The Excelsior stadium welcomed Kirkintilloch Rob Roy and Harmony Row as they went head to head in the hopes of clinching cup final glory in the Scottish Youth FA Cup.

After a hard fought 90 minutes and extra time from both sides, Kirkintilloch sealed themselves victory on penalties after Callum McAuley’s excellent save of Ben Harwood’s powerful shot, which was ultimately the deciding factor in the tie.

Both teams set the tone for the fixture early on as Kirkintilloch’s Greg Miller piled on the pressure for the Harmony Row Goal Keeper, Dylan Austin; while Harmony Row’s Greg Murphy had a series of crunching tackles.

As Harmony Row found themselves comfortable within the game, the fifth minute saw Charlie Freedman race up the left hand side before firing the ball into the back of the net, only to have the effort called offside.

It wasn’t long before Kirkintilloch were hitting back at the other end though, as Miller had a shot that was taken comfortably by Austin in the sixth minute.

It was in the 14th minute, however, that Kirkintilloch caught a break as Kian Gilday sent an excellent ball over to the opposite side of the box to Luke McNiven, who picked out the feet of Fraser Dawson in the box. Dawson calmly slotted the ball past Austin and Kirkintilloch found themselves 1-0 up within the first 15 minutes.

After a series of long balls that didn’t seem to come off for Harmony Row, their determination paid off in the 27th minute after they gained a crucial corner that would change the dynamic of the game once again.

The effort brushed the head of Harwood but didn’t come off as he may have hoped; however, it fell behind him for Kieran Robb, who fired a low shot into the left-hand corner of the net, bringing the fixture even once more at 1-1.

After equalising, Harmony Row seemed to gain the confidence to take hold of the match, Harwood in particular continued to send wonderful balls into the box before one dropped for Kyle Elrick who was unable to take advantage.

As the second half kicked off in Airdrie, Harmony Row seemed to be on the front foot as Harwood, who remained a constant threat throughout, had some quick stepovers before his effort was blocked by the Kirkintilloch defence in the 47th minute.

As both teams found themselves competing for the winning goal, the centre-backs at both ends were putting in a solid defensive shift, with Harmony Row’s Goal Scorer Robb fighting tirelessly be the first to every ball, while Kirkintilloch’s Cameron Henry had a series of crunching sliding tackles.

It was the 53rd minute that could have been the game-changer for Harmony Row, as Elrick raced down the right-hand wing and fired it low to Chrissy Drennan who was taken out by McAuley. Harmony Row seemed to be out of luck though as the referee was not interested in the calls for a penalty kick.

While it seemed to be all Harmony Row for a short spell, Kirkintilloch had a chance in the 68th minute as Kyle Ferry sent a great cross into the box for Blair Murdoch, who’s shot was well blocked by Reiss Johnston.

As the 75th minute approached, extra time seemed to be looming, but Harmony Row’s Drennan, Robb, and Murphy found themselves in the right-hand corner, maintaining a solid defensive unit as Kirkintilloch continued to pile on the pressure.

There was end to end action as extra time seemed to be approaching, after a free kick for Kirkintilloch in the 85th minute, the ball dropped for Matthew Laing but he was unable to put his team in front as he sent his shot over the bar. The two sides would have to settle for an action-packed extra-time.