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Bo'ness were a shadow of the team who crushed Bonnyrigg 5-1 the previous weekend, stumbling their way to a thoroughly unconvincing 0-0 draw at Arniston Rangers. Though the result in itself was not a bad one - a point would probably have been deemed a satisfactory outcome before the game - the performance saw a marked downturn on the opening two league fixtures, the BUs barely able to string passes together. Arniston themselves will be disappointed also, always on top but not nearly dangerous enough in a game which took seventy minutes to kick to life.
The first half was a dreadfully scrappy affair, bereft of a single clear chance until the very end. Bo'ness struggled to keep possession, too many unimaginative long balls going astray, and Arniston struggled to do anything threatening with theirs. There were half, or quarter, chances. The BUs' debutant goalkeeper showed quick reactions to keep out one header on 17 minutes, then five minutes later was the solitary Bo'ness chance of the first period - a corner kick flicked on by the head of Jeffrey at the near post, but tipped over the bar by the 'keeper. On 32 minutes, Arniston's No.9 forged space for himself to shoot from 20 yards, but his weak effort was easily saved to the goalkeeper's left.
A minute from the break came the first genuine moment of danger from the home side - despite Derek Yates' claims of offside, the Arniston No.9 broke free and chased onto a ball down the right flank. The BU captain was able to scramble back to apply some sort of pressure, and from an angle the forward's shot was deflected wide of the near post by the 'keepers legs.
This moment of excitement looked like a false dawn, however, as the second half carried on for the most part in similar vein. Arniston were frustratingly lacking with the final ball, Bo'ness lacking with even the first ball, frequently surrendering possession in their own half. The nearest Arniston came to a breakthrough in this period was, tellingly, when an attemped defensive clearance by Dougie Todd bounced off an attacker at the edge of the box and almost fell for a team mate to strike at goal.
The quality certainly didn't improve in the final twenty minutes, but at least the excitement level did as Bo'ness, boosted considerably by the substitute appearance of Martin Mooney, and sensing that they could yet snatch an unlikely victory, began to push forward more. On 73 minutes, Graeme Donald, under pressure, toe-poked a volley wide following a cross from the right. Not really close, but worth mentioning as a rare example of Bo'ness attacking.
Though Bo'ness were showing more aggression at last, Arniston were still making the better chances. With 79 minutes played, the No.10 found space to shoot on the left-hand side of the box - the best shooting chance of the match. But his rising effort across goal was excellently blocked by the goalkeeper, before the ball fell to the Arniston No.12, whose own effort, with the 'keeper struggling to get back in position, was charged down by the defence.
Seven minutes left, and Arniston were exposing the BUs down the right - a superb low cross ball beat the goalkeeper and just needed a touch in from two yards at the far post, but Gary Smith slid in to save the day for Bo'ness, hooking the ball over the bar for a corner.
Mooney had an opportunity to shoot from the edge of the box as the match moved into stoppage time, but dragged his effort wide - disappointingly, for a player with a good track record from such positions. And there was still time for Arniston, four minutes into stoppage time, to cause one more moment of panic in the Bo'ness defence, when a corner kick from the right was flicked on, but dramatically cleared off the line by an overhead kick from a Joe Savage overhead kick.
Poor fare overall. Even in the more entertaining final 20 minutes, mistakes, misplaced passes and woeful Arniston crosses were still central to the game. It's a point Bo'ness will be happy with given the performance. Arniston will be less happy, but for all their dominance, it might still be questioned whether their own showing was worth three points.