Humbug Park, Crossgates, was the destination for Dunbar United on Saturday afternoon as they sought to bounce back from a disappointing defeat at Whitburn the previous week.

Their hosts occupied bottom spot in the South Division, and had been beaten 5-2 at New Countess Park in a cup tie at the end of September – despite limited personnel options due to injuries, Dunbar were expected to take all three points.

Two changes to Geoff Jones’ team saw Jay Burstow and John Twaddle start in place of absentees Kevin Carter and Gary McCormack.

The pitch was in surprisingly decent condition considering the rain that had fallen; nonetheless, it was heavy underfoot and made things difficult for both sides. Dunbar forced several early corners while the young Crossgates outfit were quick on the counterattack, though the visitors’ defence was well organised.

With six minutes played, the Seasiders made an early breakthrough, stemming from good work by Sam Young, who set up Danny Taylor for a shot which home keeper Wilson turned away for a corner. Young’s header was cleared off the line but skipper Steven Tait hit the loose ball towards the roof of the net.

Stark had a worthwhile effort for Crossgates in reply but Dunbar then took a firm grip of proceedings and both Young and then Shaun Hill shot wide of the target. Kieran Beveridge in the Seasiders’ goal did well to save a dipping effort midway through the half, but for the most part it was Dunbar doing all the pressing – Young, Kevin Morrison, Taylor and Hill all came close but Tait’s early goal was all that separated the sides at half-time.

Within a minute of the restart the Dunbar lead was doubled, Young blasting the ball into the Crossgates net from three yards out after Wilson twice saved from Chris Grant. The Fifers weren’t in the mood for capitulation, though, and they continued to give their best, making it difficult for their visitors throughout.

There were numerous shots at the home goal but none paid off until the 72nd minute, two minutes after Stevie Ferguson replaced Hill in the Dunbar attack. Keith Tait made a great run into the box and set up Young, who made space for himself before firing a clinical left-foot shot past Wilson. At the other end Beveridge saved well from Forrester as Crossgates kept plugging away, while for Dunbar sub Ferguson came close to hitting their fourth.

Two minutes from time the scoring concluded with another Dunbar goal. Twaddle worked his way through the home defence and hit a shot which came back off the post – a trialist on as a substitute was then upended inside the box and Young stepped up to complete his hat-trick from the penalty spot.

It was a comfortable win in the end, then, for the Seasiders but credit is due to Crossgates for their endeavours.

Dunbar now aim to pick up another three points to keep the pressure on the top two when they meet Tranent Juniors at New Countess Park tomorrow – Tranent’s form has been poor and anything other than a home win would see eyebrows raised.