Injuries, suspensions and work commitments meant the Rothesay men travelled to Edinburgh with a pool of only 13 players, but they acquitted themselves well against their top flight hosts and were unfortunate, after first half goals from Wesley Pattison and Neil Whitelaw, to lose out to a winning Links goal just nine minutes from the end in their opening game in the Douglas Smith League Cup.

From the start Rothesay made inroads towards the hosts' goal, forcing a corner in the second minute before Pattison cut a good ball back to Whitelaw, who saw his 30-yard shot whistle just over the Links crossbar.

The hosts, though, soon settled and began to look comfortable on the ball, and the Rothesay back four were struggling to form themselves into a cohesive unit, only a good save from Greg Fisher in the Danes goal stopping Links taking the lead in 13 minutes.

The visitors' defensive problems came back to haunt them seven minutes later, though, as Links striker Lumbert Katelega was allowed to run through the Rothesay defence unchallenged and gave Fisher no chance with a well struck shot from 12 yards out.

The loss of the opening goal gave the Danes a wake-up call, and the visitors soon went on the attack, Iain Livingstone in particular causing all sorts of problems to his marker - problems which eventually saw the Rothesay man hauled down by a bad tackle on the edge of the area, causing him to leave the field for five minutes to receive treatment.

Rothesay now looked a far better team going forward, with Whitelaw and Darren Harper getting up in support of the front runners, and on 24 minutes Links central defender Enzo Vettorato made a real mess of a good high ball into the home penalty area, and Pattison was quick off the mark to seize possession and level the scores with a right foot shot past keeper Kevin Swain.

From the restart both teams tried to play attacking football, but six minutes later Links went back in front, Jordan Leishman scoring from the penalty spot when the referee penalised a dubious-looking handball offence by one of the Rothesay defenders, despite loud protests from the visitors.

Links now had their tails up, and only a fingertip save by Fisher stopped the hosts increasing their lead in 39 minutes - but that escape gave the visitors heart, and a return to their favoured passing game paid dividends when Whitelaw's inch-perfect pass to Pattison saw the Danes attacker beat centre half Baboularr Jallon before being pulled down just inside the box.

Being a clear goal-scoring opportunity it really should have been a red card offence, but the referee was content with a yellow card and penalty kick, and Whitelaw made no mistake to level the game for the second time.

Only a good save from the Links keeper prevented the visitors going in front on the stroke of half time, and Rothesay were the first team to show in the second half, with two early corners putting the Links defence under pressure.

With play swinging from end to end this was a good game for the spectators to watch, and the small band of travelling supporters were glad to see the Danes' back four look a lot more solid than in the first half, allowing the midfield to get much further forward than in the opening period.

Though the Rothesay men seemed to be getting on top, Links looked very quick on the break, and a good passing move just on the hour took the hosts to the edge of the Danes' area, where only two good saves in quick succession by Fisher kept the score at 2-2.

As the game entered its final quarter Rothesay were more than holding their own, but in 72 minutes a bad, bad decision by the referee - who, in fairness, had had a good game up to that point - left the visitors open-mouthed in astonishment and arguably turned the game back in favour of the home side.

Good play in midfield by the Danes saw Pattison make a good run into the Links penalty area, and the Rothesay man rounded the keeper and had the goal at his mercy before being pulled to the ground. A sure penalty? Not according to the man in black, who waved play on and later, when asked to explain his decision, said he thought Pattison "went down too easy".

The Danes' superior fitness levels were beginning to tell on the game, but with only nine minutes to go Links won a corner kick and Michael Easter was allowed to rise unchallenged to power a header past Fisher and put Links in front for the third time in the match.

Danes manager Henry Tait introduced Liam Tait and Malcolm Brown for the closing stages, in place of Livingstone and Stuart McKechnie, and though the Danes finished the game on the attack in a bid to salvage a draw, there was no further scoring and Links emerged with full points at the final whistle.

Despite the defeat, Saturday's game showed Rothesay can compete at this level of football, and gives several signs of encouragement for the rest of their League Cup group section, and for the Caledonian League Division One campaign which follows.

Team: Fisher, Williamson, McMillan, McGregor, Poole, Whitelaw (c), McKechnie (L. Tait), Harper, Livingstone (Brown), Pattison, Lawrence.

* The Brandanes have a free day this Saturday, August 23.