Burntisland Shipyard 0

Peebles Rovers 1

Neil Hobson at Recreation Park

PEEBLES Rovers wrapped up their pre-season cup duties in fine fashion thanks to a comfortable 1-0 victory over Burntisland.

A powerful Ndiweni header was all it took for Ger Rossi’s side, and attention now turns to the opening day clash with Tynecastle tomorrow.

Going into the game, all eyes were focused on a depleted Peebles squad struggling to cope with the burden of injury, absence and suspension, with four temporary signings drafted in to fill in the considerable gaps in the team.

Rossi handed debuts to two of them, with Alex Imlah slotting in at centre-back and Jamie Shiel between the posts after signing on emergency loan from Vale of Leithen.

The lack of available options up top was a noticeable weak spot, with David Lindsay serving a suspension following a red card against Hutchison Vale and Alan McMath still side-lined with injury - this meant that defender, Chris Robertson was forced to lead the line-up top.

The game started in a typical cagey fashion, as both teams dipped their toes in the water, measuring the opposition.

The deadlock in midfield was eventually split open after six minutes on the clock with Rossi swinging a superb horizontal ball to Donovan Ndiweni who lurked outside the box on the left.

Taking one touch to control, Ndiweni then cut inside, beating his man before over-hitting his effort to sail over Marcus Taylor’s head.

It transpired to be a taste of what was to come, with the first half proving to be a story of missed opportunities for a Rovers team that could easily have raced into a 3-0 lead by half-time.

Robertson received good service from out wide, with Lewis Marshall and Ndiweni both knocking in some quality crosses, but had absolutely no luck, for every ball that came Robertson’s way ended up smashing off the cross bar or just kissing the post and bouncing out for a corner.

However, Burntisland certainly weren’t just taking all the punishment and very nearly beat Shiel on nine minutes after Mark Wright eased the ball off to Chris Maxwell who squandered a fantastic chance to put Burntisland in the lead by blasting the ball way too high.

But this was a half, and indeed a game, where Peebles were largely in control as they benefitted from crisp passing and excellent counter-attacking play.

The second half saw the red and white onslaught continue with Robertson once again forced to watch in horror as two more efforts crashed off the cross bar. Colin Smith went close following a Rossi ball out left which he hit on the volley, producing an excellent save from Taylor

A goal for Peebles looked likely, and the ice was finally broken on 63 minutes. Imlah received a ball from the left, which he attempted to power past Taylor with his head forcing a reaction save. The ball bounced out, and an unmarked Ndiweni sprang up and hammered it home with a powerful header.

The psychological impact was huge, with Burntisland playing at a higher tempo as Peebles’ intensity levels dropped.

They scared with a Ben Paterson free kick that forced a save out of Shiel, and a goalmouth scramble that saw a loose ball drilled into the back of the net by Luke Fleming on 88 minutes, cuing manic celebrations in their belief that they grabbed an equaliser. Referee, Callum Doyle, disagreed and disallowed the goal for offside despite a protest.

But, Peebles held out, and return to Whitestone Park preparing for their opening day clash with Tynecastle on Saturday at home.

Peebles Rovers: Shiel, Mackay, Imlah, Dodds, Zavaroni, Cockburn, Rossi, Smith, Marshall, Ndiweni & Robertson. Subs: Thomson, Schulz-Keith, Glass