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Bo'ness advanced to the last eight of the Fife and Lothians Cup with a hard fought win over Fife club Rosyth in a game in which the two teams had to battle not only each other, but a stiff wind and frequent showers of snow. Iain Ferguson, a hero last season for the BUs as he fired in the late goal which won the East District First Division, made his return to Newtown with his new club - but alongside the return of a familiar face there were a couple of new ones in the Bo'ness line-up, with Kevin Donnelly making his home debut (after playing in the Scottish defeat at Glenafton), and former Northern Ireland international George O'Boyle appearing for the first time.
Bo'ness, the wind at their backs, began this tie in strong fashion. After just five minutes Kevin Thomas drew a superb reflex save from the goalkeeper when a Dougie Todd ball into the box fell for him via a defender's head, the volleyed effort from fifteen yards tipped over the bar.
The opening goal soon followed after that warning shot. Ten minutes in, Bo'ness won a somewhat soft free kick 25 yards out on the right, and the strike from Donnelly took a wicked deflection off the wall, looping past the helpless goalkeeper and into the net for a 1-0 lead.
Bo'ness were dominating the first half and had chances to add to their lead before the interval. With 24 minutes on the clock, Thomas played Jamie Winning through on the goalkeeper with a superb flick on the edge of the box, but the young forward was soon closed down and saw his effort parried. The ball fell for O'Boyle, however, who seemed certain to score with the goal at his mercy, but he scooped his shot on the turn over the crossbar. A minute later Chris Dolan got on the end of a ball into the box, but his volley from an angle cleared the bar.
Rosyth's first half opportunities had been limited - one shot over the bar and, five minutes from the break, the No.5 had a strike from a tight angle beaten away by Mark Cairns, restored to the Bo'ness goal after a period out with injury. But the question remained whether, at 1-0 at half time, Bo'ness had done enough with the wind to face in the second period and the possibility of another second half fade.
Any such anxieties looked to be eased shortly after the restart when, on 47 minutes, Winning demonstrated his pace, collecting a long through ball and charging into the box away from the defence, before rolling the ball neatly past the goalkeeper to double the home advantage.
The same player might have virtually wrapped up the win four minutes later when, after a high ball into the box from Donnelly, a defender's header fell for Winning inside the box, but his low shot went wide left to keep Rosyth alive.
Then, just a minute later, with 52 minutes gone, the Fifers were not just alive but right back in the tie with something of a freak goal. The No.11 did superbly to chase a long pass which seemed destined for touch and keep the ball in play down the left flank, before heading to the byeline and playing in a low cross which squirmed past Cairns and inside the near post.
From what looked like a position of comfort Bo'ness were now under threat, and Rosyth grew in confidence as they began to impose themselves in the middle of the park. But they struggled to create obvious chances in the next 25 minutes, with Ferguson kept at bay and forced to drop deeper, while Cairns atoned for any part he might have played in the Rosyth goal by impressively commanding his penalty area. There was a real opportunity for the visitors on 76 mintues when the ball dropped for their No.7 ten yards out, but with the defence desperately scrambling to block the shot, he blazed the ball disappointingly over the bar.
The tie should have been put beyond doubt two minutes from time when Martin Mooney got through and past the goalkeeper. His task was made more tricky as he was forced wide to the byeline to the left of the goal but with the goalkeeper out of position and two players awaiting a cut-back, he opted, having taken a touch to compose himself, to slide the ball in from a tight angle only for his effort to be blocked.
Still, it seemed this would not matter as the clock ticked into stoppage time, then deeper into stoppage time, until with 93 minutes gone Rosyth had a golden chance to send the game into extra time. A free kick from the left flank was sent to the far post and knocked back across goal for the wide open Rosyth No.14 who seemed certain to score with a free header from little more than six yards, but Cairns made an incredible diving save to claw the ball off the line before the ball was hammered to safety.
An entertaining ninety minutes despite the conditions, with the BUs just about edging it to deserve their quarter final place.
Bo'ness United: Cairns; Smith, Dolan, Todd [capt], Burrows, Muirhead, Mooney, Donnelly, Thomas (Jeffrey), O'Boyle, Winning (Ryan).