Armadale Thistle boss Derek Strickland hailed the character of his table-toppers after they came from behind twice to defeat Whitburn.
The Dale picked up all three points in a typical blood and thunder derby clash at Central Park on Saturday with Robbie Feeney netting the decisive goal three minutes after the interval in the 3-2 triumph.
Strickland admitted the goal shouldn’t have stood but felt his side did more than enough to warrant the three points that took them to the summit of the East of Scotland Conference X table.
It’s hard to argue with that assessment as Armadale controlled the second half following an opening 45 minutes in which they immediately replied after falling behind twice.
Speaking to the Courier, he commented: “Before the game, we thought it was one we had to win. Probably a draw wouldn’t have been good enough.
“To win the game is exceptionally pleasing and it gives us that boost of being top of the table although there’s still a long way to go and there are teams who have games in hand.”
Whitburn opened the scoring 15 minutes into the fast-paced encounter when Darren Liddell was found unmarked six yards out only for Thistle to reply three minutes later.
JJ Henderson’s free-kick found Feeney who perfectly teed up Chris Donnelly to fire home the leveller.
The hosts would take the lead once more just after the half hour mark when Reece Duncan was adjudged to have been clipped inside the box - with the Burnie’s top scorer casually slotting home the resultant penalty.
But the Dale answered back in swift fashion once more when Henderson’s strike from distance deceived Daniel Potts and nestled into the bottom corner.
A dominant second half started with Feeney’s strike three minutes in as he raced through and slammed the ball beyond Potts.
The visitors squandered several chances before having Connor Shaw to thank for a brilliant late save from Darren Liddell to preserve the three points.
Strickland added: “The character was exceptional to come back from a goal down twice and then win the game.
“I didn’t think we’d played that well in the first half. It was a typical derby game with fouls and both teams mixing it and plenty of huff and puff so it was actually pleasing going into half-time all-square because I knew we could play better.
“I thought we were the better team in the second half and created plenty of chances. We might have won by more if we were a bit more clinical in front of goal - albeit our keeper has made a brilliant save at the end to keep us in front.
He added: “Robbie was two yards offside for his goal - it was directly in line with me - but he still showed brilliant composure to score.
“It’s difficult for the referee when there’s no assistants and you hope over the course of a season those sort of decisions even themselves out. We had a goal ruled out in the first half with Ruari MacLennan that our guys are saying was onside and I thought their penalty was really soft.
“But I think based on the second half performance, we were well worth the three points.
“It’s a nice feeling going top of the league and it’s the first time we’ve been in this position all season so the boys will enjoy it, but there’s plenty of football still to be played.
“It’s going to be a really exciting few months with the top four battling it out.”
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