The Burgh returned to East Shore Park and welcomed Stoneyburn to town looking for their first win of 2025 against a visiting side sitting in midtable.
The home side introduced three of the four midweek loan signings to the team with Jack Keast and Calum Leadbeatter taking their place in defence, whilst forward player Tyler Duddy was on the bench with midfielder Kian Beattie the only absentee.
It started brightly for the home side when they were awarded a penalty in the 8th minute when Kyle Tracey was fouled on his run into the box. But, perhaps, a sign of what was to come happened when Mackenzie Williamson’s spot kick flew just wide of keeper Sneddon’s right-hand post.
As has been so often the case this season, a mistake or missed chance is quickly punished and it was Mackay who inflicted the damage in the 12th minute. The visitors picked up possession just inside the Burgh half and played a set of neat zig-zag one touch passes into the penalty area and Mackay beat Scott Kyles to the ball to knock home from 8 yards out.
In the 22nd minute following a throw in that was cleared by Stoneyburn, Callum Roughead played a ball into the edge of the area for Lyall Brown who turned his man and fired a shot that went just over the crossbar.
Burgh weren’t looking in too much trouble in the opening half and on 24 minutes Ronnie Martin had the next chance when another long throw was flicked on by Williamson and Martin, with his back to goal, managed a volley over his shoulder that flew just wide of the top corner of the net.
In the 41st minute Stoneyburn’s McKee tried replicating Martin’s effort from 6 yards out from a corner but thankfully the end result was the same as his effort went high over the bar.
A moment later Ewan Coutts played a free kick into the Stoneyburn box which was headed clear but fell to Williamson who met it on the volley but his effort hit a body on its way through to goal and went just wide.
Manager Andy Healy’s half-time team talk went quickly out the window by an unfortunate mistake that was to make Burgh’s mountain back into the game too much to recover from. An innocuous cross from Stoneyburn’s Williamson on the right caused Tracey all sorts of problems and his attempted clearance went in the wrong direction catching Kyles flat-footed as it rolled into the net from about 6 yards out.
That goal seemed to totally deflate the Burgh side and Stoneyburn largely dominated the rest of the game. On 57 minutes Mcfarlane sent a rasping drive just over Kyle’s crossbar.
In the 60th minute Stoneyburn quickly turned defence into attack and Duncan’s cross had fractionally too much height on it for McKee to get his head over to keep his effort from going just over the bar.
On 72 minutes substitute Owen McNally won back possession outside the Stoneyburn area and laid off for Callum Roughead who decided to take matters into his own hands and take a shot at goal but the defender’s effort couldn’t quite find the target.
Moments later Stoneyburn sub Mooney’s persistence almost paid off as he wonder the ball by the byline and sent a killer ball across the six-yard box. It was probably easier to score than miss, but somehow we can thank McKee for his misfortune in front of goal as he somehow managed to sky his effort from 5 yards out.
It was largely all Stoneyburn at this point and Bryant, the hat-trick foe of Burgh back in August, drove down the left flank and fired a low shot wide of the near post.
The third goal duly came in the 76th minute as Bryant nudged his man off the ball on the far touchline and ran on into the Burgh box before cutting back for the oncoming Kane to side foot home from 10 yards out into the roof of the net.
It was a bad result for Burgh with two moments that proved costly. Mistakes happen, but the team will need to show their strength of character to dust themselves off and go again. What better way than another home match on Saturday when we welcome Livingston United to East Shore Park with a score to settle there too.
Man of the Match: Calum Leadbeatter. Both Calum/Callum's (Leadbeatter/Roughead) in the heart of the defence stopped a far worse outcome, but Leadbeatter edged the voting with a gritty, battling and impressive debut.
