Bo'ness United pay the penalty in defeat to Cumbernauld Colts in second successive defeat

With the visitors leading 1-0 going into the final 15 minutes of the match, the BU had the chance to level the match but instead found themselves two goals down a minute later after a quick counter attack.

Hunter said of the performance: “In the first half, we weren’t really creative enough and both teams cancelled each other out on the park. We weren’t anywhere near the levels we need to be at and we were probably second to some balls. We weren’t combative which is unlike us.

“At the break we spoke to the guys about what we felt was going wrong. Everything was rushed and there was no composure in our play. We gave the guys ten minutes to see if we could improve and to be fair to them, they did do that and were in the ascendancy.

“We made a couple of changes to reinforce the momentum we had and we get that big moment with the penalty but we don’t take that opportunity. It was one of those moments, in all honestly, it just took the wind out of sails and it killed our belief at that point.

“If the penalty went in I really think we would have taken at least a point from the match. After that we made really basic mistakes and if you do that in this league the other team will punish you. The same happened against Albion Rovers last midweek and that annoying thing is that we have been so good at the back before these two matches.

“Cumbernauld were stronger than us in those key areas but gaining 15 points from a possible 21 points in hindsight is a good platform and it is a good start to the season. What we need to do now is show that character by bouncing back against Civil Service Strollers.”

Meanwhile, Bo’ness Athletic continued their stunning start to the campaign as they hit ten goals past Newburgh Juniors in the East of Scotland Second Division to pick up three points – with that result keeping Willie Irvine’s team on maximum points so far from their opening four league fixtures.

In that match, Athletic captain Jason Mackay netted a sensational strike from his own half.