JAMIE McKim hailed his side’s character after they battled back from two goals down to nick a late point against Lesmahagow – but reckons Burgh deserved to come home with more.


Johnstone found themselves behind with less than a minute on the clock after a poor clearance was punished with a neat finish.


McKim’s side piled on the pressure in search of an equaliser, but the Gow were happy to sit in and use their pace to hit Burgh on the break.

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The second half mirrored the first from the off as another mistake handed the home side an advantage, this time with a soft penalty. 


Fraser Wilson guessed correctly but he couldn’t turn it away as the hosts doubled their lead. 


McKim made his third and final substitute with the introduction of Lee Salisbury and it paid off when the former Stranraer youngster powered up the left and connected sweetly, seeing his effort sail past the Lesmahagow keeper into the net. 

The Gazette:

The Burgh players celebrate after scoring against rivals Arthurlie earlier in the season 


After dominating for the majority of the second half, Burgh deservedly levelled just five minutes from time. 


Salisbury was instrumental once again, turning provider this time when he hit a cutback for Ryan Officer who made no mistake from close range to slam it home.


Burgh looked the more likely to score in the final minutes but had to settle for a share of the points. 


McKim was reflective after the match, praising the character of his side to bounce back but also disappointed with the manner in which they fell behind.


He said: “We got what we deserved in terms of coming back and not losing the game. The character from the boys to come back was brilliant. I was trying to gee them up a wee bit, but they actually didn’t need it – they knew themselves that they had to up [their game] and they did. 


“We lost a poor goal inside 30 seconds – I was really disappointed with that – then we gave away a soft penalty in the second half. 


“But we scored our two goals in the last 25 minutes, so to come back the way we did was excellent. 


“Our fitness levels really showed and if the game had gone on a couple of minutes longer, I’ve no doubt we would have won – we just ran out of time for that last goal.”


McKim added: “We really ran all over them in the last half an hour. Lesmahagow are a good side but we were by far the superior football side. We completely dominated the game, but we caused our own problems.” 


Next up for Burgh is a showdown with Ashfield.

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The Field are in fine form, having opened their league campaign with five wins from five, but McKim and his side are not lacking in confidence and are relishing the chance to welcome the league leaders to Keanie Park. 


The self-assured gaffer said: “We’re definitely looking forward to Saturday. As much as Ashfield have done well, I can guarantee people will be fearing Burgh this year. 


“We’ve built a right good side and we don’t fear anyone. That shows when you look at the results. We look forward to these big matches.


“Don’t get me wrong, Saturday will be difficult – but I’m confident against anyone.”