Rosyth beat league leaders as Crossgates look to climb table

PETER Goldie said the main goal is for United to stay a First Division side and he's confident they can beat the drop.

United have only one league win to their name, a 4-1 triumph over pointless Vale of Leithen in August, and lie second bottom of the table with five points.

However the boss will take the positives from the match against Whitehill which saw Oakley lead through a 13th minute Scott Bruce goal, with Whitehill levelling in the second half.

Goldie said: "There's definite improvement, even from a few weeks ago.

"There have been games this season we should have won, we've been the better team but lost a goal and a second off the back of that. "It's still a very young team and we're trying to keep them positive.

"The good thing for me is we're getting experienced boys back from injury now. The captain, Bruce McAdam, had a hip flexor problem so only played a handful of times last season and he's been out since then.

Match action from Oakley United's 1-1 draw with Whitehill Welfare on Saturday. (Image: David Wardle)

"To have him back, on the pitch and in the dressing room, has been a massive difference and we've got Stevie Dolan almost up to match fitness too.

"We've got a new goalie from Newburgh, Davie Chalmers, and Tommy Simpson from the Swifts, so we're adding strength to the squad.

"Hopefully we can kick on and attract one or two other players that want to play at a decent level but we need to stay in this league.

"That's the end goal for this season, just to make sure we're still in the First Division, and I'm confident we can do that."

On last Saturday's game, Goldie said: "We started really well, the first 20 minutes we had the better of the game and were a goal up.

"To be fair Whitehill came back into it but just after half-time we had a great chance to go two up and if we'd scored that the game would probably have been put to bed.

"They levelled from a set piece and then were awarded a penalty with five minutes to go.

"It was never a penalty in my opinion but our goalie saved it so it's a double edged sword for me.

Match action from Oakley United's 1-1 draw with Whitehill Welfare on Saturday. (Image: David Wardle)

"I'm disappointed we never won, and we had a couple of chances late on, but on the other hand we could've lost it if they'd scored the penalty. A point apiece was probably fair enough."

There's a break from league action this Saturday with Oakley hosting Third Division side Hawick in the King Cup.

Dunbar United 2 Crossgates 1

PRIMROSE boss Alan Campbell believes his side are in a "false position" in the Premier Division and will soon rise up the league table.

After a narrow defeat at Dunbar, Crossgates are in 12th position and they'll host Glenrothes on Saturday - their first match at Humbug Park in 10 weeks - who are two places and two points behind them.

Campbell told Press Sport: "They're in the bottom three but I think we're in a false position. When we get motoring again, get the breaks and some consistency, we'll start climbing the league.

"It will be a battle, a cup tie attitude will be needed as it's a derby so we'll have to roll our sleeves up.

"The good thing is we're back at home. We haven't had a home game since September 9 so, back in front of our own supporters, we can hopefully put in a good performance and get the win."

The boss reckoned they could have taken something from the match at Dunbar, from 2-0 down at the break they netted through Archie Campbell in the 73rd minute and came close to a leveller against the team in 4th place in the league.

Campbell said: "It was a tight game. We kinda lost it over a seven or eight minute period with the penalty and then the second goal the boy curled it into the top corner, he finished it really well.

"Our heads could have gone down but we rose to the challenge, stuck with it and changed the shape at half-time. Second half we were the better team but it took a while to get the goal.

"I lost count of how many times we put the ball into their box, we just couldn't get that break or clear-cut chance to get the equaliser.

"Dunbar are a decent team though, they beat East Fife a few weeks ago and defended well. They're no mugs.

"From where I was standing the penalty looked soft, it just seems to be the slightest contact in the box and it's given.

"So to lose to a penalty and a really good hit, I'm not too disheartened."

Crossgates have had cup runs and postponements to contend with but haven't won a Premier Division game since September 5, a 3-1 win at Penicuik.

Glenrothes 4 Inverkeithing HS 1

THE managerless Swifts suffered a heavy defeat in the first game since the departure of Jason Dair.

He left his post on Friday and the following day Glens' convincing win closed the gap between the sides to just two points.

Scott Chalmers scored to make it 1-1 and give the Swifts brief hope but the home side rapped in three more goals to take the points.

Glenrothes are 14th in the Premier Division, one place below Inverkeithing.

The Swifts don't have a game until December 2 and chairman Craig Reid said: "It was a game we probably needed to get out of the way.

"We don't have a game until December 2 and one of the reasons we made the change now was to give a new manager two or three weeks to work with the squad and get to know the boys."

He added: "We asked them to go out and try their hardest and the boys did that but they couldn't manage to get the win."

Rosyth 5 Whitburn 3

STEVIE Crawford's men claimed the scalp of the league leaders in an eight goal thriller at the Fleet Grounds.

Whitburn are still joint top of the First Division but suffered their second defeat of the campaign as Rosyth smashed home five goals.

Their prolific striker, Tam Hampson, put them ahead when he ran onto Ciaran Healy's fine pass and slid the ball past the keeper in the 31st minute.

Whitburn levelled from the penalty spot after goalie Jarrett Macaulay brought down Ross Crawford with the striker converting the kick himself.

Hampson returned the favour just before the break, his neat footwork in the box allowed Healy to guide a low shot into the net for a 2-1 lead at half-time.

In the 49th minute Rosyth scored again when Aiden McAvoy's free kick from wide on the left bounced in the box and appeared to be missed by everyone with the ball nestling in the bottom corner.

But a calamity in defence saw Macaulay spill a header back to him and Darren Liddell accepted the gift for Whitburn.

And the same player levelled the match in the 57th minute, sliding the ball home from close range.

The league leaders would have fancied their chances of taking the win after battling back from two goals down but, to their credit, Rosyth came again.

Macaulay made amends with a brilliant save, tipping a piledriver onto the bar, and a neat move down the right ended with Callum Strang netting in the 70th minute.

The keeper made another point blank stop, as Whitburn chased a leveller, but deep into added time Darren Ormiston finished off a good move to secure the victory.

This Saturday Rosyth are at home to Peebles Rovers in the King Cup.

Saturday's fixtures: Premier Division - Crossgates v Glenrothes (2pm kick-off); King Cup - Oakley Utd v Hawick (1.30pm), Rosyth v Peebles Rovers (2.30pm).