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Bo'ness United bounced back from last week's poor derby result and performance to turn in a much improved showing away to Dundee North End, eventually emerging 3-1 winners thanks to a hat-trick from the magnificent Gordon Abbott - although Bo'ness almost let the three points slip through their fingers before securing victory in the last fifteen minutes of an entertaining game.
With no recent meetings between Bo'ness and the Dundee club, this was certainly a journey into the unknown, with only North End's thus far disappointing league results giving some idea of what to expect. It became apparent early on that Bo'ness were facing much less stiff opposition than seven days earlier as the visitors dominated the opening exchanges, creating a number of chances. With five minutes gone, a quickly taken free kick by Abbott allowed Chris Dolan a shooting opportunity from twenty yards out, but his cleanly struck shot was well saved and held by the goalkeeper.
Two minutes after this, Bo'ness were threatening again as a high ball into the box bounced awkwardly for the defenders, enabling Kevin Thomas a headed chance, but he nodded the ball over the goal from 12 yards. Thomas had another opportunity in the air on 16 minutes when Graeme Donald found him with a dangerous cross, but again the forward could only head over.
A goal was looking inevitable at this stage, and it duly came with 17 minutes played, scored, appropriately, by Abbott, who had been causing the defence all sorts of problems on the right flank so far with his pace and dribbling. But for the goal, it was more a case of the defence causing themselves problems. Two defenders got in each others way thirty yards from their own goals, losing the ball, and Abbott collected, burst through on goal, and calmly knocked the ball low past the advancing 'keeper.
The good early work was nearly undone within a minute, however, as North End advanced up the park from the kick off, but BU goalkeeper Jamie Campbell won a real scramble for the ball inside his box.
Bo'ness continued to dominate, having the great majority of efforts on goal, although their hosts did display some resolve. In pursuit of an equaliser they did manage to get the ball forward with frequency, though in the first half, playing against a notable (if not overwhelming) wind they were unable to carve any real opportunities. Bo'ness came closest to adding to the scoreline after 37 minutes when John Jeffrey, cutting in from the left, forced a good one-handed save from the goalkeeper.
Bo'ness hadn't taken advantage of their chances as they might have, but nevertheless, a goal up and well in the ascendancy, the travelling support had a right to be in confident mood at half-time. And two minutes into the second half, now playing against the wind, there was another chance as Thomas found a well-placed Jeffrey with a cross from the right, but the headed effort went straight to the goalkeeper.
Then, it started to go wrong for Bo'ness as North End's response was to move up the park before the No.17 swung in a fine low cross which the No.10 met well, sneaking ahead of his marker, to volley in from six yards at the far post and level matters at 1-1.
Bo'ness had another chance four minutes later when Thomas knocked a Dougie Todd cross wide of the right post from close in, but in this spell of the game the BUs superiority was much less evident as the home side found confidence and began to push forward more, enjoying a good spell over the next twenty minutes. With 61 minutes gone a ball into the box bounced out of the control of Paul McCluskey, presenting Dundee North End's No.12 with the chance to volley from fifteen yards, but his left footer was easily saved by Campbell.
And the home team came closest to taking the lead after 66 minutes from a corner kick. Their set pieces caused problems throughout the match for the BU defence and this time a corner from the right wing found the No.19 at the far post, but his close range header was blocked at the post by Campbell, before a chaotic scramble ensued in which Campbell stopped another goalbound effort before the ball was hacked away to safety.
Sighs of relief for the Bo'ness support, quickly followed two minutes afterwards by sighs of exasperation as another chance went begging. This time, the North End goalkeeper charged out of his box to clear a loose ball, though his clearance fell to Jeffrey. However, with the goalkeeper off his line, Jeffrey's strike from thirty yards went straight to a defender on the line, who was able to fire the ball to safety.
The balance of play was swinging back toward Bo'ness, however, and at last they found a second goal after 76 minutes with a fine move, Todd and David Muirhead sweeping the ball wide left to Dolan, whose excellent high cross to the far post was volleyed back across goal and into the net by Abbott.
There were still nervous moments when North End earned set piece chances, but for the most part Bo'ness were creating the better chances. There was controversy on 84 minutes as Jeffrey, under pressure from a defender, charged through on goal only to be met by the goalkeeper thirty yards out, who clearly handled the ball as Jeffrey tried to knock the ball around him. The punishment - only a yellow card - was met with howls of disapproval from the Bo'ness support, though as the ball was not heading into the net, and as a covering defender was more likely to pick up the loose ball than Jeffrey, the referee arguably got a very tough call right.
But any lingering sense of injustice was eased in the 90th minute, when, following a throw-in, the ball was played to Dolan down the left flank, whose low cross from the bye-line was met by the diagonal run of Abbott, and tucked in with a one-touch finish at the near post, completing his hat-trick and a sensational return to the starting line-up.
Bo'ness weren't able to coast home in this match as they could have, had they taken their chances, but it was an ultimately satisfying win with some excellent performances, most notably from man of the match Abbott, but also from such as Campbell and McCluskey. Inconsistency continues to be the rule at Newtown Park - what odds a horrid performance next weekend?
Bo'ness United: Campbell; Smith (Ryan), Dolan, Todd, Yates [capt], McCluskey, Abbott, Donald, Thomas, Muirhead, Jeffrey.