New signing hits four as Leith thrash visitors Burntisland

Leith ATHLETIC signed Craig Hume from East Stirlingshire last month and it’s already proving to be a shrewd move. The attacking midfielder notched four goals in Leith’s 7-1 victory against Burntisland Shipyard in the Central Taxis First Division.

Hume actually claimed five goals, as he explained: “My header for the opening goal was definitely going in until Kyle [Boggie] tapped the ball over the line! However, he can have the goal because, at Leith, it doesn’t matter who scores, as long as we win to try to get back up into the Premier Division.”

Leith came out of the starting blocks flying and after only five minutes went ahead with Boggie’s close range effort. Just five minutes later Chris Barrie crossed for Hume to crash in his first goal. Burntisland struggled to find any rhythm, although Lee Small brought out a fantastic one-handed save from Iain Gordon in the Leith goal. Chris Beaton made the score three-nil midway through the first half then Hume scored a magnificent solo goal after beating three Burntisland defenders on the edge of the penalty box.

Paul Ferrier grabbed a goal for the Shipyard when he ran through to place a good shot past Gordon just before half time.

The second half saw constant Leith pressure, although it took them until late in the game to add to their score. A Jack Combe shot rebounded from the post, allowing Hume to tap in for his hat-trick. Then he pounced to notch his fourth, before Combe finished off the rout in the closing minutes.

Hume added: “I felt that we dominated the game from start to finish we had it won by half-time. All the boys here, from back to front, can play football. They are all young and have played with each other for many years. Honestly, they are a joy to watch and that’s the main reason I came here from East Stirling, where I started off playing, but then found myself on the bench. At age 26, I just want to play football.”

Derek Riddel, the Leith manager, said: “I thought that we started the game extremely well and to go four ahead so early was excellent. Then I felt we let our standards drop dramatically, although we then picked up again in the final 20 minutes. Overall it was a great result to score seven goals and get all three points. We created a lot of chances and that was good to see.

“Our game is all about passing and working hard off the ball. At the moment Coldstream are the front runners, but if we were to win every game in hand then we would go top of the league. Craig [Hume] is going to be a great addition to the squad, not only on the pitch, but also in the dressing room.”

Billy Whitehead, the Burntisland manager, was gracious in defeat when he said: “It was always going to be hard because our training facilities were closed down over the festive period and there was a lot of rustiness. We started slow and were very sluggish, but we knew that was going to happen. To be honest, Leith are the best side we have played since we joined the East of Scotland League. I really like the way they get the ball down and pass it, similar to ourselves, but it was all about their superior fitness.”

Leith Athletic: Gordon, C Barrie, Hall, Lowson (Thom 46), Tainsh, Lynch (Combe 46), S Barrie, Cairns, Boggie (Cornago 78), Hume, Beaton. Subs: Stevens, Tulloch.

Burntisland Shipyard: Melia, Brown (McAndrew 53), Brough, Gray, Whyte, Small, Hamilton (L Robertson 62), Napier, Ferrier (McCue 83), Hatton, Grieve. Subs: Lamont, S. Robertson.

Referee: Gavin Kennedy.