Sauchie Juniors…1

Bathgate Thistle…1

SAUCHIE Juniors were denied three points at the death as Bathgate Thistle struck late at Beechwood Park tonight.

Captain Brian Morgan had put the home side in front in the first half, and the Juniors withstood a barrage of pressure in the second half and looked to have seen the game out before Darren Dalrymple’s stunning equaliser.

Darren Cummings had an effort cleared off the line in injury time as Sauchie missed the chance to move to within two points of Saturday’s opponents, second-placed Forfar West End.

The visitors, who boasted former Sauchie defender Reece Boyle among their ranks, started the better of the two teams and had several chances to take the lead, Sauchie’s trialist left-back producing two fine pieces of defending to stop Thistle breaking through before a free kick was sent well wide of Darren Dolan’s goal.

And they were punished for their profligacy when Sauchie took the lead. A Dolan goal kick was flicked on by Cummings and into the path of Morgan, who beat his man before slotting the ball beyond the goalkeeper.

The opener had come against the run of play, but the skipper could have doubled his and his side’s tally just minutes later. Ryan Millar raced clear down the right and crossed for his captain, but this time he couldn’t keep his shot down and the visitors escaped further punishment.

The second half started in the same vein as the first, and Thistle captain Stuart McLeod should have done better with a free header which he sent wide of the mark.

At the other end, Andy Shirra was desperately unlucky to see his goalbound shot first have the sting taken out of it by a deflection, and then rebound back off the post and into the grateful arms of James Penman.

David Morrison forced the Bathgate keeper into a decent stop before Shirra fired a shot over the bar after latching onto Benn Hutchison’s knock-down.

Sauchie had enjoyed a better spell in the second half, but had failed to take their chances and the sucker-punch arrived just two minutes before the end of the game. Dalrymple cut inside and picked his spot, arrowing a terrific shot into the top corner via the inside of the post.

It was no more than his side deserved but they could have thrown it all away in stoppage time. Cummings flicked a header over the helpless Penman, only to see it cleared away by David Taylor, the Sauchie striker adamant that the ball had already crossed the line by the time the Thistle man got to it.

Oliver Fleming headed inches wide with the final act of the game as Sauchie missed out on the chance to move within a victory of promotion, and they will now be forced to wait until next Wednesday’s clash with Tranent at the earliest before their return to the Super League is sealed.

Sauchie Juniors: D. Dolan, Sharp (S. Dolan), Trialist, Tapping (Morrison), Fleming, McCulloch, Millar, Shirra, Morgan, Cummings, Flood (Hutchison). Not used: Shields, Maitland.