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What a game this was - nine goals, including three for BU midfielder David Muirhead, four penalties - two converted, two missed - and ultimately three precious and merited league points for Bo'ness. If the defending on the part of both teams left something to be desired, this was, from a pure entertainment point of view, easily the best game Bo'ness have been involved in this season. It was played at a rip-roaring pace for ninety minutes, dramatic and incident packed and, for the most part, more even than the final margin suggests. It also meant a measure of revenge for the BUs, knocked out of this year's League Cup on penalties by Fauldhouse, and then beaten 3-0 in a controversial league encounter at Newtown.
Bo'ness came closest in the opening exchanges. Within minutes of the kick off, Martin Mooney hit the top of the bar direct from a corner kick. Then with 12 minutes played, Gary Smith got down the right flank to put a ball into the box, but when it fell for Muirhead fifteen yards out, his weak effort was only stabbed straight into the goalkeeper's arms.
Within a minute of that miss, however, Fauldhouse posed their first real threat. Bo'ness would struggle to defend set-pieces all day, giving up two goals from corner kicks and one from a free kick, and the first indication of the problems to come was given when they failed to clear properly from a corner; the ball was played to Fauldhouse's No.10 in a dangerous position, but he could only hit the side netting.
But with 18 minutes gone, Fauldhouse did draw first blood from a corner swung in from the right. Binnie came off his line to collect the cross, but lost track of the ball and was punished when it was nodded in at the far post.
Bo'ness, though, made a positive response and were level within three minutes through a brilliant David Wood goal. Picking the ball up in his own half following another Fauldhouse corner, the pacy winger ran at the defence - getting the break of the ball as he took on the last man - and then kept his cool to fire the ball past the 'keeper.
But Fauldhouse were presented with a great chance to restore their lead on 24 minutes, when the referee awarded a bizarre penalty - his gestures indicating the reason to be holding, although the offence was far from obvious. (Regular readers will be noting a running theme with these mystery penalty awards - three this season - although I swear I am neither blind nor excessively biased.) Whether the award was justified or not, Bo'ness certainly did not deserve to be trailing after their efforts so far, so justice of some sort was served when Ian McMurray sent his low shot from the penalty spot wide of Binnie's left hand post, with the goalkeeper going the other direction.
Penalty number two came seven minutes later, with 31 minutes played. Mooney hit a brilliant long pass to Gordon Herd at the edge of the penalty area, with the latter being fouled as he turned his man to shoot. No questions, surely, about this award, and no questions either about the penalty kick itself, Muirhead extending his recent run of successes from the spot to put Bo'ness ahead.
Muirhead was on the scoresheet again after 41 minutes, meeting a Wood corner from the right with a diving header from ten yards to double the visitors' lead.
Fauldhouse, though, had another great chance to put themselves back within touching distance before the break, when they were given their second penalty in stoppage time. Not much doubt about this decision (well, except maybe questions of whether the foul was in the box or just outside, but let's not be picky), a Fauldhouse forward getting one on one with Binnie, then being brought down after knocking the ball past him. That the goalkeeper received only a yellow card was a major relief - and he then made amends for his indiscretion by diving to his left to brilliantly save the low penalty from the home side's No.6.
Blimey Charlie! And that was only the first half...
Incredibly, the second half was every bit as frantic and eventful as the first. It appeared the best option for Bo'ness would be to take the sting out of the game in order to keep Fauldhouse at arm's length for as long as possible; however, five minutes after the restart, Fauldhouse were back within one goal, when McMurray rose to head home a free-kick swung in from wide on the left.
The BUs again responded superbly, recognising that they would need at least one other goal to win the contest. On 55 minutes they restored their two goal cushion, Herd heading in an excellent Wood cross from the left.
But the away side were not out of the woods yet. With 63 minutes gone, Dougie Todd needlessly gave away an avoidable corner kick. Not particularly clever given the struggles Bo'ness were having against Fauldhouse's set pieces, and they were duly punished when the corner, flighted in from the left, was headed in to make the score 4-3.
This time, Bo'ness's response was even quicker. Within a minute they moved up the park, Herd's cross from the right finding Wood at the far post, where he volleyed in from close range.
Despite the two goal lead, the feeling was that the game was not quite safe. McMurray served notice of Fauldhouse's continued threat after 73 minutes, when he picked the ball up midway inside the BUs' half, went on a surging run and was unlucky to only hit the post with a fine low drive from 20 yards.
That might have set up a thrilling finish, but instead, three mintutes later, Bo'ness finally put the game beyond doubt. Smith went on a run into the box and was clipped by a defender from behind, leading to the game's fourth penalty. Muirhead emphatically completed his hat-trick with his second from the spot, smashing the ball beyond the helpless goalkeeper.
It might have been 7-3 five minutes later when Herd jinked his way into a dangerous position in the penalty area; he delayed his shot and was crudely brought down from behind. The most blatant foul all day, but the referee had clearly decided four penalties in one game was quite enough, and deigned not to give it. By some distance the worst decision of the day, although in truth Herd had a clear opportunity to bury the ball before he was fouled.
Herd had another chance to get his second with three minutes to play when he ran onto a superb Muirhead through ball, but from a tight angle he could only send his shot agonisingly across the face of the goal having beaten the goalkeeper.
There can have few better games to watch in Scotland on this Saturday afternoon, although for Bo'ness an important three league points was of greater concern than entertainment value. Nice bonus, though.
Bo'ness United: Binnie; Smith, King, Todd, Yates [capt], Muirhead, Hodge (Love), Mooney, Jeffrey (Ryan), Herd, Wood (Donald).