Burgh returned to East Shore Park for the visit of high-flying Edinburgh South after last weekend’s King Cup postponement at Pumpherston.
Newburgh were buoyed by the presence of four new signings, two of which started with Eoin Garvey in defence and Owen McNally on the left side of midfield, with full back Josh Lindsay and centre back Charlie Fotheringham on the bench.
It wasn’t the greatest start for the team, though, as the visitors took the lead inside 32 seconds after a cross from the right hit a defender to fall to an opponent who laid it off for O’Brien to fire an excellent curling shot into the top corner. Whilst it was a very well taken goal, it was an extremely disappointing way to start the game.
Further woes were to follow moments later after defender Struan Grieve was nudged on the touchline in a challenge and collided with the pitchside barrier. After lengthy treatment he tried to play on for a couple of minutes before succumbing to the injury. It was soon apparent the injury was more serious and Struan was taken to hospital where, sadly, it has been confirmed that Struan has broken his arm. We wish Struan a very speedy recovery.
The injury saw a reshuffle with Harris Mitchell moving to left back and Josh Lindsay coming on for his debut at right back.
Matters went from bad to worse in the 22nd minute when ‘South’ extended their lead with a move solely down their left-hand side from defence to attack and a low ball into the box that evaded two defenders and slid home by Martin for 2-0.
Burgh weren’t without chances of their own and Garvey showed his defensive-to-goalscoring prowess with a diving header from a corner that went just wide from a corner on 30 minutes, whilst Jamie Fyfe forced the keeper into a save with his feet and Owen McNally seeing a shot deflected behind for a corner before half time, whilst Edinburgh South also had a few chances to increase their lead.
The second half got off to a slow start but Burgh were looking more stable without really giving the visitors too much to be concerned about, whilst the defence were doing better in restricting ‘South’s attacking threat.
That all changed in the 80th minute when a bit of determined play by Ruairidh McPhate weaved in between two challenges on the left-hand side of the visiting penalty area, before laying a ball centrally before being closed down by another three defenders to find Tracey. Tracey in turn held off two challenges before firing a low drive into the bottom far corner for an excellent, composed finish.
It set up a nervy finish for the visitors who were feeling the pressure for a sustained spell with wave after wave of pressure towards their goal. Mitchell Sharp did well with a turn and shot just wide on 82 minutes, whilst a goalmouth scramble in the final moments saw Andrew Cameron’s effort blocked.
Ultimately it was too little too late but the second half showing was much improved than the opening 45 minutes and something the Burgh need to carry on throughout 90 minutes to eradicate mistakes.
What better time to put that into practice with a crucial match away at Ormiston Primrose next weekend (kick off 1.30pm).
