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Despite having half of their first team missing, Bo'ness ran out deserved 3-1 winners over Musselburgh in this league clash at Newtown - a nice way to warm up for the forthcoming Scottish tie at Maybole. Two goals from John Jeffrey, his first for the club, sent the BUs on their way before the points were wrapped up late on by a fabulous strike from David Wood.
Bo'ness looked the more likely to score early on. Gordon Herd had a volleyed chance from fifteen yards in the opening ten minutes, but didn't get enough behind his effort to trouble the goalkeeper. Then Herd turned provider, finding Greig Hodge with a low pass inside the box, but under pressure the latter's shot could find only the side netting.
But with about twenty minutes played, Bo'ness did make the breakthrough. The ball was won in a scramble 25 yards from the Musselburgh goal and knocked to Jeffrey in space, who stabbed the ball home to the goalkeeper's left with a low shot.
In a well contested, and occasionally frantic, first half Musselburgh looked a tidy side, but their play lacked a cutting edge. They came closest with a good header from a corner kick, though this was saved with comfort by Neil Binnie.
However, it didn't take long for Musselburgh to discover a cutting edge in the second half. They equalised after 50 minutes through their best move of the game so far; some good work on the left flank by the tricky No.7, whose cross from the bye-line was volleyed in at the near post.
The home team's response was not overly encouraging - they appeared rattled for the next few minutes as Musselburgh threatened to take control of the contest. But parity was short-lived - Bo'ness regained their lead on 54 minutes with their first attack since the equaliser. David Wood burst into the box down the left side, then his low cutback was collected by Jeffrey in a packed penalty area and placed beyond the goalkeeper.
On 72 minutes Musselburgh's no.7 was causing trouble again. A good run took him past a couple of defenders and into the box, but under pressure of a defender and the onrushing Binnie, he was unable to produce a finish. In general, though, Musselburgh looked little like scoring a second - the feeling was that a second Bo'ness goal would put the result beyond doubt.
That second goal might have come with thirteen minutes remaining, but a Muirhead drive from the edge of the box was well blocked by a defender. But Bo'ness did wrap matters up after 84 minutes through a quite fabulous Wood goal. The winger cut in the the left, held off the defenders' challenges and, with his right foot, planted the ball in the top corner at the far post.
Musselburgh had the ball in the net again in the dying minutes, but the goal was ruled out for offside.
Not a classic match, but an engaging enough one, and encouragement for Bo'ness ahead of the visit to Ayrshire. And a pleasing footnote: the referee did not need to produce a single yellow card.
Bo'ness United: Binnie; Dillon, King, Todd, Yates [capt], Muirhead, Hodge, Mooney (Kemp), Jeffrey, Herd (Ryan), Wood.