Broxburn Badgers survived an early scare before going on to lift the Presidents Cup with a 5-2 victory over Linlithgow Rose.
Fraser Patrick gave Linlithgow the lead but by half time they found themselves 3-1 courtesy of a spirited comeback from the Broxburn players.
Linlithgow pushed forward in the second half in search of a goal, which they found through David Farquharson. But Broxburn were not to be denied of cup glory as Kieran Philbin grabbed his second of the match and Neil Mackie added his name to the score sheet late on.
The match began very openly as Kai Patterson squandered an early opportunity for Broxburn to take the lead. His shot skewed wide of target.
Linlithgow’s major threat came from the right side, through Patrick, and it was his run which culminated in them taking the lead in the twelfth minute. The number 11 cut inside one defender and then moved the ball back onto his right foot for the shoot which flew across the keeper and into the opposite corner of the net.
The goal sparked Broxburn into action, and they might have had an instant equaliser had Joseph Kelly been able to get the ball out of his feet in time for the shot after Ethan Heather had played the path into him inside the area.
At the other end, Linlithgow were still dangerous with Patrick. On another run into the box the midfielder chose to shoot rather than square it to Farquharson, and saw the keeper make the save, when in hindsight the latter was possibly the better option.
Broxburn equalised in the twenty third minute as Philbin poked the ball past the keeper and as it rolled towards the goal, Bradley Gordon hammered home to make sure.
Minutes later, Philbin was in the same position, having got on the end of a Glen Halliday pass, but some valiant defending from Liam Sweeney saw the score stay at 1-1 for the time being.
However, Broxburn’s pressure soon began to tell and they took the lead. Heather supplied the pass for Philbin to net his first of the afternoon with a cool strike low into the corner.
On the stroke of half time Kelly gave Broxburn a 3-1 lead. The number 7 was on hand to net from 3 yards in a goal mouth scramble.
Half time: Linlithgow Rose CFC Rovers 1-3 Broxburn Badgers
Linlithgow pulled a goal back early in the second half to set the match up for an exciting final half hour. Farquharson squeezed the ball inside the post to give the trailing side a lifeline.
Halliday struck over for Broxburn as they looked to regain their two goal advantage before Philbin got his second. The striker followed up Mackie’s saved attempt and managed to direct the ball towards goal from a very tight angle and make it 4-2 with twenty minutes remaining.
Broxburn sealed the win ten minutes later as Philbin turned supplier for Mackie to lift over the keeper and into the net from the edge of the area.
Linlithgow continued to play and Craig Atkinson’s audacious back heel nearly brought him a goal late on. The striker, with his back to goal, had no other option but to try the speculative effort which in the end trickled agonisingly wide of goal.
The full time whistle marked the end of a game which, after a two and a half hour delay and a re-schedule to Albyn Park, still managed to serve up an extremely exciting and eventful game of football.
Full time: Linlithgow Rose CFC Rovers 2-5 Broxburn Badgers
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