Midweek Thriller !
What a cracker of a match served up by both teams in this Premier league clash which ended up a six goal thriller. The House showed their intention after only one minute with the two J's ,Deans and Alexander setting up Mark Wilkins with a chance only to bring out a save from Reid in goal. Twelve minutes on the clock and a free kick from Kevin Ross found the head of Michael Browne but it shaved the post. The deadlock was broken when another free kick, this time from Rees Smith picked out Mark Wilkins and he glanced a header into the top left hand corner of the net just out of reach of the keeper..... Bathgate 0 Fauldhouse 1, no more than we deserved. The Creamery park outfit were being contained to the odd breakaway now and then and Jason Deans and Clark Campbell were running the midfield frustrating one time House favourite Graham Baird. Fauldhouse continued to take the game to Thistle at every opportunity and were looking to see out the first half. Then a couple of minutes before the break saw the turning point in the game, Kevin Ross was booked for a late lunge (one or two similar challenges from our opponents seemingly going unnoticed) as he charged up the park. A minute later that was to prove double costly when a free kick was awarded to Thistle just outside the 18 yard box and as three United players in the wall ran out to charge the ball Kevin was picked out, yellow carded and sent off...poor descision, and to rub it in from the retaken free kick number seven Easton sent a corker of a shot past Iain Stewart, and the whistle blew with United seething...Half Time Bathgate Th. 1 Fauldhouse Utd. 1. Second half saw Bathgate come out livelier trying to stretch the House with their extra man advantage and with Adam Fairweather starting the second half replacing Mark Wilkins to bolster the defence, no reflection on Marks performance as he had gave the Thistle rearguard a torrid time in the first 45. Ten minutes in and the pressure paid off for Bathgate when Swan saw a chance to cut inside and curl a shot past Iain for a 2-1 lead, it was not to last long though as two minutes later after a raid into the Thistle box saw the ball get under Kenny Martins feet as he tried to get a shot away and the ball fell to his brother Shaun Martin to rocket the ball into the roof of the net for 2-2....game on ! The match at this point was end to end with both teams coming close, then the inevitable happened with Fauldhouse chasing up the park White broke down the left hand touchline cut the ball back for a Thistle forward to tap home....3-2 Bathgate with 60 minutes gone. 71 minutes saw a double substitution with Craig Chilton and Ross Donnelly coming on for Deans and Alexander, which spurred Fauldhouse on, Donnelly himself made an immediate impact five minutes later firing in a peach of a shot to equalise from just on the 18 yard line...3-3. United were going all out at this point for a winner and Kenny, Shaun and Adam Fairweather(twice) all had decent efforts which could have produced a winner but not to be, the final whistle blew for a score of Bathgate Thistle...3 Fauldhouse United...3.
A great game served up by both teams although with 11 men on the park i'm sure the House would have come out on top, the never say die attitude installed in the team has to be admired and will stand us in good stead as the season progresses.
P.S. man of the match last night has to be linesman Adrian Wilkins (10 out of 10) as he ran the line like a ten year old and still managed to hold on to the flag when son Mark scored the opening goal for Fauldhouse !
Fauldhouse United: Stewart, Browne, Smith, Scott, Ross, Campbell, Alexander, Deans, K.Martin, Wilkins, S.Martin (subs: Peace (gk) Fairweather, Chilton, Donnelly)
"The Parkview"
