Honours even at Creamery
Bathgate Thistle ..... 1 West Calder Utd ...... 1
Bathgate Thistle and West Calder United shared the spoils in a tight encounter, writes Peter Stewart.
Despite the draw, it would be the visitors with more to smile about after Liam McGuigan equalised with the last action of the game.
The derby clash was a slow starter with neither side offering much in the first half. A couple of chances fell the way of West Calder’s Jamie Staniard, including a bouncing cross that he was unable to head downward.
At the other end, Thistle’s Darren Dalrymple teased a ball across goal but Aiden McKee’s volley was tame.
The Cauther looked brightest before the break, and Chris O’Kane should have done better with a glancing header from a free-kick.
And while the away side continued to press after the restart, Bathgate took the lead on 58 minutes. Robbie Feeney cut in from the right before firing a low strike into the net.
Thistle threatened to double their advantage five minutes later, McKee flicking dangerously across the face of goal.
West Calder were still in the contest though. With 10 minutes to play, Kieron McParland’s cross flicked off a defender and glanced against the bar.
The Cauther could have been forgiven for conceding that this was not to be their day, but late drama was to come.
Deep in stoppage time, and with every Calder player piled into the area, McParland swung in a free-kick which was met by McGuigan, whose towering header found the bottom corner. A share of the points was justified in the end, but both sides arguably had enough chances to claim all three.