MUSSELBURGH Athletic returned to competitive action a fortnight on from their disappointing home defeat by Armadale Thistle with a tricky fixture against Lochee United, again at Olive Bank.

It was very much a mid-table affair, with the visitors sitting seventh, a point ahead of Davie McGlynn’s men, positioned 10th with the lowest goal difference of three teams on 30 points.

Lochee, though, arrived in buoyant mood, having inflicted a 4-2 defeat on title-chasing Bo’ness United in Dundee a week earlier, and with Musselburgh taking the opportunity again to blood youngsters with nothing much at stake the odds looked to be slightly in the visitors’ favour.

Blustery conditions prevailed at kick-off and both teams found it difficult to cope. Burgh had a couple of early opportunities but didn’t unduly trouble Bluebells’ keeper Burns, and in time it was the visitors who adapted best to the strong winds, playing some decent football in spite of conditions.

Lochee eventually made the breakthrough with seven minutes left in the first half, Blackwood volleying home at the back post from a cross in from the right. Things took a further turn for the worse from a Musselburgh perspective shortly before half-time when Buchan found the net for Lochee’s second goal, finishing from a tight angle after some neat build-up play, leaving home keeper Dale Cornet with no chance.

It looked as though Lochee would score their third goal immediately after play restarted, and effectively kill the game off, but Cornet got the slightest of touches to turn a super shot from Buchan just past the post. This proved a turning point in the game, with the visitors’ players for some inexplicable reason unable to maintain their performance levels, allowing Musselburgh to turn things around in no uncertain terms.

Jackie Myles got them back into the game with a shot from the edge of the box on 58 minutes, and just five minutes later Steven Thomson headed in the equaliser at the back post as Burgh took the game by the scruff of the neck.

It was hard to believe the opposition had earlier seemed set for a convincing victory, such was the turnaround, with Burgh dominant over the last half hour.

Thomson put them ahead with 16 minutes left, squeezing the ball home at the front post, and with 10 minutes left manager Davie McGlynn made a double substitution, replacing young debutant Kyle Doig and George Hunter with goalkeeper-cum-outfielder Ally Adams and another teenager in Redmond Barker.

Right on full-time, Barker marked his junior debut with a goal to give Burgh a 4-2 win which had looked most unlikely an hour earlier.

The result ensures another season in the Superleague for Burgh, as it renders relegation a mathematical impossibility.

Another home game awaits Musselburgh on Saturday when St Andrews United are their visitors.

Time is running out for the Saints in their quest to escape the drop – they’ve spent nearly the whole season in the bottom two and their situation doesn’t look encouraging, with points having proved extremely hard to come by.

They did, though, earn one of their 13 points against Burgh just before the turn of the year, coming back from 3-1 down to equalise deep into injury time, and with so much at stake they shouldn’t be easily beaten.