Boroughmuir Thistle picked up three important points - their first since September - following a 1-0 victory over Rossvale at Meadowbank on Sunday afternoon.
Cailin Michie opened the scoring in the first half with what turned out to be the winner as she struck in off the post from 18 yards.
Thistle then had the better of the chances in what was a relatively scrappy game but couldn’t quite find a second as the clock ticked on.
The Boroughmuir backline, though, stood strong to thwart the away side’s limited attacking threat and put an end to a disappointing recent run of form.
This result - and results elsewhere - sees Boroughmuir move up into fourth place on goal difference still with a game in hand to be played on Wednesday.
"It wasn't the prettiest and I think that's probably the pleasing thing about it." That was Head Coach Andy Enwood’s post-match assessment of this one as he praised his side’s ability to dig in and grind out a positive result - something that has perhaps been missing from Thistle’s play in recent weeks.
Following a two-week break since our last outing against Livingston, Enwood made a flurry of personnel changes as Thistle adopted a new system and reverted to a 4-4-2 formation. Perhaps most notably in the starting line-up was the inclusion of Caitlin Lynch, who started her first competitive match in over a year.
In the grand scheme of things, this was a game devoid of many clear-cut goal scoring opportunities and it took until the 14th minute for Thistle to fashion anything resembling a chance. Some neat link-up play between Becky Galbraith and Louise Mason allowed the former to find space in the box, but she was adjudged to have been in an offside position as she stretched to turn the ball home.
Moments later Toni Harkness was called into action for the first time as Rossvale had a pop from distance but the experienced Thistle shot-stopper was equal to it.
Thistle found the opener on 29 minutes when Michie rounded off a well-worked attacking move by firing beyond the Rossvale goalkeeper via the post from the edge of the box.
The hosts seemed to take confidence from the goal, always looking to make things happen and turn their possessional dominance into chances.
For their part, Rossvale battled hard in midfield and tried to make it difficult for Thistle to play the game they wanted.
A half-time change saw Emily Arthur replace Galbraith, with the ex-Dundee United striker finding herself at the heart of much of Thistle’s forward play in the second half.
Both Michie for Boroughmuir and Megan Whiteford for Rossvale had shots saved from distance as both sides struggled to break each other down and carve out anything meaningful.
A couple of Thistle penalty shouts were waved away by the referee and nearside assistant - Rossvale ‘keeper Chloe Gibney appeared to clatter into Jayden Simmons after she had already released the ball inside the six-yard box, and Arthur was brought down while making a bursting run down the right-hand-side.
The final minutes petered out with little to report besides a full-blooded midfield battle, and the introduction of substitute Lauren Hall marked her first return to the field in a competitive game since May - welcome news to round off a hard-fought but well-deserved victory.
It’s a quick turnaround for Boroughmuir as our focus quickly turns to Wednesday night when we travel to face Ayr United at Somerset Park in the rearranged fixture. Kick-off in that one is 8pm.
Boroughmuir Thistle: Harkness, Lynch, Sheehan, Mason (C) (Forsyth 89’), Macleod, Simmons (Hall 70’), Michie, Forbes, Galbraith (Arthur 46’), Gibson, Parrish
Subs: Angelini, Arthur, Forsyth, McCafferty, Brady, Borthwick, Aitchison, Hall, Moore
Rossvale WFC: Gibney, McGarvey, Jackson (C), Holmes (Fargie 72’), Coleman (Foulds 61’), Whiteford, Cullie, McQuillan (Macleod 82’), Robertson, Sloey (Allan 82’), Crean (Crooks 72’)
Subs: Rhind, Allan, Fargie, Newman, Macleod, O’Toole, Crooks, Foulds, McGurk
Referee: David Gallagher
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