It’s two up for Bo’ness United as they meet Crossgates Primrose for the third week running, this time a second-round tie of the Alex Jack Cup at Humbug Park. The BUs have won the first two matches, a Football Nation Cup tie at Newtown Park and a League match in Fife. The first games saw Bo’ness enjoy the majority of the possession but with a low conversion percentage only won by the odd goal in each match. Fraser Keast made the solitary strike to put Bo’ness through in the Football Nation Cup and although Will Snowdon and Brian Morgan scored at Humbug Park, Lyall Shaw pulled one back to keep the result in doubt until the end. Bo’ness want the hat trick of wins this weekend but will need to improve in the top third of the park while keeping Crossgates out at the other end. Crossgates were more dangerous at their own ground and believe they can reverse their fortunes this time around.

Both teams got to this point of the competition after their own demolition jobs in the first round. The BUs scored ten against Tweedmouth Rangers conceding two in the process while Crossgates also lost two goals but the nine they scored against Eyemouth United saw them safely through. This is an important tournament with the final winners getting the chance to qualify to play in next season’s Scottish Cup.

Bo’ness Manager Steve Kerrigan is lamenting the difficulty in being able to choose from a full squad and Saturday saw another injury with Fraser Keast going off after doing himself damage as he took a penalty kick. On the positive side David Gray made his first appearance of the season, coming off the bench for the final twenty five minutes and Joshua Watt also made an appearance after being unavailable for a few weeks. Hopefully there will be a larger squad available for selection this week.

BU supporters once again provided the vast majority of the crowd at Humbug Park but it would be nice to see even more make the short trip over the bridge this weekend.

John Spowart