Haddington and Broxburn met for the first time in years, when the West Lothian side provided the opposition in a midweek Premier League match under the Millfield floodlights. A good crowd of over 200 turned up to watch the game and they were treated to an absorbing encounter with the officials taking centre stage with a number of controversial decisions. Manager Scott Bonar sent out the side that started against Oakley but it was the more experienced visitors who were to the fore in the opening stages. The home side were competing well but they fell behind in the 36th minute when a Broxburn player popped up at the back post and found the net with header from a left wing corner.
The Hi Hi’s hit back and almost immediately Euan Watson broke through the Broxburn defence only to be impeded by the goalkeeper. Everyone stopped expecting the inevitable penalty decision and potential red card. Somehow both the referee and his assistant, who had an unobstructed view, allowed play to continue much to the disbelief of everyone in the ground. ‘Stonewaller’ didn’t even cover it! Minutes later the dynamic Ethan Williams rattled the inside of the post with a terrific effort as the visitors rode their luck.
The home side took the game to their opponents from the start of the second half gradually building up some intense pressure. The introduction of Shaun Hill from the bench and his link up play with Guy McGarry spelt trouble for the visitors and with just over 70 minutes played, some intricate footwork from Hill, saw him slot in the equaliser. It looked like the home side now had the momentum to go on and win the match. Minutes after equalising Hill had another opportunity but failed to keep his shot down. However Millfield was silenced when the Hi Hi’s contrived to present Broxburn with a second goal following some dreadful defending that allowed substitute Binnie to dink the ball over Cornet. Despite this setback Haddington tried hard to save the game and urged on by Williams in midfield, they soon had the visitors under pressure. A lengthy stoppage for treatment to a Broxburn player, ensured that there would be a significant amount of time added on. During this spell the home side were awarded a penalty when Simpson was taken down in the box. Significantly it was the other assistant who signalled the offence. Up stepped Hill who had won the points with a penalty last Saturday but he saw his attempt blocked by the Broxburn goalkeeper who became a hero when he also managed to get in the way of substitute Tait’s follow up from the rebound. It certainly looked like Tait had to score. The drama wasn’t over and from the corner, Tait appeared to make up from his miss, when he forced the ball over the line only to see the referee spot an infringement in the play. Exciting stuff for the spectators but this was a game that Haddington should have won. On a positive note the team showed that they can more than hold their own in the sixth tier of Scottish football.
