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Bo'ness rode their luck at times in their first home match of the season, but ultimately emerged comfortably on top against one of the strongest opponents Division One has to offer. Though the BUs looked questionable defensively in the first half, the goal touch which deserted them last weekend at Armadale (and returned so spectacularly against the same opposition in midweek) was in full evidence at Newtown, including two fabulous strikes from Gordon Herd.
Indeed, the frustration of last Saturday's blank scoresheet was eased as early as the seventh minute. Despite a ragged start for the home side which might well have seen Whitburn take the lead, it was the visitors' defensive frailties which were exploited first. When the Whitburn defence failed to clear a poor cross, Jamie Loney stole the ball inside the box, and cut the ball back for Davie Muirhead to hammer home from ten yards.
Bo'ness were fortunate to be in front, but their lead proved to be short-lived. Just eight minutes later, Whitburn's No. 10 collected the ball from a throw-in, held off a challenge from Muirhead, and shot low beyond Ewan Wilson in the Bo'ness goal for a deserved equaliser. Just three minutes later, Wilson made a fine save from a header by Whitburn's No. 6 from eight yards out, as Whitburn looked to turn their early superiority into a lead.
But after last Saturday's fruitless assault on the Armadale Thistle goal, there was a kind of perverse justice in operation as Bo'ness, still the second best team, restored their lead after 24 minutes. Not that there was anything second rate about Gordon Herd's goal. Picking the ball up at the halfway line as Bo'ness broke from the back, Herd ran at the defence, beating two, then taking the ball around the goalkeeper before again showing his terrific composure to slot home from a tight angle.
Whitburn nearly struck back immediately, their goalscorer seeing another effort shoot just past Wilson's right hand post, but Bo'ness were steadily improving, and looked capable of adding to their own tally. However, at the half-time whistle, there was almost a sense of inevitability about a second Whitburn goal - just minutes before the break they should have equalised from a long ball up the park, but their goalscorer fired over the bar from an excellent position just inside the Bo'ness box.
As it turned out, however, Whitburn's best chances had passed by the interval. The home team's defence looked rather more assured in the second half, while Whitburn continued to look vulnerable. The point was emphasised after 54 minutes, when a superb long diagonal ball released Jamie Loney on the left wing. Whitburn's goalkeeper rushed out of his box to avert the danger, but misjudged and was beaten to the ball by Loney, who took it past him and coolly finished for Bo'ness' third.
The goal gave Bo'ness a comfort zone, and they duly looked very comfortable from that point on. Whitburn looked to have run out of ideas going forward, and gifts from the defence were not forthcoming. As they pushed forward, Dougie Todd played a superb long pass for Herd to run onto after seventy minutes, and the centre forward scored a delightful fourth goal, chipping the ball neatly over the advancing goalkeeper from the edge of the box.
With the contest effectively over, Whitburn allowed their frustrations to get the better of them in the final twenty minutes. With quarter of an hour to play, they finally achieved their objective of kicking the outstanding Herd out of the game - he limped off to be replaced by Alan Ward. Then Whitburn's Calum Milne was involved in an unsavoury incident with Todd, the former raising his hands to the Bo'ness midfielder to ensure his expulsion, while Todd escaped - probably correctly - with only a yellow card.
Of more concern to Bo'ness was David King leaving the field on a stretcher in the final minutes after a challenge (although there was no obvious foul play) in midfield. One worrying note on an otherwise highly satisfactory day for United. If the overall level of the performance fell short of last Tuesday's 7-0 demolition of Armadale, a 4-1 defeat of many people's favourites for the divisional title is hardly something to grumble about.
Bo'ness United: Wilson; King, Dillon, Donald, Loney, Smith, Kemp, Todd, Muirhead, Mooney, Herd.