Whitburn welcomed back ace striker Colin Strickland for this must win game if they were to keep in touch with Camelon and Lochee at the top of the league. They started the game brightly and should have taken the lead in the fifth minute when Strickland chipped the ball over Fraser Fitzpatrick but the ball didn't have enough pace to cross the line and Alex Lurinsky couldn't apply the final touch, the ball being cleared. Tayport proved they weren't here to make up the numbers when 3 minutes later Andy Lawson squared the ball to Dean Rennie in the box and his shot beat Stewart Walker but hit the post and the keeper jumped on the ball. Just a minute later a great Alan Flanagan cross was punched out by Fitzpatrick only as far as Strickland on the edge of the box and he controlled the ball and powered it into the net to give Whitburn a vital lead. Throughout, it seemed as though the scorer was trouble by his injury sustained at Kelty and on the quarter hour he had to be replaced by Andy Roberts. There was little in the way of goalmouth excitement until the 38 th minute when a superb ball picked out Darren Moonie wide on the left and he hit over a great early cross which Roberts looped over Fitzpatrick to double the lead.
Into the second half and with 10 minutes gone Iain Ramage was fouled 25 yards out. Alan Mooney, who had scored the only goal of the game at Tayport with a free from the same position tried his luck again but this time his solid strike struck the wall full on. Just on the hour Alan Flanagan was blocked on the right and the referee awarded a free kick. Moonie swung in a beauty which Ramage met with his head but the ball came back off the bar and was cleared. In the 69 th minute Moonie delivered a great corner which Roberts seemed to get to first and the ball looped goalwards and seemed to be partially over the line but not enough so for the linesman to award the goal. The third goal was only delayed till the 82 nd minute when Moonie squared to John Murphy who put a great through ball to Lurinsky and he bent a right footed shot past the keeper.
