Bo'ness Athletic: Irvine praises club's youth philosophy

Willie Irvine’s side, who narrowly missed out on promotion from the bottom tier last season, sealed the comfortable win through a brace from summer signing David Taylor, alongside strikes from Tiwi Daramola and Josh Gillespie.

Speaking to the Herald, boss Irvine praised his side for continuing where they left off last campaign.

"They had one shot at goal and it was in the final minute of the match,” he explained.

"We were excellent and it felt like we just picked up from how we played last season and the form we showed for the majority of the season.

"It wasn’t our full squad on show either. We had five players out and they are guys who are big characters in the group.

"The work put in by the players in training is great and we aren’t long back, because of finishing last season so late.

"Players are have got holidays lined up and things like that but we have a good schedule in place before the league begins.”

Most of the club’s summer signings so far have been younger players, with the likes of Dylan McCafferty and Bryce O’Neill joining from Duinpace’s under-20s side.

Irvine says the philosophy of the club is to give youth a chance and help them move on to bigger things.

"We want to entice young players here,” he explained. “That is what we are all about and we want to see these guys move on to bigger and better things.

"It is good for us and for them.

"Josh Gillespie is a good example. He scored at the weekend and has joined from Alloa Athletic’s under-20s.

"He is a really talented player but he is still young and when you are 18/19/20, it can be near-impossible to break into the first team of a senior side.

"It isn’t a good atmosphere for them and what we want to do is give these guys a place to play.

"In my eyes, it puts them in a better place to make a career out of the game.”

Bo’ness Athletic also beat locals rivals Camelon Juniors 3-0 in a friendly at Little Kerse on Tuesday night.