East of Scotland: Broxburn win seven-goal thriller to claim top spot; Bonnyrigg march on

Broxburn manager Brian McNaughton hailed a 'special' performance from his side which clinched a 4-3 win over Linlithgow Rose and took his men back to the top of Conference C.

Nicky Locke, right, scored the winning goal for Broxburn

McNaughton was delighted with the commitment showed by his players as they roared back to beat their West Lothian rivals at Albyn Park and move three points clear.

“The players showed why they are top of the table again,” said McNaughton. “We had a poor spell for a few weeks but that on Saturday was special. They never gave up and I thought we thoroughly deserved the win. Any neutrals must have enjoyed the game as it was packed with incidents.”

The match started at breakneck speed with the home side taking an early lead through Cameron Ross’ excellent finish on five minutes. Linlithgow drew level after ten minutes with a controversial penalty which Tommy Coyne tucked away. Sean Harrison headed Broxburn in front again, taking them in 2-1 up at the break.

Linlithgow drew level again within a minute of the restart with another penalty which was again scored by Coyne. And the visitors looked to have grabbed a winner when Owen Ronald raced onto a through ball and knocked it past the keeper. The home side’s reaction, though, was immediate as they raced forward and were awarded a penalty of their own. Ross stepped up and scored to complete his double. Then, with five minutes remaining, Nicky Locke pushed forward and, with the Linlithgow defence hesitant, he slammed a 25-yard effort into the net for the winner.

Linlithgow gaffer Mark Bradley was scathing of the referee, saying: “I believe the referee had a poor game. He was being supervised and the nerves got to him. However, we should have never conceded the goals we did but fair play to Broxburn – they took advantage of some poor defending. There are still a lot of games to play so the fight isn’t over yet.”

In Conference B, Bonnyrigg maintained their seven-point lead at the top with a 2-0 win at home to Haddington with goals from Keith Lough and Keiran McGachie.

Dalkeith Thistle beat Tranent 1-0 thanks to a cracking Connor Glenholmes strike while Tynecastle and Bo’ness drew 0-0.