Ross County booked their place in the last-eight of the Viaplay Cup with a dramatic 4-3 extra-time victory over Airdrieonians.
The Staggies struck twice inside the opening 10 minutes to hold a commanding lead, although Callum Gallagher found the net to give the hosts hope.
Simon Murray was on target minutes later to restore the two-goal advantage for Malky Mackay’s side but they would be stunned as their cinch Championship opponents launched a dramatic fightback late in the second half.
Gallagher calmly despatched a penalty with nine minutes remaining and the Diamonds would level matters in the final minute when Josh O’Connor seized on some poor defending to drill the ball home.
It would take extra time to settle matters and substitute Eamonn Brophy was the hero for the Premiership side, heading home to secure their place in the quarter-final stage for the first time since 2020.
County opened the scoring after six minutes with the first meaningful attempt on goal in the match, Murray laying the ball on to Kyle Turner to curl a brilliant shot beyond Josh Rae.
The visitors doubled their advantage two minutes later and this time Turner turned provider for Jordan White who was perfectly placed to slide the ball home from close range.
The visitors survived a scare when Ross Laidlaw had to tip Jack Baldwin’s sliced clearance behind for a corner before the visitors’ goalkeeper then produced an excellent point blank stop to prevent Aaron Taylor-Sinclair from narrowing the deficit.
After a poor start, Airdrie were finally settling into the match and Murray Aiken went close after an impressive surge into the box.
The hosts got their reward for their attacking pressure when Adam Frizzell fizzed the ball across the face of goal for Gallagher, who made no mistake with a powerful finish.
Airdrie’s reprieve was to be short lived however, just three minutes after reducing their arrears, Murray got the better of Taylor-Sinclair and the striker then shot past Rae to give County some breathing space.
Craig Watson saw his effort drift just past the post as the Diamonds threatened in the opening exchanges of the second half but they would find chances increasingly difficult to come by as the game progressed.
They would be handed a late lifeline when Steven McLean awarded a penalty after Baldwin took down sub O’Connor, and Gallagher made no mistake in tucking away the resulting spot-kick.
Buoyed by Gallagher’s goal, the home fans urged their team on and O’Connor gave them what they wanted when he took advantage of confusion in the County back line and slammed the ball low beyond Laidlaw to ensure at least another 30 minutes.
The visitors restored their advantage with four minutes left in the first half of extra time, Brophy meeting Dylan Smith’s cross with a diving header that left the Airdrie keeper with no chance.
The final minutes saw the County penalty box bombarded with crosses but their defence would hold firm to secure their place in the next round.
Pedri: 'Everything going well' with Barcelona contract talks
Pedri says "everything is going well" in the talks over a contract extension with Barcelona.
The youngster has played in all 13 of Barcelona's LaLiga matches this season, helping them to sit top of the pile, with 11 wins so far.
He has already proved key in their midfield, with none of his team-mates making more interceptions than him (eight, level with Pau Cubarsi and Lamine Yamal), while he has also scored three times.
Barcelona sporting director Deco has made no secret of his desire to sign the 21-year-old to a contract extension, and Pedri issued a promising update on the talks taking place.
"I'm very calm, my agents are handling it, I haven't had any news, everything is going well," he told Sport.
Pedri has suffered from hamstring injuries since 2021, after playing 73 matches for club and country in the 2020-21 season.
He missed a total of 25 games for Barcelona and Spain last season, including the semi-final and final of Euro 2024, having been forced off in the early stages of La Roja's quarter-final win over Germany.
However, his injury troubles look to be behind him this season, and he is hopeful he can stay settled in the Barcelona side.
"Physically, I feel good. I have consistency, which makes me enjoy football," he said. "It's a great start to the season and I hope it will continue for a long time.
"Both in the national team and in Barca, I feel comfortable. It is positional football.
"It [his injury issues] was given more airtime, perhaps because I was playing in important tournaments [for Spain] and at Barcelona, I didn't have that continuity.
"I'm working out my body. When you relapse, you look for solutions until you find the key. I have found what suits me well, and I have the continuity that I like."
Doncic backs Mbappe to turn fortunes around at Real Madrid
NBA superstar Luka Doncic has backed Kylian Mbappe to "figure it out" after his underwhelming start to life at Real Madrid.
Mbappe has scored eight goals in 16 games for Madrid in all competitions since joining as a free agent following the expiration of his Paris Saint-Germain contract.
He has gone four matches without a goal – a run that includes losses to Barcelona and Milan – and has been left out of France's latest squad.
However, Dallas Mavericks guard Doncic – a Real Madrid supporter due to his previous ties with the sports club – can see Mbappe turning things around.
"Obviously [their season] could be better," Doncic told Managing Madrid after the Mavericks' win over the San Antonio Spurs on Saturday.
"But when you get a guy like Mbappe, it takes some time to get used to it. We'll figure it out."
Mbappe has scored six goals in 11 LaLiga appearances for Madrid but has underperformed his season's expected goals (xG) total by 2.04.
The forward is averaging a goal every 166 minutes in all competitions this term, compared to one every 88 minutes for PSG in his last of seven seasons in Paris.
Madrid thrashed Osasuna 4-0 last time out in the league to return to winning ways but still trail leaders Barcelona by six points.
Asked about his connections with Madrid, former Los Blancos basketball player Doncic said: "I follow Real Madrid every time.
"I grew up there. They taught me everything, so it's a part of my life. You can call it a secondary home.
"I learned a lot of stuff there and, especially, they gave me a way to be here right now [in Dallas]. I always appreciate that 100%."
Madrid return to action after the international break with a trip to Leganes on Sunday.
Real Madrid 0-4 Barcelona: Guijarro brace sets visitors up for Clasico glory
Patri Guijarro's first-half brace set Barcelona on their way to a thumping 4-0 win over rivals Real Madrid in Liga F on Saturday.
Claudia Pina and Alexia Putellas were also on target as Barcelona continued their perfect start to the season, extending their lead at the top of the table.
The visitors dominated from the off, as Guijarro broke the deadlock inside the fourth minute, tapping in from Putellas' flick-on from a corner.
Cata Coll was forced into a big save to deny Alba Redondo an equaliser shortly after, but Madrid's hope was soon dented as Guijarro picked out the bottom corner with a superb long-range strike for her second.
Pina strengthened their lead six minutes before the break, clinically slotting past Misa with her low strike.
Putellas added some more gloss to the scoreline with four minutes remaining of normal time, beating the Madrid keeper with a lovely dink to bring up her 199th goal for the club.
Barcelona have won all 10 of their games, and now sit eight points clear of Madrid, who suffered their first league defeat of the campaign.
Data Debrief: Total dominance
Madrid will have felt fairly confident coming into this game after a strong start to their season, but they once again failed to find a way past their Clasico rival.
Los Blancos have lost every single game they have played against Barcelona in all competitions, with this their 15th such meeting.
Barcelona smothered their attack early on, restricting their hosts to just one shot in the first half, while they had 10.
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