Dunipace miss out on top four finish in East of Scotland Premier Division

The Westfield side knew that a positive result would have kept them in fourth in the East of Scotland Premier Division but they were leapfrogged by Dundonald Bluebell after they defeated Haddington Athletic.

A free-kick just before half-time and a last-gasp goal in second half injury time sealed the three points for the West Lothian visitors.

"Whitburn deserved their three points today,” Dunipace boss Danny Smith admitted.

"They worked a lot harder in the first half and we were a little lacklustre, it was very hot and the ball probably wasn’t moving as fast as we would like it to be due to the conditions but we just didn’t do enough.

"We tried to re-energise the group at half-time and we huffed and puffed in the second half. We didn’t make their goalkeeper make a save today and that tells its own story.”

Reviewing the campaign as a whole, Smith said that it was a positive season with his newly-promoted side managing to finish fifth. Over 30 games, Dunipace won 13, drew 6 and lost 11 times.

“I need to understand where we are at as a group and a club,” the boss added.

"If you told me after our first match of the season (2-0 win v St Andrews) that we would be in that that top half, finishing fifth/six then I would have taken that.

"I want to always win but I need to remind myself that we have come a long way in my four-and-a-half years here.

"I do feel we have had some disappointments this year but when you look at the league table we are at the right end of it.

"We can learn from the experiences of this year because the league will be tougher again. But I am so proud of the group and we will enjoy our break now.

"This is a hard level of football and to finish top of the three that have come up with us (Whitburn and St Andrews) is a big positive too.

"There’s a lot of good things happening at the club over the summer - next season we need to make sure we keep progressing on the park to help the off the park stuff.”