This time last year the Lochwinnoch side defeated the Brandanes 7-1 in the same competition, but it was a measure of the strides made by the Rothesay men over the last 12 months that the home side were a little bit disappointed at only picking up a single point this time round, having led three times only to be pegged back on each occasion.

The Danes kicked off playing towards the High Street end of the park, but it was the visitors, playing down the slope, who were the first to show, their number eight blasting a shot well over Danes keeper Greg Fisher's crossbar after only three minutes.

Rovers looked comfortable with their passing game in the early stages, whereas the Danes preferred to run at their opponents, and Pattison won a corner in the sixth minute after a good run before a good strike from Livingstone wasn't too far away.

It soon became clear that the Viewfield defence was struggling to match the pace of Pattison and Brady, and it was the threat of Pattison which helped the Danes break the deadlock on 14 minutes when the attacker was brought down on the edge of the box after a good run, and as Rovers lined up their defensive wall, McKechnie surprised everyone with a quick free kick which left the visitors' defence napping and found the back of the net.

The goal ushered in a strong spell for Rothesay with Pattison, McKechnie, Brady, Alan Poole and Neil Whitelaw all bringing good saves out of the Viewfield keeper.

But the visitors steadily began to work their way back into the game and the hosts' lead was wiped out on 25 minutes when a nice passing move saw the ball worked from defence, through midfield and on to the visitors' number ten, who beat Fisher with a low strike to his left hand side.

With little besides pride to play for, Links United having sewn up the section's top spot with a 3-1 away win over Viewfield, both teams tried to play football in the remaining 20 minutes of the half, Pattison beating two men before seeing his shot come back off the keeper's feet before Fisher was forced to come out of goal and make a brave stop at the feet of the Rovers striker.

Whitelaw saw a good strike from distance fall just the wrong side of the post in what turned out to be the final attacking move of the half, but Viewfield came out the stronger side after the interval and gave the hosts a fright on 50 minutes when a speculative shot from outside the area which cannoned back off Fisher's upright before being scrambled clear.

But the Danes bounced back and took the lead just two minutes later when McKechnie picked up the ball inside his own half and played a great through ball to Brady, who left his marker for dead before firing past the Rovers keeper to put the hosts back in front.

Danes' Gary McGregor was forced to leave the field with an ankle knock on the hour, his place being taken by Craig Guy, but the change didn't interrupt the rhythm of the hosts, who were having much more of the game and were leaving the visitors struggling to cope with their pace.

But as the Danes pushed forward, more and more gaps were being left at the back, and the visitors took full advantage on 63 minutes when the Rovers striker found himself in space, rounded two Rothesay players and scored a good goal to level the game for a second time.

From the restart, though, the Danes poured forward and took the lead for the third time in 74 minutes when McKechnie swung a great cross into the Rovers box and Pattison rose above everyone to head the ball into the net.

By now the game was being dominated by the Brandanes, and Sean Lawrence thought he'd won a penalty after being pulled down inside the box, only for the referee to wave play on.

Joe McMillan came agonisingly close to a spectacular fourth for the Danes after a superb run from his own defence took him past half the visiting team, only for the Viewfield keeper to pull off a great save to stop the goal which the run deserved.

And with just five minutes left Rovers proved they had a sting in their tail when a deep cross from the right beat everyone but the Viewfield striker, who headed the ball back into the opposite corner of the net to level the scores for a third time.

The Danes had another strong penalty claim turned down in the last minute of the game when Lawrence was again pulled down inside the box, but again the referee waved away the claims and seconds later brought the curtain down on the afternoon with the final whistle.

The final analysis of the Danes' League Cup campaign sees the Rothesay men finish second from three in their section, with one point from their two games, trailing Links United at the top but edging out Viewfield on goal difference - though the Danes' two results mask a pair of fine team performances against good Premier League opposition, which should augur well for the Caledonian League campaign to come.

* That Caledonian League campaign kicks off this Saturday, September 6, with a trip to Glasgow to face Westerlands, who finished top of the Second Division last season ahead of the Brandanes prior to league reconstruction during the summer.

The game takes place at Norwood Playing Fields on Dumbreck Road and kicks off at 2.30pm.