Captain marvel keeps cool head to nab points
Blackburn United skipper Marcus Millar led by example as his leaping header secured a valuable three points against Lothian Thistle Hutchison Vale.
The captain rose the highest to nod home the decisive goal midway through the second-half and seal a 3-2 home win over the Edinburgh outfit.
The victory moves United to within two points of safety with six games remaining as they bid to secure their East of Scotland Premier Division status for another season – with four of those fixtures being against teams currently in the bottom six.
The visitors started brightly and had already squandered a fine chance when Joe Viola was afforded too much time and space as he fired beyond Jack Main for the opener.
United’s response was swift, however, with Kyle Sampson breaking the offside trap on their first real venture forward. The striker calmly fired the ball past Ben Galloway for the leveller.
Parity didn’t last long in a thrilling opening 20 minutes, with Viola latching onto a through ball.
His effort was well saved by Main but the rebound fell kindly to Louis Signorini who slammed the ball into the net from close range.
The hosts again responded well and Scott Richards went close with a header from Richie Hutton’s cross before they equalised again just before the interval.
Having seen an own goal ruled out moments earlier for a foul, this one counted as Richards was bundled over inside the box with Sampson stroking home his second from the spot.
That resulted in a total momentum swing after the interval as Blackburn went searching for the lead.
A dangerous Hutton delivery was flicked on by Sampson eight minutes into the half with Jerry Otonti seemingly well-placed to score but he couldn’t sort himself out with a tame effort trundling wide.
The third goal would come, though, and it arrived on 64 minutes as Kyle McClung’s wonderful corner was met by Millar, with his glancing header finding the back of the net.
From then on, it was all Lothian with the United goal leading something of a charmed life in the final 15 minutes.
Signorini blasted an effort that struck both post and bar before the officials waved away claims the ball had crossed the line before the visitors hit the woodwork again just two minutes later with Tom Prior seeing his effort bounce back.
United weathered that storm and held firm during a nervy finish to pick up what could prove to be a crucial three points in their fight for survival.