Spirited Bathgate Thistle fall short of causing upset against league leaders Syngenta

A spirited Bathgate Thistle fell to a 1-0 defeat against league leaders Syngenta in their East of Scotland Conference Division X tie at Creamery Park, writes Callum McCormack.

An Andy Rodgers penalty just before half-time proved to be the difference as Syngenta sealed promotion to next season’s East of Scotland Division Two alongside Whitburn with the victory.

On paper, this looked to be an easy task for the league leaders against a Jags side containing six trialists, but recent weeks have seen a resurgent Thistle side under new gaffer Andy Malone.

The Dyes started brightly and the opening stages saw their push for an early lead thwarted by the hosts.

A reaction save from Sean Brown in the Bathgate goal would deny Rodgers an opener on seven minutes when the veteran’s powerful header appeared destined for the net before the keeper did well to deny Ally McInnes five minutes later.

Despite the early chances, it wasn’t all plain sailing with Thistle battling well but unable to convert any pressure they had into clear-cut chances.

Both Kai Wilson and Dylan Dyet would play inviting balls across the face of goal but neither would find any takers.

At the other end, Syngenta would continue to probe, often through Rodgers. The frontman broke through the Jags defence on 28 minutes but lacked the pace to separate himself with his shot under pressure going wide.

With just a minute remaining before the half-time break, the away side were awarded a penalty as Ricky Orr was adjudged to have pulled back Lennon Pirrie.

Rogers slammed home the spot-kick despite remonstrations from the Bathgate players.

The second half followed a similar pattern. The Dyes pushed for a second as Thistle looked to make the afternoon difficult for their