The first opening of the match came on five minutes when Alan Keir collected a loose ball and squared it to Alan Brown who tried his luck from twenty five yards but it flew over before Finlayson looped a header for the visitors into the hands of Michael Tugman. On fourteen minutes a free kick into the Blackburn area saw Myles free at the back post but his shot was screwed well wide. At this point both teams were having difficulty adjusting to the slippery conditions and a lot of passes were going astray resulting in scrappy passages of play until the twenty fourth minute when a dead ball into the Haddington box was cleared only as far as Jordan Rintoul who played in Peter Lynch but he pulled his shot just wide. With half an hour gone Brown set Rintoul clear on the right wing and when his cross fell to Lynch at the back post the striker shot straight at Stobie who clung onto the ball well. The first goal, though, arrived a minute later when a cross by Kelly found Finlayson who’s header was well blocked by the diving Tugman only for the ball to ping about the box until ANDERSON stabbed it over the line. Andy McQuillan then had an opportunity for an equaliser four minutes later but his twenty yard free kick skidded into Stobie’s arms. With three minutes of the half remaining there was chances at both ends. First, David Fowler broke out of defence and set McQuillan free on the right who cut inside his marker but, with options inside, he elected to hit a shot that was easily held by Stobie. The ball immediately arrived at the other end and Anderson had an angled shot saved by Tugman.
The second half started with a chance for United when, after good work by Lynch, Fraser Gillespie fired the ball in from the right but it was just too long for Martin Stewart at the back post who stretched but could only knock the ball wide. At the other end Motion slid the ball into Anderson but his shot only found the side netting. As the hour mark approached first McQuillan, with a sliced shot, and then Keir, with a header, went close before Miles chipped the ball wide from a poor clearance at the other end. Blackburn were dominating possession but couldn’t carve out any clear chances, although that changed with fifteen minutes left when a Lynch shot was half blocked and fell to Gilhouley on the right whose low cross into the box was begging to be knocked into the net but evaded everyone and was hacked away. As United increased the pressure there was a succession of corners with Greenaway almost heading the ball into his own net from one of them. Predictably though, and against the run of play, the visitors killed the game with a second in the last minute, ANDERSON flashing the ball high into the net at the near post after a good move which caught the Blackburn rearguard high up the pitch. Deep into injury time Athletic had two valid claims for a penalty but in truth the game was already over as a contest by then.
Blackburn United Line-Up: Tugman, Gillespie, Keir, Spence, Baxter, Fowler, Stewart (L.Docherty 62), Brown, Lynch, McQuillan (Williamson 80), Rintoul (Trialist - Gilhouley) Subs (not used): Crooks, Waddell
Haddington Athletic Line-Up: Stobie, Kelly, Gilmour, Sanders, Greenaway, Grant, Myles, Motion, Finlayson, Anderson, Inglis Subs: Connelly, Martin, Manson, Slight, Marr
Referee: Mr. Scott Jamieson
