WITH a nine-point haul from their previous three games, in which they had netted 14 goals and conceded only three, the Seasiders appeared to be in good form ahead of the weekend’s East Lothian derby.
Tranent sat at the top of the table, four points in front of them, as both wound up the first half of their respective league campaigns, but had only taken two points from their two preceding home fixtures. Influential pair Darren Gillon and Ross Colquhoun were missing from the Dunbar midfield; their replacements Shaun Hill and Jamie Burstow played as full-backs while Chris Hogg and Steven Tait moved forward.
There was a good crowd inside Foresters Park but there was little in the way of notable incident early on in bitterly cold conditions. Hill had Dunbar’s first shot, hit well wide, before Chris King saw a free-kick deflected. Connor Wood saved Tranent’s first effort, from Kayne Paterson, but for the most part it was all rather scrappy.
Midway through the half, there was a blow for the Seasiders when Andy Common and Steven Tait collided, the former having to leave the field to be replaced by Steven Kean. The defensive disruption unsettled Dunbar and before they could properly regroup they found themselves two goals down. Tranent debutant Paterson broke the deadlock with a speculative effort from the left, then two minutes later McMillan made it 2-0 from just outside the box, the referee ignoring Dunbar’s protests he’d been offside.
Dunbar struggled to create anything in terms of real chances around goal and their hopes looked dead and buried when Tranent struck for a third time six minutes from the break, McMillan snapping up a chance after a shot rebounded off the post into his path.
The sequence of events in the second half was similar to those of the first in terms of a reasonably equal share of possession, but clearer opportunities for Tranent and few of note for the visitors. Wood did well on 50 minutes to deal with a deflected effort from Paterson and midway through the half the keeper excelled with a double save, first from Beaton, then from Fisher.
King put a shot over the bar for Dunbar as the clock ticked on, the game by now beyond them, and Tranent’s Hunter made it 4-0 four minutes from the end. The scoreline may have flattered Tranent, but despite no shortage of endeavour from the Seasiders they never truly looked like taking anything from the game.
Back at New Countess Park on Saturday, Dunbar face another difficult challenge when they entertain a Blackburn United side currently in second position, between themselves and Tranent – a win would go no small way to compensating for last week’s setback but Seasiders’ boss Geoff Jones will be under no illusions as to how hard the visitors will make things.