Bo'ness Athletic: Irvine praises squad's depth

The Newtown Park side beat higher league opposition last midweek, defeating Heriot Watt University 6-3 in the Alex Jack Cup second round.

Looking back at the cup tie, he said: “We controlled the full match but lost two stupid goals. I had made five substitutes at that point and that possibly had an impact.

“They were never in the match.

“Our squad is up to that level it needs to be now.

“The people who are coming into the side after being on the bench the previous match are as good as the people they are replacing.

“Our team selections so far have mainly been based on fitness to be honest.

“Everyone in the squad is first team starters which is a problem you want to have.”

Dylan McCafferty, who joined from Dunipace’s under-20s side, grabbed a hat-trick against the students on the night.

"He is a player we knew could have that sort of impact,” Irvine added. “He was injured just a couple of days after joining but he is getting up to speed now.

"He is a good finisher and he is calm on the ball.”

On Tuesday night Athletic fell to a first third division defeat of the campaign as they lost 2-0 at Livingston United.

Irvine said of that result: “We went down to 10 men and we missed a penalty.

"You won’t win every match in the league and we are still in a good position with our two games in hand.”