Bo'ness Athletic close in on top spot

Top scorer Scott Sinclair missed out through injury and, with other key players still nursing knocks, it left manager Willie Irvine with no choice but to use his squad. However, he was happy to do so.

He said: “It is great to have depth and we have quality on the bench every week, which is a sign of a good team. To have guys like Callum Sheridan on the bench ready to come into the side is great. ”Our top goalscorer was out but we still managed to score four, with them coming from different players and areas of the park.”

Grant Rose, Tiwi Daramola, Jason McKay and Callum Sheridan grabbed the goals but it could have been a different story early on when the hosts conceded a soft penalty.

Dunfermline loanee Fraser Currid, who has already saved from the spot this season, did so once again, pushing the effort away to keep the score level, and Irvine highlighted the importance of the defence.

He said: “It is easy to look to our attacking threat because of the way we play but I was happy with defence and the goalkeeper. It was justice because it was never a penalty.

"We play football and I don’t think Fraser (Currid) punted the ball long once the whole game. We get the ball out from the back and we aren’t afraid to play from the back, which is a credit to the defence.”

Athletic face a trip to seventh-placed Stoneyburn on Saturday and Irvine believes it will be a tough match, despite the table standings.

"They’ve actually had a bit of turn recently and have picked up a couple of good results. They have an okay goal difference compared to the teams around them, so it won’t be an easy match. Like a few teams I know, they struggled to get a squad together in the summer because of Covid, so it has taken them a while to get up to speed.”

Irvine added: “We are a good team for this level, there is no denying that.

"I just think we are good enough to win any given match if we play to our best but certainly aren’t good enough to just show up and expect a result.”