Bo'Ness 2 Whitehill 1

The Whitehill team coach departed from Ferguson Park with a fully fit squad on board for the relatively short trip to face East Region Junior champions Bo’ness United in the William Hill Scottish Cup second round. Manager Rab Paget named his team as follows;

Walker, Thom, W.Kidd, Bruce, Hall, A.Kidd, Herd, McIntosh, Manson, Sproule, Somerville. Substitutes; McCulloch, Sinclair, Tansey, Moffat, D.Robertson

Whitehill made a strong start and enjoyed some good early possession in the Bo’ness half with an extra man in midfield proving effective. Wayne McIntosh burst forward however his attempt to play Wayne Sproule in on goal was only just cut out by the home defence. After 7 minutes though it was Bo’ness who opened the scoring with their first venture into the Whitehill half. Former Welfare player Nicky Walker was played in down the right wing and managed to out muscle Gareth Thom before delivering a cross which was eventually rifled home by Stephen Tarditi after Mike Bruce had blocked an initial effort from Chris Donnelly.

The goal was a blow to the visitors who now set about continuing their passing game in pursuit of an equaliser. On 17 minutes Wayne McIntosh turned 25 yards from goal and found the target with a left foot shoot however it lacked the power to really trouble Scott Christie in the Bo’ness goal. Shortly after Steven Manson played in John Hall down the right wing who produced a great cross which was met by Aaron Somerville who forced another save from the keeper low to his right. The pattern of the game was set with Whitehill enjoying the best of the action and on 29 minutes they produced a great piece of football. Sproule played the ball to McIntosh who superbly back heeled the ball to Manson however he shot well over the bar. 2 minutes later Bo’ness’ Scott Donnelly disappeared down the tunnel to get some treatment for a nasty looking cut to his head. There was no real major action as half time drew near although Andrew Kidd was spoken to for a foul in the middle of the park.

At the break Mikey Herd, who had been carrying a knock, was substituted for recent signing Scott McCulloch. After 48 minutes Welfare won a corner however Sproule’s cross was too high. 5 minutes later came a huge moment when after a spell of pressure Manson’s reverse ball played McIntosh in one on one with the keeper, he cleverly chipped the ball over him however unfortunately it was just too high and landed on top of the net. A minute later Andrew Kidd was booked for a slightly late tackle and the home side’s Jay Shield’s followed him into the book after a clumsy challenge on Sproule. On 55 minutes the home side almost doubled their lead when Nicky Walker was played clean through on goal only to see his shot saved by Darren Walker low to his left. The resulting corner was cut back to the edge of the box with the Welfare defence caught out however the chance was blazed over. A second Whitehill name went into the referee’s book after Mikey Bruce scythed down a midfielder. On the hour mark Andrew Kidd was caught with a sore one however some treatment off the park with Frank Fleming’s magic sponge fixed him up. On 63 minutes Kevin Moffat replaced Somerville and he was immediately involved in the action winning a corner however the home side easily dealt with Sproule’s cross and again from a free kick just after. On 69 minutes Scott Gibb was booked for the home side. Two minutes later it was 2-0 to Bo’ness when Nicky Walker again caused problems down Whitehill’s left side, beating Bruce and crossing for Tarditi to blast in his second of the game. The visitors needed a quick goal to get themselves back into the game and were given a great chance to do so on 77 minutes when the referee adjudged that Willie Kidd had been manhandled in the box and pointed to the spot. Despite our problems from the spot this season Andrew Kidd took charge of the situation and smashed the penalty into the top left hand corner to give Whitehill a lifeline. Jay Shields was replaced by Jamie Hay for Bo’ness. Hall was shown a yellow card a minute later before Dayne Robertson came on for McIntosh. On 86 minutes there was a huge shout for another penalty when Robertson’s shot appeared to be handled by a home defender however the referee waved away the protests and the keeper gathered the ball. Bo’ness continued to provide stubborn resistance and the last chance of the match came on 88 minutes when Sproule flicked on a McCulloch knock down which was handled on the edge of the box. The resultant free kick was curled just wide by Robertson. As Bo’ness saw the game out their goal hero Tardito was replaced in injury time by Steven Reilly before the referee blew the final whistle to the delight of the home fans. Despite the result it was a valiant effort by everybody in a Whitehill shirt and the players and coaching staff fully deserved their standing ovation from the away fans as they traipsed off the park. Well done to Bo’ness though, we wish them all the very best in the next round and we will be looking on enviously to see who we could have been playing when the third round draw is made on Wednesday. 

Next up Vale of Leithen away in the EOSL Premier Division next Saturday at 2.30pm.