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Not much to enthuse about in this one, but a below-par Bo'ness got the job done as expected in this St Michaels Cup first round tie, seeing off Second Division Pumpherston with, ultimately, reasonable comfort, thanks to goals from Chris Dolan, Kevin Thomas and Dale Ryan.
It was an uninspiring first half with a lack of quality and, it often seemed, a lack of passion also. The defining characteristic of the opening half hour was the persistent fouling by the visiting side, which earned them four yellow cards before the interval. It was fitting, then, that the opening goal should come after 28 drab minutes from a Bo'ness free kick. Dolan took charge of the set piece 25 yards from the Pumpherston goal, and although the goalkeeper got a hand to the full back's curling strike, he was unable to keep the ball out of the net.
Eight minutes later the lead was doubled when, in a rare display of fine football, the BUs pushed the ball around well in and around the Pumpherston box, finishing the move when Gordon Abbott laid the ball off for Thomas to fire in from a tight angle on the left of the box.
Things were looking more difficult still for Pumpherston after 39 minutes, when the No.3 was red carded after first swinging an arm at Martin Mooney then squaring up to Dale Ryan in the aftermath. With a two goal and one man difference at the break, the outcome appeared to be in no doubt.
Bo'ness should have moved further ahead just a minute after the restart, when, following a short corner, a low ball in from the left wing was hooked over the bar by Abbott from six yards. But the threatened rout never materialised as Pumphy picked up their game and began to make an impression, looking more dangerous with ten men than they had with eleven. On 51 minutes they pulled one back when a cross from deep on the right was headed in at the far post by No.9, leaving Mark Cairns - standing in for Jamie Campbell - with little chance.
But Pumpherston remained insecure at the back, and within two minutes Bo'ness might have restored their cushion, when Abbott ran onto a long ball from Gary Smith, getting a yard clear of his marker. However, the goalkeeper, even as he was trying to recover his position following a kicked clearance seconds earlier, stood up well and made the block.
Pumpherston had their best chance to equalise on the hour, when the No.9 drove through the defence to get space for a shot on the edge of the area, but he drilled his low shot wide of Cairns' right hand post.
Against the odds, they were very much in the game against a Bo'ness side who had seemingly developed the dangerous traits of complacency and sloppiness over half-time, and the BUs' concerns deepened when centre back Paul McCluskey was forced off with a foot injury after a full-blooded challenge. But the home side effectively killed off the tie on 68 minutes when Dolan picked out Ryan on the right hand side of the penalty area from where the winger, under pressure, swept the ball across goal and into the far corner to make it 3-1.
Graeme Donald almost made it 4-1 two minutes later, but his downward header from a corner kick was magnificently saved by the goalkeeper, getting down quickly to his left to make the stop. At the other end, the Pumpherston threat was receding following the blow of the third Bo'ness goal, and although there were low strikes on target from the No.7 and No.9, Cairns wasn't seriously tested for the rest of the match.
It wasn't a vintage display from Bo'ness, with no outstanding performers and too many poor passes meaning that they couldn't fully exploit the extra space that the man advantage gave them. It was good enough to win this contest, though, making it four wins on the trot and giving them a place in the second round.
Bo'ness United: Cairns; Smith, Dolan, Todd [capt], McCluskey (No.15), Burrows, Ryan, Donald, Thomas, Mooney, Abbott.