Home defeat for Thornton Hibs

Yet it was the Hibs who began the game on the front foot and they appeared to be in control but with barely five minutes on the clock, Sulaiman Ashraf broke quickly up the left wing before delivering a perfect cross for Sean Brown to head home.

This seemed to give the visitors a real lift and just four minutes later Stuart Drummond had to look lively to knock Brown's effort wide for a corner-kick.

Reece Cochrane took it with the unfortunate LiamMcWatt inadvertently diverting the ball into his own net.

Callum Doran then made a great save to deny Brown again before the ref stopped the game for a water break for the players with Thornton's supporters perhaps wishing they could get their hands on something a bit stronger as this was beginning to be really painful to watch.

Doran made another couple of good saves from Cochrane and Ashraf to keep the half-time deficit down to just two goals and to give his side a small chance to take something from the game in the second 45.

It was in the 53rd minute that Ormiston 'keeper, Kieran Beveridge, was finally called into action to deal with a Darren Ormiston strike and not long at the back of that, Stuart Drummond headed Andy Adam's corner-kick wide of its intended target with the Hibs' skipper's reaction suggesting that he knew he should've done better.

From another Adam corner-kick, Beveridge had to look lively to prevent it going straight into the net and by now Thornton had the bit between their teeth.

Substitute Fergus Mackie showed good skill to work an opening only for Cochrane's last ditch challenge to deny him.

Thornton knew it just wasn't going to be their day when Beveridge brilliantly tipped Adam's superbly struck free-kick onto the crossbar with Drummond volleying the loose ball over.

Thornton Hibs: Doran, Robertson, Trialist, S.Drummond, Hepburn, Adam, McNeish, McWatt, Ormiston, Thomson J nr, McMillan. Subs: Coleman, Mackie, Trialist, Trialist.

Referee: Mr E.Walls