Whitburn can’t seem to buy a league win

Sep 24 2009 by Eric MacKinnon, West Lothian Courier

Burnie can’t seem to buy a league win

Whitburn 2 Newtongrange Star 2

WHITBURN are still looking for their first league win of the season after they were held to a draw by Newtongrange Star at Central Park.

The Burnie have stuttered out of the blocks so far and went into this match on the back of a draw and a defeat in the Super League.

And their wait for maximum league spoils continued after they shared four goals with Star on Saturday.

Burnie top-gun Colin Strickland gave the hosts a seventh-minute lead after steering home an Alan Mooney’s cross. But they were pegged back on 23 minutes when Stevie Thomson levelled with a low drive that deflected in off the inside of the post and keeper Stewart Walker.

Newtongrange sub Grant Meaney, thrown into the action after just 12 minutes following an injury to Ubong Umatang, made it 2-1 before the sides went in for their half-time oranges.

Whitburn boss Derek Strickland was clearly displeased with his side’s display in the opening 45 and they looked to have their boss’s words ringing in their ears as they exploded out of the traps after the restart.

Eamon McNelis forced home an equaliser three minutes after the restart for what proved to be the last goal of the game.

The West Lothian club finished the game with 10 men for the second week in a row after captain Colin Leiper was sent packing for two bookings picked up in a matter of minutes.

Burnie boss Strickland was philosophical about the share of the points.

He said: “A draw was probably a fair result. We started well and got in front but then did nothing for 35 minutes and deserved to go in 2-1 down at half-time. I had a go at them at the break and got the desired result as we came out strongly.

“I thought we were the better side in the second half without really creating a lot.

“We only played for maybe 55 minutes out of the 90 which is not good enough at this level, we need to be better than that.

“We are desperate to get that first win but they’re very hard to come by in this division. You’ve got to work hard and in the first half we didn’t do that.”