Burgh Left Smelling Lily Impact

Burgh concluded the 2023 home programme with the visit of Midlothian side Easthouses Lily to East Shore Park looking to address a poor run of form.

Sadly, it didn’t go to plan and suffered a devastating blow inside 45 seconds when a long range strike from Ali Anderson caught keeper Joe Russell off his line and looped over him and into the net. It was a devastating start to Burgh’s fragile confidence.

Credit to the home side, they did their best to get back into the game and in the 9th minute a Andrew Cameron header from a corner rattled the bar, the ball fell to Blaine Ferguson headed the ball back across the face of the goal but Kellar Harris’s challenge on the goal line was deemed to have impeded the Easthouses goalkeeper and the foul was awarded.

Moments later a charger run from Kellar was rescued by a last-ditch challenge from a Easthouses defender with the ball running loose for Rory Ferguson to run on and fire a powerful goalbound effort which just went over the bar with the keeper beaten.

In the 13th minute it was Owen McNally’s turn to go close with a shot on the turn from a Cameron flick on from a throw that was excellently tipped around the post by the keeper.

At the other end, Leslie could have extended his side’s lead with a header at the back post from a good cross from the right but he could only put into the side netting from a tight angle in the 35th minute. In the 40th minute debutant Ewan Coutts went close with an effort just wide of the target.

The visitors did double their lead in the 50th minute after a corner from the right was flicked onto the back end of the penalty area and Smith fired in an excellent strike through a crowd of bodies into the far corner to make it 2-0.

The goal seemed to rock Burgh for a few minutes and Russell had to rescue Burgh from a Dyet break in the 56th minute whilst Burrows headed over the bar unmarked from a corner a couple of minutes later.

Cameron went close with a header from a corner on the hour mark, and sub Callum Anderson looped an effort just over on 74 minutes. Jamie Fyfe also had a chance over in the 84th minute with time running out.

Easthouses had a couple of chances in the dying minutes of the game with a Kearney free-kick saved by Russell. Then deep in stoppage time the visitors broke up an attack and set up one of their own which found them 4 vs 2 which ended with Smith crashing a shot against the post when he should have scored.

It was a very disappointing result in a match with little between the two sides, with Burgh perhaps edging the scoring opportunities but lacking the clinical output.