Star has come on leaps and bounds from last season when they were handed a number of heavy defeats against the top sides. This term has seen a huge improvement with the new Star team being a lot more competitive but unfortunately the end product in terms of points has been the same. The margins in most matches has been fine and with a wee rub of the green the results could have been a lot different.
When Bonnyrigg last visited Islecroft it took them until the last five minutes or so to break the deadlock but this time it took just a matter of seconds and it was gifted to them on a plate. A long ball from defence eventually found its way through to George Hunter who was clean through and Jack Dickinson’s last ditch challenge resulted in a penalty being awarded. However the Star protests were for his fellow striker who appeared to come from an offside position to try and flick on the long ball, but missed which assured Hunter himself remained onside. The assistant did raise his flag but after a brief discussion the penalty stood and Lee Currie fired it firmly past Darren Martin who did well to get a fingertip to the ball. Safe to say this was not the start the home side wanted but the response was good. In the 8th minute Liam Park, who had a tremendous match, went on a great run and his cutback found Lewis Sloan on the edge of the box but his first time shot flew over. There was little to choose between the sides but Owen Bell, making his home debut, was pulling all the strings for the home side. Just after the half hour Keiran McGachie had a good chance but his effort flew across goal and past the far post.
With half time approaching Athletic were given the chance to double their lead and if the first penalty award was dubious the second one was controversial to say the least. Hunter appeared to be stopped by a well timed tackle but although the Star defender played the ball the referee obviously felt there was enough contact on the striker to award a second spot kick. To say this award upset the Star players is something of an understatement. Currie, who scored two penalties last week against East Kilbride, repeated the feat by beating Martin with an audacious dink which dipped underneath the crossbar by a matter of inches.
Despite the setbacks Star continued to give as good as they got and five minutes after the restart Mark Weir was at full stretch to touch over a 25 yard effort from Bell. On the hour mark there was an almighty scramble in the Athletic box and substitute Aiden Kerr was inches away from a scoring touch. Seconds later the game seemed over when the Star defence cleared their lines but when the ball was played back into the area a momentary lapse allowed defender Alan Horne all the freedom to plant a header past Martin. Star made all their substitutions in a bid to freshen things up and in the 69th minute another terrific run by Park saw him drive the ball across the 6 yard box and there was Steven Degnan in the right spot to fire high into the net from close range. Any chance of an unlikely fightback was dealt a huge blow seconds later when Ryan McChesney went down with a hamstring injury and Star had to play the last 20 minutes a man short.
However the ten men deserve a lot of credit for taking the match to Bonnyrigg with Kerr, Degnan and Orsi all having decent efforts. They always ran the risk of conceding a fourth as they pushed forward and Bonnyrigg squandered a couple of big chances to kill off the match for a second time. In the end there was no further scoring and it seems to be a recurring theme for Star in their games recently, positives to be taken but no points. However if they can keep this level up and get that rub of the green, then surely the results will take a turn for the better.
Next week we are on Scottish Cup duty and face the long trip to Huntly. We have to admit it is the draw we didn’t want but if we can get a positive result then it will all be worthwhile.
MON THE STAR!
DALBEATTIE STAR 1 BONNYRIGG ROSE ATHLETIC 3
Degnan (69) Currie (3pen, 40pen)
Horne (60)
HT 0-2
DALBEATTIE STAR: Martin, Park, Thorburn (Douglas 54), Wells (Orsi 46), McChesney, Dickinson, Graham (Degnan 67), Bell, Irving (Potts 67), Sloan (Kerr 54), Cowie
Subs not used: Thomson, Kirkwood
Yellow Cards: McChesney
BONNYRIGG ROSE ATHLETIC: Weir, Martyniuk, Horne, Young, Brett (Balde 75), Watson (Hoskins 90), Stewart, Currie, S Gray, McGachie (Barret 75), Hunter (R Gray 65)
Subs not used: Jones, Andrews
Yellow Card: Stewart