Thorn Athletic in cup action as they face Glasgow Harp

Tomorrow's away tie in the Douglas Smith League Cup gives the Johnstone team the chance to bounce back after a disappointing 1-0 defeat at the hands of Wycombe Wishaw Wanderers in the Caledonian Premier League last Saturday.

The defeat at the Ravenscraig Sports Complex, coupled with a 2-1 victory for title challengers Dumbarton Academy at home to Cambria, means it was a matchday to forget for Thorn.

Their third league loss of the season followed a similar pattern to its two predecessors as it proved to be another tale of missed chances.

The away side dominated the ball for large spells of the match and looked determined to get revenge for their 3-0 defeat to Wanderers in the reverse fixture at the start of February but poor decision-making at key moments meant they failed to convert their domination into goals.

Thorn captain Ryan Crawford produced an impressive performance in midfield, earning him the Man of the Match award, but Wanderers scored the only goal after 55 minutes when Jordan Dunn netted a header.

That proved to be decisive as the visitors struggled to threaten the home team.

Thorn boss Johnny McEwan said: “We were eventually punished for not being ruthless enough offensively but the blame doesn’t just fall at the door of our strikers.

"We defend as a team and we attack as a team and we need to give our strikers more support.

"There’s been a turnover of players in recent weeks and I’m confident that, once we get the new boys settled in, they’ll make a difference and we’ll hopefully see the benefit of that as a club with some positive results.”