Goal-den boy shoots Linlithgow Rose into final

May 28 2009 by Eric MacKinnon, West Lothian Courier

JUNIOR ROUND-UP

Super League

Lochee United 2 Whitburn 1

WHITBURN missed out on the win which would have guaranteed their Super League status on Saturday when they lost out on Tayside.

The defeat saw the Burnie slump to the foot of the table and left them facing the task of needing a win in their final two games to ensure their survival — a feat they accomplished on Tuesday.

The story of their season has been inconsistency where they have ranged from wonderful one week to the woeful the next.

They have somehow been unable to find the same form two-weeks in a row and continuously given away soft goals.

On Saturday they fell behind to a Paul Blackwood opener before David Murphy equalised just before the break.

Whitburn looked to be heading for a share of the points but when Phil Hagen’s shot came back off the crossbar Craig Robertson reacted first and slammed the ball home for a dramatic winner.

Whitburn: Walker, McGurk, Parkin, Mooney, Leiper, Donnelly, D Murphy, J Murphy, McNelis, S Murphy. Subs: Dolan, Hannah, Doig, McSween, MacKay.

Fife and Lothians Cup

Linlithgow Rose 5 St Andrew's 3

LINLITHGOW Rose welcomed back their goal-den boy this weekend and he made a huge impact as the West Lothian club reached the Fife and Lothians Cup final.

Brian Carrigan was a welcome addition to the matchday squad after a loan spell with Alloa.

David Evans gave the visitors the lead before Gordon Herd levelled things.

Tommy Coyne gave the Rose the lead for the first time before the break but in 50 minutes the visitors equalised again.

Herd put Linlithgow ahead five minutes later but they were pegged back for a third time when Kris Maxwell found the net.

So Linlithgow introduced Carrigan to the fray and with 15 minutes left on the clock the fans favourite hit a free-kick into the net.

Rose weren’t finished yet and Herd completed his hat-trick in injury time after a storming 50-yard run and finish.

The final takes place tomorrow (Friday) against Thornton Hibs at Hill Of Beath’s ground with a scheduled 7:15 pm kick-off.

Linlithgow: Pinkowski, Robertson, McEwan, King, Donnelly, Tyrrell, Livingstone, Hogg, Herd, Coyne, McDowell. Subs: Carrigan, Bradley, Smith, Gallacher, Bruce.

Premier League

Fauldhouse 3 Ballingry 1

FAULDHOUSE all but secured their place in next season’s Premier League with an excellent home win on Saturday.

Boss Andy Cunningham admitted his mandate at the start of the season was to beat the drop and on that basis it has been mission successful.

It has been a difficult season for the Hoose with some discipline problems to sort out but with only one game to go, at home to Blairgowrie on Saturday, they have their survival in their own hands.

A win over Blairgowrie will be no easy feat after they have discovered some fine recent form including a big win over Arniston.

Brian Felvus opened the scoring for Fauldhouse with a free-kick on Saturday before but Craig Smart levelled from the penalty spot just before the break.

But Felvus found the net again in the second half before Kieran Bryce sealed the points later on.

Fauldhouse: Maley, Cunningham, Cooper, McDonald, Wardlaw, Meekin, Carmichael, Graham, Felvus, Martin, Connolly. Subs: Bryce, McLennaghan, Gallagher, Caputa, Stewart.

South Division

Stoneyburn 2 West Calder 7

MANAGERLESS Stoneyburn were torn limb from limb by a ravenous West Calder footballing beast at the weekend.

The hosts had parted company with boss Andy Johnstone in midweek and they were well beaten by a West Calder side who have been scoring goals for fun lately.

The first 15 minutes of the match produced a stunning six goals with two coming for Stoneyburn and four for the visitors.

West Calder went on to score three more times and by the end Gary Corbett had scored a phenomenal four goals.

Elsewhere Livingston lost 2–1 at home to Tranent while Pumpherston were trounced 6–0 at Haddington.

Blackburn had a good 2–0 win at home to Dunbar with Harthill losing 2–0 at Sauchie.

Broxburn lost 2–0 at Dalkeith.