WCU_15thAPR09

United made the short trip to Hermand Park in West Calder without influential midfielder Alan Brown but were none the less into their stride quickly, Grant Plenderleith outstripping Wolfe on the right before firing narrowly over from a tight angle. The home side, though, were desperate to improve a pretty poor home league record and a swerving Johnston effort from all of twenty five yards flew not all that far wide before, in the seventeenth minute, they opened the scoring, JOHNSTON finding altogether too much room and time in the centre of the six yard box to nod home Seaton's deceptive corner. Agnew then saw Francis Carlin hold his header from a Mitchell cross before, in the thickening mist, JOHNSTON doubled his sides lead, taking advantage of McLeod's twenty two yard strike rattling off a leg or two inside the box and landing perfectly for his crisply struck shot. However, Blackburn found a foot hold in the game as the half time interval approached when, moments after Jordan Rintoul had headed a Craig Spence free-kick across the face of goal and just past the right hand post, Spence created an even better opportunity with a finely judged pass that allowed Andy McQUILLAN to step past Wolfe on the edge of the box and drill an effort beyond the reach of Watson and into the net.

The second half was barely ninety seconds old when Cauther almost restored their two goal lead, Agnew hitting a stinging shot from the left that Carlin saved well. Three minutes later though, the Blackburn 'keeper wasn't quite so able as he let a SEATON strike from a short McLeod free-kick slip through his hands and, within six minutes, he had fallen foul of a stinking piece of luck too, Paton's

poorly hit cross from the left scraping the near post and causing him to misjudge the ball's flight and fumble it into the net for the home side's fourth goal of the evening. Blackburn, however, were far from out of the match and Plenderleith was unlucky to see a firmly struck shot from an Alan Keir pass just fail to find a way past Watson before it was blasted clear. After Agnew then headed over a Seaton cross the game became pretty much camped in the Cauther half and the blistering pace of substitute Ryan Donnelly posed all sorts of problems for the home rear guard. From one such piece of acceleration, Donnelly found the space to guide a pass in front of Plenderleith bursting onto the edge of the area and he was only stopped by the merest of touches on the ball by Wolfe, but as it appeared to roll clear the fast arriving Martin STEWART stayed calm enough to steer it into the net from fifteen yards. With seven minutes remaining Donnelly then linked with Stewart to allow the goalscorer to whip in a cross that Keir volleyed into Watson's hands before the deficit was deservedly reduced to one when Keir surged past a couple of challenges to spring Donnelly on the left and his cut back from the bye line was rammed high into the net by McQUILLAN. Ticking into injury time, Stewart clipped in a delivery that Plenderleith got his head to only to be denied by the outstretched hand of Watson. From the resultant flag kick the ball was eventually knocked back to Stewart on the left hand corner of the box and he was only denied what would have been a sensational equaliser when his clever chip shot was pushed over the top by a fully stretched Watson. The referee's whistle blew instantly thereafter to the evident relief of the home support.

Blackburn United Line-Up: Carlin, Spence, Keir, Sneddon, Murray, Crooks (Donnelly 65), Gillespie (Stewart 53), Rintoul, Plenderleith, McQuillan, McCardie Sub (not used): Miller

West Calder United Line-Up: Watson, Mitchell, Seaton, Russell, Wolfe, Meikle, Paton, McLeod, Johnston, Reid, Agnew Subs: Quinn, Gerard, Paris, Corbet, Bann

Referee: Mr. Gianluca Marini