalty goal earned them a 1-0 success at Clydebank.

Meanwhile , Junior sides did the game proud in Saturday's William Hill Scottish Cup first-round ties.

They notched up five wins, a draw and one elimination, which came with Girvan's 3-1 loss at Whitehill Welfare.

Stewart Kean bagged a hat-trick as Junior Cup holders Hurlford United routed Clachnacuddin 7-1 up in Inverness.

And Graham Wilson, Davie Gormley, Steven White, Gordon Pope and Kenny Connolly found the net for Auchinleck Talbot as they battered Buckie Thistle 5-0.