Player statistic
| Thomas Collins |  |
48' | ||
| Thomas Collins | |
85' |
A well below-par Johnstone Burgh suffered their third straight defeat in the last six days as they lost 2-0 to Beith Juniors at a chilly Bellsdale Park in Meadowside, Beith.
Burgh manager Murdo MacKinnon made two changes from the starting eleven that lost 2-0 to Pollok on Saturday, with Ian McShane coming in for Stuart Faulds and Kyle Lafferty replacing the suspended Allan MacKenzie.
The first chance of the evening came for Kyle Lafferty after eight minutes. Lafferty was making his first start for the club since the 2-1 win away to Troon on 20th December. The big striker created himself a good opening on the left but his well struck shot from 20 yards was saved by Beith goalkeeper Archie Aitchison.
Beith Juniors then had a good chance after 13 minutes when Tommy Sharp controlled a good cross from the left in the centre of the box, eight yards from goal. However, his shot was brilliantly blocked by Cammy Eadie.
Kyle Lafferty came close to giving the Burgh the lead in the 23rd minute. The former Northern Ireland international intercepted an attempted headed pass back to Beith goalkeeper Aitchison on the left side of the box but could only find the side netting from a tight angle six yards from goal.
Both sides were struggling to create clear-cut chances and the final opportunity of the half came for Beith after 34 minutes. The lively Tommy Sharp had a sight of goal from eight yards but once again Cammy Eadie was there to make a brilliant block from his powerful shot, diverting the ball behind for a corner kick.
The first half ended goalless.
Half-time: 0-0
Burgh manager MacKinnon made a change at half-time with Leon Murphy replacing Aaron Mason.
Beith Juniors took the lead in the 48th minute as Liam McGonigle produced a fantastic pass from his own half to Thomas Collins. Collins timed his run perfectly, took the ball past Burgh number one Luke Scullion 20 yards from goal and rolled the ball into the empty net from 10 yards.
In the 53rd minute, Burgh’s Kyle Lafferty tried a spectacular effort on goal from eight yards in the centre of the box but could not get the connection required to trouble Beith goalkeeper Aitchison.
Just three minutes later, Beith had three efforts in quick succession inside the box but Luke Scullion and the Burgh defence held firm.
It was becoming a very frustrating night for Johnstone Burgh, which led to Murdo MacKinnon making three further changes on the hour mark. Scott Forrester, Stuart Faulds and Aidan Gilmartin came on, with Lewis King, Del Esplin and Broque Watson going off.
In the 68th minute, Aidan Gilmartin had the Burgh’s best chance of the second half. The young striker showed great determination down the left-hand side but was unlucky to see his right foot shot from just inside the box go just over the crossbar.
Johnstone Burgh made their final change of the night in the 72nd minute when under-20s development squad player Nico Gallagher came on to replace Blair Rossiter.
Kyle Lafferty had a half-chance from the middle of the box from around eight yards but could not find the target. His shot went over the crossbar with eight minutes of normal time remaining.
A miserable night for Johnstone Burgh was all but complete in the 85th minute as Beith Juniors scored their second goal to secure the three points. A long throw down the right-hand side came off the head of Cammy Eadie and fell straight to Thomas Collins, who ran in on goal and produced a ruthless right foot finish from around 10 yards to claim his second goal of the evening.
The final chance of the match fell to Stuart Faulds in the second minute of added time but his powerful strike from just outside the box ended up well off target.
Beith Juniors saw out the remaining minutes of added time to secure a well-deserved 2-0 win.
After tonight’s defeat, Johnstone Burgh remain in 9th place on 24 points with 14 matches played.
Full-time: 2-0
Man of the match: Kyle Lafferty