Montrose claimed a 3-2 victory over Dundee II in the Challenge Cup group stage on September eighth. The hosts took control early and held on despite a late rally from the visitors. E. Loudon opened the scoring in the fifth minute before doubling his tally thirty minutes in. Dundee II responded through R. Bland sixty-two minutes out but Montrose regained the lead when J. Sutherland found the net seventy-four minutes from time.
And here's the thing about that opening spell — Montrose were already two goals ahead before Dundee II could settle into anything resembling rhythm. Loudon's second came thirty minutes after the first, a pattern that suggested the hosts knew exactly what they wanted. By then the visitors had managed only five corners to Montrose's six, though possession told a different story entirely.
Dundee II pushed back with purpose. L. Wiseman pulled one back eighty-three minutes out to set up a tense finale, but Montrose held firm. The hosts made seven goalkeeper saves to the visitors' six, suggesting the chances were being created but not necessarily converted. Both sides registered nine shots on target with identical fifty-six percent accuracy.
To be fair, the statistics reveal a match where territory meant little. Dundee II dominated possession at sixty-three percent and completed sixty-two attacks compared to Montrose's fifty-four. Yet both teams created zero big chances, which says something about how the game played out — plenty of movement, not much clarity in the final third.
Montrose's three-goal margin leaves them with a positive goal difference after four games. The visitors remain winless in their opening Challenge Cup fixtures, having lost three of five matches across all competitions this season. Montrose, meanwhile, have won three in a row following defeats to Alloa Athletic and two other recent outings.