The Burgh welcomed Premier League title chasers Hill of Beath Hawthorn to East Shore Park in the second round of the League Cup.
Back in 2023 the Fife neighbours met in the same competition and the same venue when then-Second Division Burgh pulled off something of a Cup shock against their top-flight opponents when a Michael Perrie penalty and Andrew Cameron header sealed a deserved 2-1 victory over the Haws.
But in 2025, the visitors were a very different and stronger kettle of fish and are on the chase for the Premier Division title and were out to prove that lightning doesn’t strike in the same place twice.
If anyone actually believed that myth was capable, it was quickly thundered out inside the opening 90 seconds as the Haws got off the mark as John Smith out-muscled the home defence to slide home from 8 yards out.
In essence it already looked over by the time Hill of Beath added their second in the 20th minute as they strolled around in third gear, out-paced, out-manoeuvred and overtook their hosts at almost every opportunity. A ball into the box wasn’t cleared and Watt laid back to Luke to slam home into the top corner of the net from the edge of the area.
On 31 minutes Smith turned and escaped his marker to run on and roll an effort past Scott Kyles to make it 3-0 by the break.
The second half started with Haws keeping their foot lightly on the gas as they outpowered a now-increasingly despondent Burgh side and the visitors were showing no mercy.
On 48 minutes a looping ball from the left side of the area found the head of Wilson running in who powered his effort over the head of Kyles to make it 4-0.
Goal 5 came from the penalty spot after a slip in defence sent Smith chasing through on goal before crashing to the ground under a last-ditch challenge from Calum Leadbeatter. Tosh sent Kyles the wrong way from the spot.
The most spectacular-looking goal of the game came on 66 minutes as Hill of Beath played a ball across the edge of the Burgh area and Luke rolled a low ball to Watt, with back to goal, was able to flick it up and loop the ball back over his head over Kyles into the top corner of the net.
Smith completed a deserved hat-trick on 75 minutes as he ran onto a long ball from inside the Haws own half to outpace the defence and weave his way around Kyles and score to make it seven.
On 81 minutes saw a thunderous strike from Featherstone as he picked up a long pass on the left, cut inside from the corner of the box and sent a rocket of an effort past Kyles into the far corner which gave the Burgh keeper no chance whatsoever.
With legs tiring in the Burgh defence and a longing for the final whistle, the visitors weren’t finished yet with two goals in the closing minutes. On 88 minutes a corner from the right was headed goalwards by Featherstone and cleared off a line, a brief scramble ensued before Mitchell thumped home the loose ball from close range.
The final goal of the game came a minute later when Smith, a continual thorn in Burgh’s side, again weaved himself through the home defence and laying a chance on a plate for Allum to finish of an easy 10-0 rout for the Premier League side.
Whilst even the most ardent Burgh fan would have expected a defeat, the game really showed the gulf in the sides and highlighted more Hill of Beath’s strengths than it did Newburgh’s “weaknesses.”
It was an unfortunate fixture for Burgh at a time that they were building their own confidence after a good run. Hopefully the damage was minimal and the game is put firmly in the back of their minds quickly and the lads do not reflect too deeply on a game that was always going to be ‘mission impossible’.
Man of the Match: Ronnie Martin (Sponsored by Andrew Quigg)
