Peebles Rovers 3

Eyemouth Utd 2

Neil Hobson at Whitestone Park

PEEBLES Rovers wrapped up their league campaign the way they started by taking all three points and rounding off the season with a win against a strong Eyemouth side.

This match also proved to be manager, John O’Hara’s final game in charge.

It was always going to be a tough ask, but Peebles once again showed why they’re the team to beat in this league with a spirited performance to ensure that O’Hara got a fitting send off.

But, it almost turned out to be a last day of hell, as Peebles slipped behind after conceding two goals inside 30 minutes.

It was eerily reminiscent of the performance against Civil Service Strollers a few weeks ago, and that was a game where the Rovers dragged themselves back into it, and they were certainly in no mood to be pushed about by the seaside club this time.

Oddly enough, despite the suggestions of the score- line, Peebles played better football in the first half with Jay Darling and Stephen Anderson proving to be challenging mix of skill and strength that showed no quarter. This was wonderfully demonstrated on 16 minutes, where Darling supplied a beautiful back-heel to Donovan Ndiweni who roasted a fearsome shot at Adam Mutch in gratitude.

Cruelly however, Eyemouth blasted in two rapid-fire goals on 25 and 27 minutes respectively, that must have left Dale Richardson and Jim Young in central defence, scratching their heads. Danny Coulter was the culprit for the two hit-and-run goals and proved to be an effective weapon for the visitors all evening.

Peebles didn’t sit about for long, with Lee Zavaroni knocking in a cool cross from the left wing that fell to the feet of Kenny Munro who fired narrowly wide.

Peebles pulled one back through Young on 32 minutes. Danny McAleavy's corner flew over most of the goalmouth stramash and found Young, unmarked at the back post, who thundered a powerful header home.

It was a curious first half that saw various shifts in power throughout. Eyemouth were a quick, attacking side that liked to play on the break, but somehow managed to maintain good defensive shape in the middle of the park with small pockets of midfielders constantly marking Peebles' wide men in a bid to stifle attacks and crosses. But the feeling that the Rovers were more than capable of dragging themselves out of the fire was never far from the mind.

The second half saw the introduction of Sean Conaghan to the game for Ndiweni, which ultimately proved to be a masterstroke from O’Hara as the substitute quickly made his mark on proceedings with a great strike on 50 minutes. Conaghan’s introduction prompted a change in midfield which saw Anderson drift out wide right, and he responded to this tactical shift by swinging in a great effort into the box which landed gracefully at the feet of Conaghan, who expertly tucked away the ball.

He was Peebles’ main creative force in attacking midfield, and wasn’t afraid to kidnap the ball and carve out chances for himself, as seen on 64 minutes where he ripped the defence open and found himself one-on-one with Mutch, although thwarted by an athletic save from the Eyemouth keeper.

The winner eventually arrived with Paul Murray pickeing up the ball from the halfway line, gracefully nutmegging his first man before showing some silky ball control to dance through the defence before Tweeddale’s answer to Messi, casually slotted it past the keeper.

And thus, signed off the 2015-16 season with a bang.

But, to counteract the joy of victory, there was the bitter feeling of saying goodbye to a Peebles legend, as they bid a fond farewell to double-winning manager, John O’Hara.

Having joined the club in 2013, O’Hara and assistant, Jamie Fraser, guided the Rovers from the depths of despair, to the giddy heights of bringing a historic double of the East of Scotland First Division title and the King Cup to Peebles and also taking them all the way to the Alex Jack cup final.

Speaking after the game, the departing gaffer said: “Getting a win was massive, what with this being mine and some of the player’s last time down here.

"Looking back, Going 2-0 down was probably the kick up the backside we needed, we told the players at half-time that we had to say goodbye to Peebles with a good performance, like we’ve always played over the past few seasons, but we got the win and I was really happy with the improvements in the second half.

“Coming up from the division below and playing the full season with the players that we had, and not being able to bring in new faces, I still felt we did really well. And, if someone told me at the start of the season that we would finish top six in a league of 14, I’d take that any day.”

Peebles: D. Walker, K. Munro, J. Young, D. Richardson, D. McAleavy, S. Anderson, J. Darling, D. Ndiweni, C. McAleavy, L. Zavaroni, P. Murray