Season 2008/09
New arrivals at Murrayfield Park included summer signings Gary Peebles and Fraser Gillespie, as well as Ross Williamson who had finished the previous season as a trialist, while Barry Hunter, Brian Smillie, Ross Carter, Rab Brown, Bryan Savage and Martin Stewart moved on from the club for varying reasons. Sean Brogan and Andy Flanagan were not resigned but placed on the retained list.
The pre-season started with United eventually laying hands on the annual Eddie Queen Memorial Shield at the fourth time of asking, a penalty shoot-out win over Kirkcaldy YM being required in the semi-final before hosts and holders Thorniewood United were overcome by two goals to one in the following afternoon's final where Davie Sneddon netted the winner from the penalty spot. Two days later Stenhousemuir were beaten 1-0 at their Ochilview ground although the following evening wasn't quite so profitable as West Region Super League outfit Petershill took full advantage of a Blackburn side playing their fourth game in five days, and minus a goalkeeper to boot!, to run up a decidedly flattering 7-0 victory. However, four days later the side acquitted themselves much better in the Craig Spence Testimonial against SFL First Division side Airdrie United and were extremely unfortunate to lose 3-2 after leading 2-1 with only five minutes to go. The first weekend of August saw the last pre-season match played and won as Lanarkshire visitors Wishaw were beaten 2-0.
Seven days later the competitive stuff got underway with a visit to West Calder United's new Hermand Park ground in Section Two of the League Cup and a disjointed performance saw the team go down to a three goal defeat before the midweek game at home to a Harthill Royal side under new management bore greater fruit with a 4-2 victory that included an inspired Lee Docherty hat-trick. A trip to Super League side Whitburn in the third game of the group resulted in a 4-1 reversal, although the home side had to work hard for the win that all but secured their passage through to the semi-finals of the competition. A 2-0 defeat at Park View against Premier League outfit Fauldhouse United then followed with the team already down to the bare bones due to injury, although fourth place in the six team group was then clinched on the last Tuesday of the month when a resurgent Stoneyburn were beaten 3-2 in a game postponed from the previous midweek due to flooding. The following Saturday saw the beginning of the league campaign and two late goals at Station Park were enough to overcome a battling Livingston United by 3 goals to 1, although those opening three points weren't added to by the end of September as a 2-0 defeat at home to Haddington Athletic was followed by a poor start and 3-1 reversal at Dalkeith Thistle to see the side slip near the foot of the table.
Early October was blighted by incessant rain and the Scottish Junior Cup first round tie against Dundee outfit Lochee Harp succumbed on two successive Saturday's before Murrayfield Park was playable at the third time of asking - and the sides duly drew 1-1. The following weeks replay also ended with a goal apiece before Alan Brown netted the decisive penalty in a marathon shoot-out to squeeze United home 8-7. Seven days later the second round tie against visitors Inverness City wasn't quite so fraught as the side ran out comparatively comfortable 2-0 winners to progress at the Highlanders expense. Only one point was then garnered from two league games in the month of November, an almost unquantifiable number of chances being created and missed at home against Pumpherston in a 2-2 draw before the side twice held the lead over table toppers Armadale Thistle at Volunteer Park before losing their rhythm and faltering in the second half to lose by four goals to two. The end of the month then brought a visit from near neighbours and Junior Cup holders Bathgate Thistle in the First Round of the East of Scotland Cup and again the side led against their more fancied opponents before a late winner was enough to see the Super League side scrape home.
Our third round Scottish Junior Cup tie at home to West Region Super League First Division outfit Lanark United, like the first round tie against Lochee, only went ahead at the third time of asking and a missed penalty with the scoreline still blank was to be costly as the visitors sneaked through with the games only goal. Five days before Christmas, December's only other game saw victory against third placed West Calder United snatched from our grasp as Cauther equalised deep into injury time to snatch a 2-2 draw. Like the preceding months, January chalked up more postponements than games and the stop start nature of the season continued to contribute to inconsistent performances with four league points being gathered from three games, a defeat at Dunbar United, a win at Ormiston against Tranent and a home draw with Edinburgh United. The month of February too, witnessed a series of postponements but the one against Livingston United on Valentine's day was compensated for with a quick rearrangement of the previously postponed Fife & Lothian's Cup second round tie at Bonnyrigg Rose Athletic and for the second time against Super League opponents the side surged ahead only to be pulled back and ultimately defeated in a credible display against a team destined to be there or there abouts when the Super League title is decided. The rescheduled league fixture against the men from the New Town then brought a comfortable 3-0 victory which was followed by a 2-2 draw with Harthill Royal as February drew to a close, both games proving that the Murrayfield Park surface was none the worse for the earlier drenchings.
A 1-0 reversal in a tight game at Albyn Park against title chasing Broxburn Athletic was then followed a week later by yet another draw which really could have been so much more, captain Craig Spence's thirty five yard free-kick in the closing moments of the first half against Sauchie giving the side a lead that was let slip within the last twenty minutes as the visitors came storming back for a share of the spoils. Seven days later it was United's turn to mount a comeback, coming from 2-0 down at Haddington Athletic to grab a point before the last game of March saw the side triumph with a last minute, single goal win at home to Stoneyburn. A journey to the Capital then witnessed a terrific Grant Plenderleith strike claim all three points as Edinburgh United were defeated by two goals to one and the on-loan striker was also on the score sheet in the 1-1 home draw with Tranent the following weekend. However, when the midweek games started four days later West Calder United were gifted a three goal lead at Hermand Park before a gutsy comeback was only just denied a point by the fingertips of the home goalkeeper in injury time as Cauther ran out 4-3 winners. In similar circumstances, league leaders Armadale Thistle were also presented with a three goal lead the following Wednesday night before a bit of tactical tinkering brought the side right back into the game at 3-2 only for the visitors to sneak a fourth, killer goal near the end. Surprisingly, sandwiched between two such high scoring encounters was a 0-0 home draw against Dalkeith Thistle.
The end of April and the early weeks of May then brought the side five successive victories that included a club record equalling run of three games without conceding a goal, a 3-0 canter at Stoneyburn and a 1-0 home win against title chasing Broxburn Athletic in the league and a 1-0 win in East Lothian against Haddington Athletic in the first round of the MJM sponsored St Michael's Cup. The fourth and fifth games of the run were a thumping 5-1 triumph at Pumpherston and a single goal victory against Dalkeith Thistle to earn progression to the quarter-finals of the St Michael's Cup. A 2-2 draw at Harthill Royal in the league then preceded that quarter-final against Premier League winners Musselburgh Athletic at Olive Bank and, despite the 5-1 reversal against the powerful home side, the majority of the match saw the team give a good account of themselves before the tie ran away from them in the closing quarter of an hour or so. The penultimate game of the season saw a straight forward 2-0 home victory against Dunbar United recorded to atone for the disappointing reversal at the seaside near the end of the festive period, although the curtain was brought down amid a bit of an injury crisis at Sauchie two days later where only ten fit players and a trialist goalkeeper were available for selection for a game that ended with the Beechwood Park men running out comfortable 5-1 winners - and United losing another player to injury in the shape of Grant Plenderleith.
