Stuart Hunter on Bo'ness United's Scottish Cup progression and recent upturn
Stuart Hunter reckons that his Bo’ness United side have surprised more than a few after bouncing back from a heavy derby defeat in style.
Since losing 4-1 away to Linlithgow Rose in the Scottish Lowland Football League East last month, the Newtown Park team have won five games on the spin, including three cup ties.
And that sees Bo’ness now sitting in the top half of the table, level on points with Bonnyrigg Rose in seventh after Tuesday night’s 1-0 away win at New Douglas Park.
Last weekend, Hunter’s side also progressed to the third round of the Scottish Cup after a 2-1 home victory against SPFL League Two outfit Forfar Athletic.
Speaking to the Falkirk Herald, delighted boss Hunter hailed his players’ recent run of form.
"We knew that Forfar would be a tough game because they are a League Two side,” he said. “They have good players, their current form wasn’t really in my thinking. We had to be at our absolute best.
"And the conditions made it an even bigger challenge. But I really did think that we were well worthy of the victory. We lost a soft goal and actually I think on the balance of play we probably deserved to be leading.
"Our goalkeeper Allan Fleming will put his hands up for the goal. He will know it was one that he could have did better with.
"What pleased me after that was that my team again showed real character to battle back, just like they did against Brechin the weekend previous. They knuckled down and kept playing.
"We got our rewards in the second half. Kieran Mitchell is a goalscorer and I had no doubts when we got the penalty. I was pleased for Jamie (Allan) to get the winner.”
Hunter and his Bo’ness now have a third round tie against Brechin City at home to look forward to next month.
And that is a decent draw – with the BU avoiding the Championship and League One big-hitters.
Bo’ness came from behind to beat Brechin 3-1 on league duty earlier this month, and Hunter believes that getting results against the likes of Brechin, Forfar and Bonnyrigg is good sign.
“The big thing for me is what you can take from the past few weeks,” the boss explained. “You can use results like that to build confidence as a group, because it shows that you are absolutely a good side and that you can mix it with the best.
"When we play well and defend well, we can win games of football against anyone at our sort of level. It sounds simple but having a consistent run of victories against good teams is massive.
"We go to Tranent this Saturday and there is no reason that we can’t get a result there either. At the end of the day, it is 11v11 on the pitch and you can get a result against anyone if you have that belief and motivation that you are a good side.”
Hunter added: “What you do look for is consistency, because it is the hardest thing to find as a manager. It is the key word for every manager at every level of football. If it was easy to get – every team would have it.
"The difference between the very best teams in the fifth tier and the rest isn’t a massive gulf in guilty or a big upgrade in player quality. Sure, you get the odd special player at this level who goes on to much bigger things.
"The difference is that you get a higher level of consistency. You get players who perform at their absolute best more often. If you have en masse then you see how those teams go on long runs.”
Getting to the third round of the Scottish Cup is massive for any fifth tier club like Bo’ness, with a five-figure sum in prize money now guaranteed.
It is expected that the BU coffers will be boosted by at least £11,000 for reaching round three – and of course, if they progress, the fourth round offers nearly double that with the chance of being pitted up against a Scottish Premiership side.
"We know what is on the line,” Hunter said. “Getting through to this stage is massive for the club. The game against Brechin will take care of itself, it is a big occasion for both clubs because of what is on offer.
"It is fair to say a lot will be riding on it. Again, all we can do is give it our best.”
Against Bonnyrigg on Tuesday, ex-St Johnstone forward Jackson Mylchreest netted the BUs’ winner 16 minutes from time. This Saturday at 3pm, Bo’ness face Robbie Horn’s league leaders at Foresters Park.