SCOREBOARD HITMAN
Midfielder grabs only goal in cup clash
Superleague Callum Carson Broxburn Athletic were able to avoid a Fife and Lothians Cup upset with a narrow victory over Bathgate Thistle.
Athletic’s Ross Nimmo scored the only goal of the game on the hour mark but the Premier League visitors gave a great account of themselves in a keenly contested local derby at Albyn Park.
The hosts created the first chance of the game when Kieran Anderson pounced on a loose Thistle pass just outside their own penalty box.
He jinked and turned his way past a couple of defenders before firing a shot from 20 yards that was tipped over the bar by the alert Michael Watson in the Bathgate goal.
Andy Colley’s men threatened to take the lead moments later but nobody was able to get on the end of a Gordon Harris delivery that flashed across the face of goal.
It was the visitors who enjoyed the better of the play during the opening half but were unable to get the better of the inspired Connor Wallace in the Athletic goal.
The keeper made a point-blank save from Thistle’s Gambian midfielder Hassan Nyang who bulldozed his way into the box but was unable to divert the ball past Wallace.
Nyang’s terrific pass then played in Harris down the left wing, with David Taylor seeing his shot parried clear by Wallace who then pulled off another crucial save from Robbie Feeney after he tried his luck from a tight angle.
But the teams went into the break on level terms.
It was the Premier League visitors who again would create the better of the chances in the early stages of the second half and they were inches from taking a deserved lead when Taylor’s header bounced off the post and into the arms of a thankful Wallace.
Having weathered the storm, the