Main | Who? | News | Results | Match Reports | Squad | Stats/Tables | Pictures | Previous Seasons | Honours | Links | Contact
Bo'ness United came from behind to power their way into the final of the Brown Cup with a storming last twenty minutes against Whitburn Juniors, with Kevin Thomas scoring a magnificent hat trick and Jamie Winning supplying the other goal.
The BUs thus kept alive their hopes of taking some silverware from this season, a prospect which look increasingly slight following their midweek semi final elimination from the East of Scotland Cup, and defeat in the St Michaels Cup semi final the week before - their opponents in the latter being Whitburn.
With a beautiful sunny day and a splendid playing surface, the stage looked set for a fabulous cup tie, but the first half hardly lived up to the setting, neither team particularly impressing. Bo'ness had a couple of early efforts. Kevin Donnelly's left foot shot across goal from outside the penalty area drew a save from Walker in the Whitburn goal, then five minutes later there was another chance for the midfielder, when Thomas controlled a Winning cross before laying off to Donnelly to shoot from 12 yards. He surely should have scored, but the goalkeeper did well to block the effort.
Bo'ness, without being brilliant themselves, were the better side in the first half as Whitburn turned in a poor performance, the quality of their final balls being especially disappointing. The visitors' best chances both came from shots from outside the area, the first on 16 minutes when Kirk was allowed room to shoot but fired wastefully over, and then, after 37 minutes, Hannah's low shot from twenty yards went wide left.
Whitburn's lackadaisical play nearly cost them two minutes from half time when Dougie Todd collected a sloppy pass in the middle of the park and exchanged passes with Thomas before putting his chipped effort from the edge of the box narrowly, and unluckily, over the bar.
At least the second half offered more to get the blood pumping. Just a minute after the restart Colin Campbell had an excellent chance for Whitburn when a cross from the right was tipped away from under the bar by BU 'keeper Mark Cairns but fell for the ex-Bo'ness forward at the far post - however, from close range he got under the ball and turned his diving header over the bar. That was an escape for United, but a minute later Whitburn were lucky not to concede at the other end when a cross ball found Thomas completely unmarked in the centre, but he was only able to head straight at the goalkeeper.
But Whitburn were undoubtedly an improved team in the third quarter of the game, and took the lead after 63 minutes when Campbell and Hannah combined on the counter attack (despite a mishit Campbell pass inside the box which still found its man) to set up a goal for Flanagan, who arrived in the box to stroke the ball into Cairns' bottom left corner from ten yards out.
Overall it was harsh on Bo'ness, but Whitburn had taken advantage of their best spell of the game and over the next few minutes threatened to put the game to bed. Indeed, just a couple of minutes after the goal, they appeared to have a good shout for a penalty when Gary Smith's sliding tackle on Flanagan, on the right side of the box, brought the forward crashing down - the referee, though, obviously thought the defender had got a toe on the ball. Shortly after a Whitburn player blazed a volley high and wide from the edge of the box after he was picked out from a right wing cross.
It seemed that Whitburn were set for their second semi final win at Newtown in the space of two weeks, but the BUs were able to regain their composure for a final surge. Thomas came close twice, first turning his man in the box but unable to squeeze a shot past the goalkeeper from a tight angle, then minutes later driving the ball across the face of the goal almost from the byeline - the slightest of touches from a team mate would have turned it into a goal.
But the introduction of George O'Boyle to sit in just behind the forwards made a difference, and on 76 minutes Bo'ness had their deserved equaliser when Chris Dolan picked out Thomas with a cross from the left flank - Thomas rose above his marker to place a pinpoint header in the corner of the net from ten yards, leaving Walker with absolutely no chance and making it 1-1.
Self-belief restored, there was only ever going to be one winner after that as Bo'ness piled on the pressure. And it paid off on 83 minutes when Donnelly, starting to make an impact on the game again after falling out of it, went on a surging run from midfield. There were appeals for offside as he knocked the ball past the last defender and into the path of Thomas (though he may have been intending to run onto it himself). But the linesman's flag stayed down, and Thomas, through on goal, produced an exquisite finish from just inside the box, lifting the ball past the goalkeeper and into the top corner to make it 2-1.
Whitburn tried to respond but couldn't, and in the 90th minute the game was wrapped up with Bo'ness' third goal. Todd lofted the ball forward, over the defence, for Winning to use his pace and charge onto. The young forward and the goalkeeper met the ball on the edge of the box at almost exactly the same time, but Winning just got his toe to the ball first, scooping it over the 'keeper for it to slowly bounce into the net despite Walker's best efforts to get back. Again there were appeals for offside, but this time there was no doubt the linesman was correct.
Still the scoring wasn't finished - in stoppage time Thomas confirmed his class and completed his hat trick by running onto a simple high ball over the defence, outpacing the lone defender and withstanding his attempts to pull him down, before sliding the ball past the goalkeeper from fifteen yards for 4-1.
A rousing finish, then, and the BUs deservedly take their place in their first final for three seasons.
Bo'ness United: Cairns; Smith, Dolan, McCluskey, Burrows, Todd, Donnelly, Loney (o'Boyle), Thomas, Winning, Jeffrey.