Berwick v Broxburn Match Report
Berwick suffered a 5-0 loss to Broxburn Athletic in the Lowland League at Shielfield Park as Taylor Hendry was shown an early red card.
Goals from Matthew McDonald and Errol Dougals gave the visitors a two-goal lead after eleven minutes. Taylor Hendry was sent off minutes later for striking Robbie McGale with his elbow.
Broxburn scored three more in the second half through Douglas, Chris O’Kane and Luke Watkins to give Broxburn another 5-0 victory over the Gers this season.
The chances were flowing from the beginning as it was the visitors who began the game on top. McDonald received the ball deep in his own half before unleashing his pace down the left wing. He shrugged off the challenge of Callum Pitt and got into the Berwick box before unleashing a shot that went through the legs of Liam Campbell and into the net. A terrific run from McDonald to give Broxburn an early lead.
A few minutes later, McGale received the ball on the right and crossed first time where Errol Douglas was waiting. He poked his shot into the bottom left corner to double Broxburn’s lead.
Berwick’s first chance of the game came a few minutes later. Caelan McCrone burst forward from midfield before picking out Alfie Robinson on the right side of the box. His shot at goal was well blocked by Kyle Bell.
Things went from bad to worse for the Gers after fifteen minutes. Hendry was seen to throw an elbow towards McGale, which sent the Broxburn right-back to the floor. The referee showed a straight red card to Hendry to compound Berwick’s miserable start to the game. Pitt was substituted not long after and was replaced by Niall Kemp as the early red card and losing scoreline forced a change in shape for the Dream Team.
Broxburn began to dominate proceedings at Shielfield Park with the extra man advantage. McGale was at the heart of the visitors’ creativity again as his cross found Douglas in the box. He swivelled and forced a save from Campbell before the rebound broke to Scott McGrory-Irving. His effort looked destined for the goal but was cleared off the line brilliantly by Kyle Somers.
All the chances kept going Broxburn’s way, as just before the half-hour mark, Greg Page had a free-kick effort that flashed just over the bar.
Minutes later, Douglas won the ball high up the pitch. He laid off McDonald for a shot, but his effort was straight at Campbell.
Just before half-time, McDonald’s corner caused chaos in the box before the ball broke to Page just outside the box. His fierce strike was well saved again by Campbell. Broxburn held a 2-0 lead at half-time.
Berwick had the first chance of the second half. A flick-on found Greg Binnie inside the box, who struck a volley that was tipped over the bar by Jack McConnell.
However, Broxburn looked to have wrapped the game up just under ten minutes later. McDonald’s corner was nodded into the net at the near post by Douglas to score his second and Broxburn’s third of the game.
Berwick’s attacking threat was blunt as they focused on limiting the damage as defeat looked a certainty. Blair Sneddon had a shot at goal to try and cut the deficit, but his shot from around 25 yards out was well wide.
Just over fifteen minutes from the end, Broxburn substitute Nicholas Locke executed a cutback that was pounced on by an unmarked Chris O’Kane. He slotted the ball into the bottom right corner to make it 4-0 and the attacking display shows why Broxburn are competing at the sharp end of the table.
Moments later and a long ball found O’Kane on the right side of the box. The recent goalscorer became the provider as he squared the ball past Campbell to leave substitute Luke Watkins with an open net, and he tapped the ball in to score Broxburn’s fifth.
Broxburn secured an emphatic 5-0 win, the same scoreline when the two sides met earlier this season. A day to forget for Berwick as they drop to 13th in the Lowland League table, Broxburn remain 3rd. The Gers will look to bounce back in their next game when they travel to Gala Fairydean Rovers on 27th December.