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Bo'ness convincingly saw off visitors Armadale Thistle in this league match to close to within a point of leaders Whitburn at the top of the table as they continued their magnificent run which has seen them go unbeaten since October.
There was rarely much doubt about the outcome of this one. It was a slow start to the contest - the only notable incident of the opening fifteen minutes being a fine long range drive from BUs full-back Gary Smith, whose shot from 30 yards flew just wide of the goalkeeper's left hand post with nine minutes played.
Then, with sixteen minutes gone, Bo'ness made the breakthrough - a Martin Mooney corner from the right flank found Derek Yates at the far post, where he headed powerfully into the net, giving the goalkeeper no chance.
Three minutes later Armadale produced their first threatening moment, a header inside the penalty area going just over the bar. But Bo'ness continued to look the more likely. With 22 minutes gone, there was a near carbon copy of the opening goal. The only difference - after Mooney's corner from the right again found the head of Yates at the far post - was that this time, a defender's head managed to clear the effort off the line. David Muirhead might have made something of the rebound, but scuffed his attempt.
It was against the run of play, then, that Armadale equalised on 27 minutes with their first shot on target. Nothing wrong with the goal, though - their No.9 making a quick raid down the left wing, before cutting inside to slide a ball into the path of Armadale's No.11, who swept the ball with minimal fuss past the helpless Neil Binnie.
Bo'ness, however, responded well to the setback. Four minutes later, a header down at the edge of the box sent Herd in on goal, but the goalkeeper did well to come out and block the forward's effort with his legs. Then, with 35 minutes played, Scott Love took the ball for a run inside the final third, cutting in from the right, and was dreadfully unlucky to see his curling left foot effort from the edge of the box hit the goalkeeper's right hand post, before the ball was cleared to safety.
Well, safety of sorts. From a resulting throw in, a headed flick sent the ball into the danger area, and Graeme Donald reacted quickest to slide the ball into the net from six yards, restoring the home team's lead.
As Bo'ness continued to press in the closing stages of the half, Armadale must have been relieved to hear the half-time whistle. But the break was to prove only a temporary respite. Just a minute into the second half, the outstanding Iain Ferguson showed his battling qualities as he won the ball from a defender in a dangerous position, then slipped the ball to Herd, whose effort was well stopped by the goalkeeper.
Then, two minutes later, Ferguson produced a splendid headed flick to give Herd the chance to drive at goal. From just outside the box, and under pressure, the foward's attempt hit the post, although this time it rebounded kindly to Donald on the left hand side of the penalty area. With time to assess his options, he slid the ball across for Ferguson - now joining the forefront of the attack - who, unmarked and facing an empty net with the goalkeeper unable to recover, tapped the ball in to double the lead.
That goal left Bo'ness very much in charge, and then with 61 minutes played, the game was effectively killed off when Love hit a fine cross into the box from the right flank, and Herd connected superbly with it to direct the ball into the 'keeper's right hand corner.
Muirhead might have made it 5-1 with twenty minutes to play, but was closed down well by the goalkeeper inside the box as his shot was blocked. Four minutes later, Armadale appeared to have a reasonable shout for a penalty kick when Binnie appeared to trip a visiting forward, but no award was forthcoming from the referee.
The home team rounded off the scoring eleven minutes from time with a second goal from Ferguson. The big forward robbed Armadale's No.5 on the edge of the box, leaving him with a clear run on goal, and proceeded to walk the ball around the goalkeeper and then up to the goal line, pausing briefly before knocking the ball over the line.
In the closing minutes David King came close with a decent long range effort, and Armadale nearly cut the deficit when their No.9 went on a good run down the left flank, but after cutting inside his effort from eight yards was disappointingly hit straight at Binnie, who made the stop.
Overall, a highly pleasing performance from Bo'ness, and a win with greater comfort than might have been predicted before the game. With five goals to add to the seven they scored last time they met Armadale at Newtown, the BUs might wish they could play this fixture every week.
Bo'ness United: Binnie; Smith, King, Todd, Yates [capt], Muirhead, Love (Hodge), Mooney, Ferguson, Herd (Jeffrey), Donald (Wood).