It was honours even at Albyn Park in the West Lothian derby as Blackburn United fought back to earn a 1-1 draw with Broxburn Athletic.
In the proverbial game of two halves, the hosts were dominant in the opening 45 minutes but only had Craig Henderson’s fine finish from the edge of the box to show for their efforts.
United, who also drew with Linlithgow Rose last weekend, were much improved after the break and while there 64th minute leveller was a self-inflicted wound by the hosts there can be no denying a draw was the fair result over the piece.
A slack pass back to Shaun Donoghue put the keeper under pressure with Richie Hutton blocking the clearance which then rattled back off the bar before the stopper appeared to redeem himself with a brilliant diving save from the rebound.
Unfortunately for him, though, Laurie Devine was the quickest to react and slammed the ball home from close range.
Athletic would end up clinging on for a share of spoils in the closing moments after Andy Gillen was shown a second yellow card three minutes from time.
The Brox controlled much of the first half but genuine chances were fairly limited.
A fine run from Jordan Orru down the left-flank teed up Josh Jeffries but his strike was saved by Craig Saunders while attacking duo Darren Downie and Errol Douglas both had decent chances that they were unable to threaten an opener.
That would arrive eight minutes before the break, though, as Henderson broke forward and fizzed a brilliant strike low into the bottom corner with Blackburn’s protests of handball in the build-up being waved away.
The former Livi youngster was almost at it again three minutes later when his delicate chipped effort went inches over the bar.
United came out the traps much quicker after the break and almost levelled things up within a minute but Devine was unable to turn an enticing Kyle McClung cross home.
He wouldn’t be denied 19 minutes into the second half, though, as United got themselves back on level terms as their typical high energy pressing paid dividends as Hutton charged down the keeper before Devine finally rolled the ball into the net.
Saunders kept his side tied as he produced a smart save at his near post to deny Athletic substitute Greg Binnie but it was United who looked the most likely to take all three points.
Gillen’s late dismissal gave the visitors a lift and they nearly made it count as Luke Meikle fired an angled drive narrowly wide before being inches away from connecting with a Michael Gould pass across goal as United launched a late counter-attack.
In the end, they had to settle for a draw that was a fair reflection of the game.
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