Gutted United fail to make early goal count

Blackburn United were given an early helping hand at home to Haddington Athletic thanks to an own goal in the opening minute – but the hosts were unable to make it count as they fell to a 2-1 defeat, writes Liam Campbell.

Referee Rhys Struthers had barely taken the whistle out of his mouth to get things underway before pointing back to the centre circle after Kyle Sampson had weaved his way into space before firing home with the aid of Athletic’s Corey Robertson.

It was the perfect start for the hosts but Haddington threatened to score an equaliser straight away with Jakub Welna parrying a Joseph Tait strike.

The keeper had a busy day and made another smart save on 12 minutes to deny Guy

McGarry but he was unable to ensure that his side went into the break in front as Athletic drew level on the stroke of half-time.

A long ball over the top saw

Gabi Auriemma get in behind and he kept his composure for fired home.

That brought about a change of momentum after the restart with the away side on top.

They grabbed the lead on 56 minutes when Welna made a rare mistake by misjudging the flight of the ball and taking out Alistair Simpson when attempting to punch clear.

The penalty was awarded and

Ross King stepped up and sent the keeper the wrong way to give Athletic a deserved lead.

United went searching for a way back into the game and Marcus Millar showed his aerial prowess as he rose the highest from a corner, but saw his header cleared off the line before being scrambled away.

The skipper thought he had levelled things up in the final minutes when he found space in the box from a long ball and blasted home – only for the assistant referee to raise his flag much to the dismay and disbelief of the home side.

Haddington were able to see out the remainder of the contest without much difficulty to pick up the points and leave Jamie McCormick’s side still sitting in the relegation zone.

United face a crucial home clash on Saturday when they welcome a Hill of Beath Hawthorn outfit sitting above them only on goal difference to the Purdie Worldwide Community Stadium.

The Haws won the reverse fixture 6-1 in Fife earlier in the season, with Burnie knowing that a repeat of that outcome would be unacceptable.