■ Lee MacDonald rises unchallenged to head Bonnyrigg Rose into an early lead at Wardie

Third division Bonnyrigg Rose gave Hutchison Vale more than a few scares in the first round of the South East Region Cup at rain soaked Wardie.

It wasn't until the final quarter of this game that the first division side finally edged themselves comfortably ahead as their stronger squad and substitutions made an impact. Until that point, the side from Midlothian had given a terrific account of themselves with Lee MacDonald up front putting in an outstanding performance, ably fed a supply of balls by Blair Park in centre midfield.

But Vale were worthy winners in the end and the goal that won the tie was the pick of the bunch as Scott Ritchie's 25 yard thunderbolt flew into the top right hand corner of the net giving Rose goalkeeper, Simon Innes, no chance.

More heavy rain had fallen over lunchtime making the Wardie pitches soggy underfoot. They were playable but the condition of many pitches across Edinburgh does not augur well for the autumn and winter ahead.

It was Bonnyrigg Rose that appeared most conditioned to the pitch as they took the game to their higher league opponents from the off. Displaying an air of confidence in possession they pressed Vale back and took the lead after just 5 minutes. A corner on the right was floated into the centre of the box by Connor Carmichael where it was met by Lee MacDonald. The striker's powerful downward header gave Allistair Elliot no chance and Rose were ahead.

As expected Hutchison Vale surged forward to get an immediate equaliser but the Rose back four of Michael O'Brien, Lewis Wilson, Andy Thomson and the excellent Sean Porter held firm. This quartet combined with goalkeeper, Simon Innes, to keep the first division side at bay and apart from a few last ditch tackles Vale struggled to create anything.

Indeed on 16 minutes, Bonnyrigg had a terrific opportunity to go two ahead. Tam Carter awarded an indirect free kick in the box for a back pass to the goalkeeper. The ball was touched to Lee MacDonald 16 yards out and he drove a powerful shot off the base of the left hand post. The ball was then played back into the front post where MacDonald clipped a side volley inches over the bar.

Hutchison Vale continued to surge forward at every opportunity and Bonnyrigg's defence was at full stretch on more than a few occasions. They finally snapped on 26 minutes when Vale equalised. Good play on the left by Tyree Wilson saw the ball played across the goal to the unmarked Ryan Tennant who had the easiest of jobs of passing the ball into the empty net.

Hutchie had a wonderful chance to go 2-1 up just moments later when Scott Coleman was played through the middle but he lobbed his shot over the keeper and the bar and the chance was gone.

The remaining minutes of this half were played exclusively in the Rose half of the pitch with Tyree Wilson, Scott Ritchie, Ross Patterson, Scott Coleman and rampaging full back Kieran Watson all having a go but Bonnyrigg stood firm and went in deservedly 1-1 at the break.

Half Time 1-1

Bonnyrigg had enjoyed a great 40 minutes. Confident on the ball with Connor Carmichael and Blair Park having a great contest with big Scott Ritchie in the centre of the pitch. When they played the ball on the deck they looked a good football team but inevitably, as the pressure grew, the temptation to just clear their lines became greater. Unfortunately it mostly kept coming back!

And 5 minutes into the second half the pressure eventually told when Rose, for once, failed to clear properly. Kenny Aitchison won the ball back on the right hand side and lifted a brilliant cross towards the back post where it was powered under the base of the back of the net by the onrushing Ross Patterson.

It looked like the Edinburgh side would now go on and win the game handsomely but Bonnyrigg had other ideas and on 49 minutes Lee MacDonald scored his, and his side's, second of the match to draw the teams level once again. The ball was played to the wee striker on the left edge of the box and he lofted it brilliantly over Allistair Elliot before celebrating seeing it nestle in the bottom right hand corner of the net.

This tie was back in the balance and with Rose growing back in confidence it was difficult to say which way this game might go. Then, out of the blue, the consistently impressive Scott Ritchie hit a wonderful 25 yard first time shot that flew past the high diving Simon Innes and bulged the top right hand corner of the net.

Vale then made a series of substitutions in the midfield and forward areas and this proved the undoing of the tiring Rose side.

On the hour mark a quick corner wasn't dealt with adequately enough by the Bonnyrigg defence and Ross Paterson pounced to slam the ball home from inside the six yard box.

Then, after a series of close chances, Hutchison Vale put this game out of sight with a decisive fifth goal on 73 minutes. Andrew Summers cracked a shot off the underside of the bar and, after the ensuing scramble, the ball was eventually bundled over the line by Scott Coleman to put extra shine on the scoreline.