New Dundas Park

Bonnyrigg Rose 2-0 Forfar Athletic

30th July 2022

And with this match, another former Scottish Junior Football club joined the Scottish League pantheon.  And on this display, with a bit of sharper finishing, it is not difficult envisage Bonnyrigg Rose repeating Kelty Hearts' feat of winning the Scottish League Two title at the first time of asking.  For this really was an impressive showing from the Midlothian club, even if it took them a wee while to find their shooting boots.

The home side pretty much bossed the first-half, but their cause was hampered in no small way by some frankly woeful finishing.  Callum Connolly's wild strike into the leylandii high above the visitors' goal in the opening minute set the scene for the rest of the half, as headers flew over the Forfar crossbar, and shots flashed harmlessly well wide of their target with metronomic regularity.

Come the break, despite all the pressure, I could not recall Forfar's 'keeper Marc McCallum having been troubled once.  In fact it was his opposite number Mark Weir who had been called into action to make a fine stop - although the play, on that occasion, was subsequently called back for an offside.

The second half continued in the same vein until, as is often the way in such cases, it took a real howler by McCallum to break the deadlock.  I did not quite see what occurred, other than the Forfar 'keeper seemed to let a fairly innocuous looking effort from Bonnyrigg's Kevin SMITH dribble first through his hands, and then through his legs.

Moments later the home lot should have gone two up when, having been left left unattended at the far post, the very same SMITH deftly controlled a cross to set up what looked like a tap-in for himself.....only to sclaff the ball horribly wide from around six yards out.

As the match drew into the last quarter, play become a touch scrappy as the home side began to give away possession cheaply at times, and Forfar resorted to simply hoofing the ball forward for the nippy Matthew Aitken to attempt to get on the end of.  The visitors' Stefan McCluskey and (once he came on) Kevin Hanratty (on loan from Aberdeen) each beavered away tirelessly, I felt.  But Bonnyrigg's midfield trio of Calum Connolly, Jonathon Stewart and (particularly) Ross Gray pretty much ran the show from start to finish.

And it was Ross's brother Scott GRAY who finally ensured Rose' first ever Scottish League match would end in victory, when he curled in a delightful right-footer from the edge of the box.

The pleasingly understated sign on Lothian Street.

Respective team captains: Forfar's Craig Slater and Bonnyrigg's Jonathan Stewart.

A few of the Forfar players had holes cut in their socks.
Nope, beats me too.

Forfar's Roberto Nditi and Kevin Hanratty

Time up.

I first visited New Dundas Park sometime in the mid 1980s, to watch Bonnyrigg take on Bo'ness United in a local cup tie.  My hazy recollection from that day, being that the crowd then was not much less that the 1,098 who pitched up here today.

I am not convinced too much has changed around the ground since either.  Floodlights have been installed certainly, and chunks have been chiselled out of the grass banking to house the two dugouts.  But nothing drastic really.  Perhaps there is a bit more hard standing, but that giddy slope across the pitch looks as precipitous as ever.

Panorama of New Dundas Park - Bonnyrigg Rose.