Whitburn 2 Johnstone Burgh 2 ONLY penalties could decide the outcome of this, no frills, gutsy Scottish Junior Cup final at Firhill - and it was Whitburn who got it right in their third attempt at the ultimate hurdle.

Perhaps fittingly, it was their captain Steve Prior who scored the last penalty after three were missed.

Johnstone Burgh were in a hurry right from the start and they let it be known with a goal in just four minutes, the result of a

perfect little chip from Colin Lindsay.

It came from a free kick on the edge of the Whitburn penalty area when the ball was set up by John McLay who rolled it to Lindsay and his shot sailed over the hands of Robert Burns.

However, the incident which led to the free kick in the first place was somewhat controversial. Bruce Clouston appeared to trip Alan Frater inside the box, but referee Ian Brines ruled the infringement had happened just outside the area.

It didn't matter. Burgh got a goal while the Whitburn defender got himself booked.

However, Whitburn weren't too far away from equalising two

minutes later when their towering centre forward, Andy Hume, had a header held on the line by Burgh goalkeeper Alan Donohoe.

Then the big crowd of just over 7000 - one that Partick Thistle would die for - were entertained by a streaker who decided to show us what he was made of before a security man handed him his coat as he was being led away to the Maryhill cop shop.

There seems to be an awful lot of people who want to strip off at football matches these days and why they do it is a mystery.

However, the game never lost any momentum and, in 26

minutes, Hume posed more

problems to the Burgh defence when he had another header stopped by Donohoe.

The Whitburn contingent would like to have seen a quick equaliser, but Hume in particular had yet to fulfil his promise inside the

Burgh penalty area.

However, it was former Partick Thistle defender Callum Milne who got Whitburn back on level terms from the penalty spot in 39 minutes after he had been

challenged by Lee Martin.

The Burgh players complained vehemently about referee Brines' decision, but it stood and Milne sent Donohoe the wrong way from the spot.

A draw at the interval was just about right, because while this wasn't a pretty affair it was the sort of football in the raw that

creates its own brand of excitement.

The second half was only three minutes old when Whitburn almost took the lead, but Donohoe made a great reflex save from a Gilmour header.

However, the team from the East went the whole road from the corner kick. Gilmour sent the ball over from the left and Colin Campbell headed home to make it 2-1 while the Burgh defence were ball watching.

The game was level seconds later because Burgh went straight up the park and put things to right instantly.

McLay lobbed a ball over the head of a defender, then volleyed it with his left foot beyond Burns.

The crowd were lapping this up. There were no complicated

formations, no strutting or posing and certainly no showboating, just a hefty spadeful of action.

Terry Wilson was given the nod to join in after 58 minutes when he was sent on to replace Graeme Landels who appeared to be

suffering from a knock.

Again in 71 minutes Hume used every bit of his 6ft 6in to beat the Burgh defence, but he could only head wide when the goal looked like an easier option.

Four minutes later, his team-mate Prior also failed to connect with a header low down from only a couple of yards out.

Whitburn changed things again, this time in 79 minutes when Paul Taylor took over from Kenny

Hannah but, a minute later, David Brolly should have tilted things in Burgh's favour with a header from close in which he sent wide.

Burgh got a real scare in 83 minutes when Gilmour hit a 20-yard shot which squirmed out of the hands of Donohoe and hit the post before being cleared.

Both sides made changes in 85 minutes, Whitburn replacing Sean Bonnar with Kevin Craig while Burgh brought Raymond Fallon on in place of Alex Ryan. A minute later they also used James McGuire for Brolly.

Burgh made their final substitution when Cameron Connie took over up front from Frater.

Then, in the ninty-ninth minute, Colin Campbell rounded

Donohoe, but his shot was headed clear by Grant Clark.

Right on half time McGuire shot just inches over the Whitburn bar from about 30 yards out.

Despite all of this, nothing was to separate these teams and decide the destination of the cup ... except of course a dramatic penalty shoot-out.

Johnstone Burgh - Donohoe, Ryan (Fallon, 85min), Clark, Martin, Heaton, Hendren, Millar, Lindsay, Frater (Connie 94), Brolly (McGuire 86), McLay.

Whitburn - Burns, Clouston, Milne, J Campbell, Prior, Landels (Wilson 58), Hannah (Taylor 79), L Campbell, Hume, Bonnar (Craig 85), Gilmour.

Referee - I Brines.