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Bo'ness were unfortunate to lose this entertaining home league game against Dundee club Lochee United, never fully recovering from the loss of an early goal despite a valiant effort to fight back in the second period with goals from George O'Boyle and a late beauty from Chris Dolan.
The game was only two minutes old when Lochee assumed control, Dougie Todd in the BU defence unable to bring a high ball under control, and the ball broke for the No.9 thirty yards from goal. His speculative volleyed effort found goalkeeper Mark Cairns off his line, and not able to back pedal quickly enough to stop the ball from dropping under the crossbar for a spectacular opening goal.
Stunned by this early setback, Bo'ness struggled defensively for the next twenty minutes as the visitors tested them with long, direct balls, which on several occasions called for an alert Cairns to charge off his line to clear the danger. The home side also had to cope with a defensive personnel change when an unfit Todd had to be withdrawn after only quarter of an hour.
Having started better, Lochee had an excellent chance to double their lead on 20 minutes when a ball across the park found the goalscorer onside and wide open on the left but, with time and space to produce better, his effort from just inside the box came weakly off the outside of his boot and was straightforwardly saved by Cairns, diving to his left.
Having gone in behind from a reasonably even first half, Bo'ness were disappointed to go 2-0 down early in the second period with 52 minutes on the clock. A dangerous cross from the left was tipped away well by Cairns but collected on the bye line on the right. A low cutback across goal followed and was stabbed in by Lochee's No.2 from six yards, leaving the 'keeper with no chance.
But the BUs did not allow their heads to go down and responded well. A minute later they produced a neat move up the right flank, O'Boyle flicking the ball on for Ryan to charge down the wing, and the latter's ball low ball into the middle was met by a tightly marked Winning, who was just unable to direct his effort away from the goalkeeper.
On 63 minutes, having started to dominate proceedings, Bo'ness were deservedly back in the game when Mooney laid the ball off to O'Boyle in a crowded box. The forward turned inside well to get a shot off from fifteen yards, and got a bit of luck with a deflection off a defender which took the ball past the helpless goalkeeper to make it 2-1.
Self-belief restored, the home team continued to apply pressure. On 68 minutes the Lochee goalkeeper did well to close down Winning and deny him space to shoot from an angle. Six minutes later O'Boyle picked the ball up 25 yards out and went on a remarkable solo run - remarkably lucky, that is, as he benefited from kindly breaks off two defenders, but once in the box the 'keeper was quickly off his line to pounce on the ball before the Ulsterman could shoot. And with 79 minutes on the clock John Jeffrey, just on to replace the injured Winning, was unlucky to see his effort from the left go wide across the face of goal, the ball having broken to him from a Donnelly free kick which struck the wall.
But having been under the cosh for most of the last half hour, Lochee pounced on an error in the middle of the park to restore a two goal cushion on 82 minutes. David Muirhead's cross field pass was well read and cut out, and with Bo'ness pushing for the equaliser they were ripe for being picked off on the counter. A quick through ball split the back line, and the ball was poked into the net past Cairns by an attacker at the edge of the box as the goalkeeper charged out to block.
With just eight minutes left that third goal essentially clinched the points for the visitors, and Lochee held firm until stoppage time, when a Billy Struthers cross from the right was met by Muirhead in the middle - however, the midfielder's header, from little more than six yards, was superbly saved by the goalkeeper. But the 'keeper, having had a generally excellent game, could do nothing about another effort with 94 minutes on the clock, when another ball into the box was knocked out by a defender but only as far as Dolan, at the corner of the box on the left flank. With time to shoot, he sent a magnificent, fierce shot crashing off the bar and into the net to reduce the deficit - but it was too late for Bo'ness to save a point.
Although not a vintage performance from Bo'ness, they will nonetheless have been disappointed not to take anything from this match, and miss the chance to climb a few places in the league table.
Bo'ness United: Cairns; Smith, Dolan, Todd [capt] (McLuskey), Burrows, Muirhead, Mooney, Donnelly, Ryan (Struthers), O'Boyle, Winning (Jeffrey).