East of Scotland League: Oakley win but Inverkeithing lose

PETER GOLDIE heaped praise on his Oakley United young guns after they secured an important victory in their battle against the drop.

The Blairwood Park outfit picked up their third league win of the season by beating bottom side Vale of Leithen, thanks to goals from Robbie Breeze and Bruce McAdam.

Breeze was one of three players from Oakley's under-20s that started the match, alongside Arron Wilson and Ryan Yapoudjian, alongside defender, Declan O'Hara, who has joined the club from Armadale Thistle.

O'Hara was joined in arrival at the club by West Calder United goalkeeper, Jack Wilsdon, whilst centre back, Aiden Gallagher, produced a man of the match display after returning from injury.

Breeze's 10th minute header from a corner kick gave Oakley the early initiative, which McAdam doubled 10 minutes later.

The hosts had appeals for a penalty turned down on the stroke of half-time, when Scott Bruce appeared to be pulled back when about to shoot, and couldn't further add to their tally despite creating several opportunities.

Daniel Taylor's goal late on, however, was not enough for the visitors, and Goldie said: "Overall I'm delighted to get the win in the league and it's great to see the young boys coming through and showing they are capable of playing at this level.

"There are lots of positives to take from the game. We had three under-20s in Arron Wilson, Robbie Breeze and Ryan Yapoudjian that started the game on Saturday, and they were excellent again for the third game running.

"New signing Declan O'Hara came in at centre back and did well, having only trained on Thursday, and Aiden Gallagher was also available at centre back having recovered from injury, and put in a man of the match performance.

"We made it a lot harder than it should have been in the end, with Vale of Leithen scoring on the counter with five minutes to go. Our goalkeeper was never really troubled before that.

"It's time to build on it and kick-on for the rest of the season."

Dunbar United 4 Inverkeithing Hillfield Swifts 0, East of Scotland League, Premier Division

JASON MCCRINDLE has said there is no panic after Swifts lost their fourth match in a row but concedes that they need to eradicate defensive errors.

His side went down to a second successive 4-0 defeat in East Lothian, with this loss at Dunbar United coming after a reverse at Musselburgh Athletic seven days previously.

The hosts took the lead after 15 minutes when Ben Bathgate evaded the offside trap before shooting low beyond goalkeeper, Michael Gibb, and doubled their advantage around the half-hour mark when Liam Gregory found the net from Kyle Somers' low cross.

Just before the hour mark, Swifts conceded a third goal when Somers' corner was headed home by Gordon Harris, before Bathgate wrapped up the victory for Dunbar with his second, and their fourth, in the 67th minute.

Swifts have conceded 16 goals in their last four outings, and McCrindle commented: "I thought we started really well in the first 10-15 minutes of the game. We were relatively quite comfortable in our approach, but it was like deja-vu, with another mistake that cost us.

"The first goal affected us and to lose the second after half-an-hour was tough to take.

"Teams are not having to work hard for their goals. We have to be better all over the pitch, myself included. They're human beings; they will make mistakes, but we're making mistakes in the wrong areas.

"I'm confident we'll get there. We had a good start (when McCrindle was appointed, winning three of his first four games in charge) but we're having a wee blip. It's about how we come out of that.

"There's no panic. I'm still confident in what we have in the dressing room."

Meanwhile, Crossgates Primrose saw their scheduled Premier Division clash, at home to Tynecastle, postponed.

Saturday's fixtures: East of Scotland League, Premier Division: Crossgates Primrose v Hutchison Vale (2.30pm), Inverkeithing Hillfield Swifts v Jeanfield Swifts (2pm). First Division: Oakley United v St Andrews United (2.30pm). Tuesday's fixture: East of Scotland Qualifying Cup, fifth round: Gala Fairydean Rovers v Inverkeithing Hillfield Swifts (7.45pm).