T_7thNOV09

It was a sunny and crisp afternoon at Forresters Park in this top of the table clash and it was the visitors who opened the brightest with only five minutes on the clock when Greig Crooks won the ball in the middle of the park and laid it off to Alan Brown who picked an inch perfect pass to new boy Grant Plenderleith and he fired in an angled shot from the edge of the area which shaved Inglis’s post. Not long afterwards Tranent carved out their first chance when a corner was kept in at the bye line and knocked back into the box where Lawrie glanced a shot wide. Up the other end Plenderleith sent in a right wing cross that the stretching Crooks got a foot to but sent well past. On the twenty one minute mark the opening goal came when a long ball saw Lawrie and Salton look to shepherd it back to Inglis but they didn't bargain on Plenderleith’s pace and he wormed his way in between the two centre halves to get on the ball and was promptly pulled down by Lawrie. The referee had no hesitation in pointing to the spot with Lawrie counting himself fortunate that he was only shown the yellow card before BROWN coolly stepped up to send Inglis the wrong way. Immediately from the restart Belters danger man Murray worked some space in the box and sent a shot fizzing wide of Ethan Connelly’s far post as the home side then took control of the game for much of the remainder of the half, putting pressure on the Blackburn defence without creating any clear cut chances. Indeed, it was Plenderleith on forty minutes who next tested a keeper when Paddy Donnelly flicked on a long ball to the speedy striker but Inglis got down to smother his shot from a tight angle.

Tranent came out for the second period looking to build on their dominance and two minutes in Draper at the back post gathered a cross and brought out a good blocking save from Connelly. However, parity arrived not long after when HARVEY was given too much space to turn just outside the box and fire a daisy cutter past Connelly and into the far corner of the net. The home side then pressed for a second but the United defence withstood the pressure and on sixty two minutes regained the lead somewhat against the run of play when Craig Spence’s mishit pass found Crooks in the middle of the park and he threaded a lovely ball behind Lawrie for PLENDERLEITH to run onto and find himself one on one with Inglis before calmly stroking the ball past the Tranent custodian. Blackburn were now starting to get more of a foothold in the game without creating too much and with eight minutes remaining the scores were alomst level when a cross into the box saw White loop a header onto the top of Connelly’s bar. Up the other end a Crooks attempt then slid wide. On the ninety minute mark a long ball fell to home substitute Tait inside the area and he really should have done better than fire narrowly past the post. After fully five minutes of injury time referee Mr. McComish eventually blew his whistle to consolidate United's position at the top of the league.

Blackburn United Line-Up: Connelly, Sneddon, Miller, Spence, Crooks, Rintoul, Gillespie, A.Brown, P.Donnelly (McQuillan 66), Plenderleith, M.Stewart Subs (not used): R.Donnelly, Keenan, B.Stewart, Fleming

Tranent Line-Up: Inglis, Munro, Draper, Lawrie, Salton, McPartlin, Horne, Anderson, Harvey, Murray, Lally Subs: Tait, White, Berry, Blackley, Purvis

Referee: Mr. Scott McComish