The club held a successful coffee morning prior to departing for Dunbar, and the cakes on offer appeared to be weighing the players down as they struggled to make an impact early on.

Some dodgy directions also saw the team bus arrive about 20 minutes before kick-off, resulting in a rushed warm up. This may also have been a factor in the slow start.

Dunbar worked hard to the very end despite playing with ten men for the whole of the second half.

Tweeddale struggled against the siege mentality of the depleted side, but ultimately some moments of quality made the difference. Another Grant Wilson double, his third in a row, had them in the driving seat before half time. After they were pegged back though, it took goals from David Lindsay, Nick Rogers and Craig Collin to see them over the line.

Dunbar came close to taking the lead only a few minutes in. Tiff Robertson lost his balance, allowing the striker a free run at goal. His finish, however, was disappointing.

The home side weren’t to be kept out for long though. The same player found himself with time on the edge of the area. His strike this time was explosive, giving Ryan Bertram no chance.

Tweeddale were without the injured Ruaraidh McNaughton, meaning a return to the side for Nick Rogers, in an unfamiliar wide role. As a result, they lacked pace in the wide areas and weren’t able to penetrate as much as in the previous game against St. Bernard’s.

Despite this, they began to feel their way into it and were creating some half chances. They got better and better as the half wore on and eventually turned the score line around.

Both goals came from Wilson. For his first, he done very well to hold off the attentions of at least three defenders, before slotting low into the net.

The second was different in that he enjoyed the freedom of West Lothian. After beating the incredibly high offside trap, he held his nerve to beat the keeper.

Dale’s task appeared to get easier just before the break, when the Dunbar captain raised both hands to Blair Meikle and was red carded. It was only a push, and the decision may have seemed harsh, but the referee was only following the letter of the law.

The problem was that it got anything but easier. Dunbar actually improved after going a man down. They went three at the back and seemed to take the approach that they had nothing to lose. They caused the Tweeddale defence far more problems than they had in the first half, but worked hard enough to ensure they weren’t leaving themselves open.

After surviving a few scares, Tweeddale eventually conceded the equaliser when a ball over the top found their striker who squared for his team mate to touch it over the line.

Nothing was to give in the remainder of the 90 minutes, with both teams huffing and puffing but unable to provide any real quality.

That was saved for the added 30 minutes. David Lindsay got his first goal for the club, beating two defenders and the keeper on the way.

Shortly after, Rogers marked his return with a well placed left foot strike.

Craig Collin showed composure to finish after being set up by Lindsay, and there was no way back for Dunbar.

They did manage a consolation just before the end, and they will be happy with the way they competed with a man short for so long.

Tweeddale: Bertram, F. Moffat (B. Moffat), Rathie, Robertson, Macleod (Kilshaw), R. Moffat, R. Meikle, Rogers (Cunningham), Lindsay, B. Meikle (Collin), Wilson.