Dundee win & Motherwell through – Premier Sports Cup round-up

Dundee defeated Lowland League team Bonnyrigg Rose 3-1 on the road in the Premier Sports Cup group stage, although they had to work hard to earn their first victory under Steven Pressley.

After losing to Airdrieonians and Alloa Athletic, Pressley’s team received harsh criticism because they had little to no chance of making it to the round of 16.

After 20 minutes, Clark Robertson gave the Scottish Premiership team the lead, but Cameron Ross pulled them back just before halftime.

Before late goals from Emile Acquah and Billy Koumetio saved Dundee’s blushes, Bonnyrigg played strong defense and appeared to be headed for a point.

With nine points, Alloa leads Group C, and Airdrieonians, in second position, can guarantee Dundee’s elimination when they play Montrose on Wednesday.

On Saturday, Dundee will play Montrose at home to round up their group-stage games.

In other matches, Falkirk overcame a deficit to defeat Queen’s Park 3-1, and Motherwell defeated Greenock Morton 3-0 to guarantee their spot in the next round.

Kelty Hearts held Kilmarnock, the other Premiership team playing, to a goalless draw on penalties, preventing them from earning a bonus point as the League 1 team won 4-3 on penalties.

Brian Graham’s first goal for the team and a double from Ethan Ross put Falkirk ahead.

Josh Fowler’s early goal for Queen’s Park put the Bairns behind, but they came back to keep their undefeated record in the competition.

The other match in Group A saw Cove Rangers defeat Brechin City 3-0 at Glebe Park. The visitors took a 2-0 lead thanks to David Eguaibor, and Mitch Megginson added the last goal.

The Spartans are in third place with six points, while Cove is one point behind Falkirk with seven.

Falkirk will play Spartans on Saturday to finish their group-stage games, while Cove will travel to Queen’s Park, which is in fourth position.

Ross County and Partick Thistle both have a chance to win Group B if they defeat lower-league opponents.

Thistle defeated Queen of the South 2-0 with to goals from Aidan Fitzpatrick and Tsoanelo Letsosa, and County defeated Edinburgh City by eight goals thanks to a hat-trick from Ronan Hale.

Thistle leads the group with nine points, but when the teams play on Saturday in Dingwall, County, who have seven points, can pass them.

At Somerset Park, Ayr United dominated Forfar with three goals in the first half, extending their perfect League Cup start.

Scott Brown’s team currently has nine points from their three games after goals from Dom Thomas, George Oakley, and Curtis Main.

Before halftime, Arran Pettifer of Arbroath scored a hat-trick to give his team a 6-0 victory over Annan Athletic.

To secure the top spot, Ayr would only need to draw away to St Mirren on Sunday.

At East End Park, Dunfermline Athletic defeated Hamilton Academical 2-1.

Although Oli Shaw equalized after the interval, Lee Kilday’s own goal just before halftime gave Dunfermline all three points. Andrew Tod had given the home team the lead before halftime.

With six points, Neil Lennon’s team will play Stirling Albion on Saturday to wrap up their group stage.

As St Johnstone defeated Raith Rovers and Inverness Caledonian Thistle stopped East Kilbride’s momentum, there were plenty of goals in Group F.

Despite leading their Highland opponents, SPFL newcomers East Kilbride lost 6-2 despite winning their previous two games.

Additionally, St Johnstone won 3-1 thanks to goals from Jamie Gullan, Josh McPake, and Makenzie Kirk, making it three wins in a row.

When they host Elgin City on Saturday, the Perth team, who lead the group with nine points, will want to win four straight games.

If they made a mistake, Inverness could defeat Rovers on the road and surpass them.

Being the first team to go to the knockout stages, Motherwell’s star player was Tawanda Maswanhise.

After Apostolos Stamatelopoulos had tapped in the first goal, the Zimbabwean forward doubled Motherwell’s lead with a nice low finish, but his second of the night was even better.

Maswanhise sealed all three points by cutting inside from the left and bending a lovely curling shot from outside the box into the top corner.

In another Group G match, Clyde defeated Stenhousemuir 4-3 on penalties following a 2-2 draw.

With one game remaining, Stuart Kettlewell’s team leads Group H despite Kilmarnock’s frustration at Kelty Hearts.

Despite having 19 shots and controlling the ball, the Ayrshire team was unable to break Kelty down after 90 minutes and lost 4-3 in penalties.

With Alan Trouten scoring twice in a 3-0 victory over bottom-place Brora Rangers, East Fife had no such problems.

East Fife and Livingston are each one point behind Kilmarnock, who have seven points from three games. After three games, Kelty has five points.

On Saturday, when Livingston plays Kelty and Kilmarnock hosts East Fife, everything will be up for grabs.