THE Seasiders ventured to West Lothian on Saturday hoping to pick up another three points after their 5-3 defeat of Pumpherston Juniors, wary, though, of the threat posed by a young Stoneyburn team.
They hadn’t avoided defeat at Beechwood Park since 2011/12, and knew they’d need to work hard to travel home with any points reward.
Chris Grant, a goalscorer in the 2-0 win back in January 2012, was ruled out through injury and Steven Girdwood came into the team as the only change.
On a glorious afternoon weather-wise, Dunbar were first to show, with skipper Steven Tait forcing a save from the home keeper before Dean Ballantyne struck the post with a close-range effort from a tight angle. Ross Colquhoun was next to threaten when at a corner his header was scrambled off the line, while for Stoneyburn Devine and Brown both created decent openings.
Not long after the midway point in the first half, the home goal lived a charmed life as the Seasiders came close on three separate occasions through Ballantyne and Sam Young. Bakhsh for Stoneyburn had a couple of worthwhile efforts which weren’t far away, before a goalless first half concluded with Darren Handling almost putting the visitors in front.
Sticking to their task after the restart, Dunbar saw a Ballantyne shot blocked, then Handling struck a shot which rebounded off the base of the post. Chris King replaced Ballantyne 10 minutes into the second half and his shot on the turn minutes late wasn’t far off target.
Another substitution on 68 minutes saw Steven Kean replacing Girdwood, and within a minute the Seasiders claimed the crucial breakthrough goal. Young evaded his marker before playing the ball in Ross Cowan, up from defence, who did well to get it from under his feet before firing his shot high into the roof of the net.
Pushing forward in search of a second goal to try and kill the game off, Dunbar twice nearly scored through Young, who saw keeper Holliday save at full stretch, then fired into the side netting.
A scare near the end saw Stoneyburn’s Calvey head the ball off the bar at a corner, but that was as close as they came to scoring as their visitors claimed a deserved three points.
The Fife & Lothians Cup occupies Dunbar’s attention this Saturday, when Lochgelly Albert visit New Countess Park for a second-round tie. The Berts return just four weeks on from a 4-1 win on their league visit, when they were four up before the interval – Dunbar boss Geoff Jones will hope his men are keen to show their Fife guests they’re a better side than they showed that day.