Published: Thursday, 25th June, 2009 5:30am

Room for improvement? Dunbar United's season reviewed

May 2008 brought the end of an era at New Countess Park with the departure of boss Jock Landells after six seasons at the club, the first three as assistant to Willie Pearson.

Dunbar United didn"t have their troubles to seek, with a mass exodus of players and serious financial worries to boot, but events at their AGM gave rise to hope that they could re-establish themselves as a competitive entity.

Well-known in local circles, Davie Lees was appointed boss after spending a season on the management team at Tranent Juniors, latterly in sole charge, and Stuart Brown followed him as his assistant.

New faces

Only a handful of players from the 2007/08 squad remained at New Countess Park and Lees recruited a team largely composed of youngsters, many of them local.

Five of the Tranent squad moved east along with the management team but as the start of the season beckoned the team were very much an unknown quantity.

The first match of the Lees era took place on the night of August 6 in horrendous conditions at the home of nearest rivals Haddington Athletic in a League Cup tie. Goals from Stuart Robertson and Ryan Gibb gave the Seasiders an excellent start to the campaign in a 2-0 win.

This proved the last game in Dunbar"s service for young keeper Stewart Ferrier who went on to play Under-21 football with Tranent Juniors, having been ousted by new man John Johnstone.

The remaining five League Cup ties yielded no points but it must be remembered that four opposing teams plied their trade in the Premier League. A 3-2 home defeat by Tranent Juniors was notable for the only two competitive goals in Dunbar colours by Craig Livingstone, a busy young striker recruited from Selkirk and of whom much was expected.

Unfortunately serious injury soon put paid to his time in Junior football.

Dunbar"s opening South Division fixture brought a 3-1 home defeat by West Calder United, then three weeks passed before they were in action again - a precedent for what proved something of a stop-start season due to the weather.

This time they earned a point, and morale was further boosted at the end of September when a penalty shootout earned victory in an East Of Scotland Cup tie in Dundee against Downfield.

That however was that for a whole month as Dunbar endured a long delay in fulfilling their Scottish Junior Cup first round tie against Dalry Thistle.

Drainage problems at Dalry"s Merksworth Park caused three postponements before the tie was eventually switched to Ardrossan, and as luck would have it the teams couldn"t be separated, drawing 1-1.

The match saw a welcome scoring return from stalwart striker Adam Cheetham after illness ruled him out for months.

Disappointment followed the next week as Dalry pipped the Seasiders for a second round place with a 3-2 win, the winner coming very late.

Dunbar managed to play every Saturday during November, and although they won just one of five games there seemed encouraging signs.

High note

Leaders Armadale Thistle won 4-2 at New Countess Park but seven days later goals from Steven Girdwood and Ross Blair gave United a 2-0 win over promotion contenders Broxburn Athletic.

A creditable performance at Lochee United eventually resulted in another 4-2 defeat in the East Of Scotland Cup, and after a draw at home to Harthill Royal the 4-2 factor arose again in their next outing after another three week break, with Oakley United winning their Fife & Lothians Cup tie by that same scoreline.

A 3-2 win at Sauchie Juniors ended 2008 on a high note for the Seasiders as they pushed forward towards the top half of the South Division table, and they consolidated early in the new year with home wins over Blackburn United and Livingston United.

A last minute goal cost a point at Dalkeith before January wound up with another three points from the visit of Stoneyburn Juniors.

A fourth successive home game against West Lothian opposition on Valentine"s Day seemed to offer the opportunity for another three points but Pumpherston Juniors upset the odds with a 2-1 win and in hindsight this was the result that seemed to herald a downturn in the team"s fortunes.

In 16 subsequent outings victory was tasted only twice, in the reverse fixture at Pumpherston on April 4 and at Edinburgh United on May 13.

A second win at Haddington was denied Dunbar by an equaliser three minutes from time as they sought to bounce back from the Pumpherston defeat.

Thereafter however form was mediocre at best and as the Seasiders continued to drop points it became clear that earlier hopes of at least a top-half finish were greatly misplaced.

Newtongrange Star delivered an early exit Dunbar"s way in the late-season St Michael"s Cup with a 4-1 win at New Countess Park, and the season petered out with the playing squad thinned down and pressed to catch up on their fixture backlog.

The final league table saw Dunbar placed third from bottom, similar to 2007/08, and it remains to be seen whether the club"s circumstances can propel them away from the lower reaches in the coming season.

In Junior football terms, the Annual General Meeting of the Scottish Junior Football Association marks the threshold between seasons and so technically the 2009/10 season is now under way, although legislation prevents clubs playing friendly matches until July 18.

The SJFA"s AGM took place at Ardrossan last Saturday, with the main talking point from an East Region perspective the admission of Spartans FC to next season"s South Division.

The progressive Edinburgh club will retain their existing presence in the "senior" East Of Scotland League but the team they previously fielded in the Central Scottish Amateur League will henceforth play in the Junior ranks.

One innovation taking effect when competitive fixtures restart in August will be an increase from five to seven substitutes allowed on the bench.