Five star Bo'ness Athletic keep on winning as they down top-flight teams in cup

Bo’ness Athletic’s sensational season continued over the weekend as they dumped East of Scotland Premier Division high-flyers Sauchie Juniors out of the League Cup with a 5-1 win at Newtown Park.
By Ben Kearney
Published 26th Apr 2023, 17:13 GMT
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Goals from Grant Rose, Dylan Paterson, Tiwi Daramola, Craig Sneddon and Michael Weir sealed a dominant victory for Willie Irvine’s side – with the result a new record win for a Third Division outfit over a top tier team.

The previous Friday night saw Athletic crowned champions of the division with six games still left to play, with the side on a whopping 85 points from just 30 matches played.

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“We know the quality that we have,” Irvine told the Falkirk Herald. “We know that although we are at the bottom, we have players that could easily play in the top tier of the East of Scotland, or probably the Lowland League too.

Bo'ness Athletic v Sauchie Juniors; 22/04/2023; Bo'ness; Newtown Park, EH51 0JX, Jamieson Avenue; Falkirk Council; Scotland; (Picture: Alan Murray)Bo'ness Athletic v Sauchie Juniors; 22/04/2023; Bo'ness; Newtown Park, EH51 0JX, Jamieson Avenue; Falkirk Council; Scotland; (Picture: Alan Murray)
Bo'ness Athletic v Sauchie Juniors; 22/04/2023; Bo'ness; Newtown Park, EH51 0JX, Jamieson Avenue; Falkirk Council; Scotland; (Picture: Alan Murray)

"If you took our players in any other situation, they wouldn't be at a fourth tier side, but we are doing things the right way and the guys have bought into what we are trying to do here.

"You look at the likes of Tiwi (Daramola) signing for Kelty Hearts already, and Dylan Paterson having been at Arbroath, the guys we have here really are talented footballers. We have a core of experience too.

"To be fair, on the day, the scoreline probably could have been more and Sauchie were lucky to still have eleven men on the park by the end of the game. It was no surprise to me that we won the game, or that we did it by that sort of margin either.

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"We’ve been so consistent all year and anyone who comes up to face us doesn’t really put any sort of fear into us, why would it? We are not only still unbeaten at home, but we haven’t any drawn yet.

Bo'ness Athletic v Sauchie Juniors; 22/04/2023; Bo'ness; Newtown Park, EH51 0JX, Jamieson Avenue; Falkirk Council; Scotland; (Picture: Alan Murray)Bo'ness Athletic v Sauchie Juniors; 22/04/2023; Bo'ness; Newtown Park, EH51 0JX, Jamieson Avenue; Falkirk Council; Scotland; (Picture: Alan Murray)
Bo'ness Athletic v Sauchie Juniors; 22/04/2023; Bo'ness; Newtown Park, EH51 0JX, Jamieson Avenue; Falkirk Council; Scotland; (Picture: Alan Murray)

"So especially when we have a home tie, we are full of confidence no matter who the opponent is on the day. We play football the right way and we get the ball on the deck and move it around.

"Teams just cannot deal with that at this level. The guys are so clued up with what we are trying to do.”

Bo’ness Athletic are also through to the semi-finals of the King Cup after knocking out another higher league side on Tuesday night in that competition. Despite playing with ten men for 70 minutes, Athletic beat first division Kinnoull 2-0 at home.

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