East Stirlingshire 3 v 4 Albion Rovers

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Attendance : 175

Scorers ~ East Stirlingshire : Ure (9), Leishman (12), Kelly (pen. 49). Albion Rovers : Stirling (26), McLaren (o.g. 40), Mercer (46), Yardley (90).

It wasn't easy and wasn't pretty but Rovers losing streak of six league matches ended with a win at Firs Park. The last match between the two teams ended in a 5-0 home win for Rovers but it took an own goal and an injury time winner on this occasion.

The visitors started brightly with a Mark Yardley shot narrowly missing the target in 3 minutes after some good build-up play from Paul McManus. Seconds later a Jordan Smith shot from 30 yards was a couple of feet past the post.

Defence - What Defence?

Things were to change dramatically in 9 minutes when Shire striker Derek Ure took advantage of inept defending to slot home after a cross from Chris Baldwin.

Almost before the shock of going behind had sunk in, basement-boys Shire did it again! This time Ure passed the ball to Jordan Leishman who was untroubled by any defenders and he had no difficulty scoring.

Things got better for the Cliftonhill boys in 26 minutes when Jered Stirling latched onto a Mark Yardley knockdown to put the ball past ex-Rovers keeper Jon Connolly at the foot of his post.

A couple of minutes later a Graeme McCaul shot crossed the goal but missed the target. Just after that a Derek Ure shot was deflected for a corner which led to Graham McLaren seeing his shot go over the crossbar.

In 36 minutes a cross from Baldwin was plucked from the feet of Livingstone by keeper Bennett in the Rovers box. Seconds later Shire's Ure picked up a booking for a foul on Jered Stirling.

Level

By this time it was dark enough for the appalling state of the Firs Park lights to become evident and players identities even more difficult to establish. In 40 minutes Graham McLaren was the unlucky person to be "credited" with scoring an own goal. In attempting to clear the ball just in front of their goal an unknown defender skelped the ball and it came off McLaren into the net.

Almost immediately play switched to the other end of the park when Stuart Kelly passed to Ure whose shot produced a save by Neil Bennett's legs. The last move of the half saw a cross ball find Jim Mercer in the Shire box, his strong and low shot was stopped but seemed to hang around in front of goal for a long time before being cleared.

Second Half

Within 60 seconds of the restart Rovers took the lead when captain Jim Mercer got his head to a Jered Stirling corner just a couple yards from the goal line.

Still celebrating the goal Rovers fans were stunned when referee Murray awarded the home side a penalty apparently because a jersey was tugged in the box by scorer Jim Mercer. Sean Sweeney was shown a yellow card for protesting. Stuart Kelly made no mistake and the sides were level once more.

In 58 minutes Graeme McCaul had his name taken by the referee for a foul. Next in trouble was Shires Ure who moments earlier avoided his second yellow card for a foul on Jordan Smith but wasn't so lucky when he fouled Chic Connolly who had to be substituted a few minutes later as a result.

Rovers tried to capitalise on their one-man advantage in 65 minutes when a Mercer shot during a period when the ball was hitting off players like a pinball game but the home keepers legs got in the way.

In 77 minutes a gaff by Neil Bennett could have cost Rovers dear. He raced out 35 yards from his goal line to tackle an inrushing attacker but missed the ball completely. Next, defender Andy Paterson who was nearby fell over, the Shire man was so surprised he failed to take advantage and the ball went out.

A couple of minutes later a Kelly shot from distance was woefully inaccurate. Next there was an excellent chance when Mark Yardley passed forward to Graeme McCaul who was on the edge of the East Stirling box. He ran into the box but seemed to take one step too many before his shot was smothered by Connolly.

Boom Boom

In stoppage-time when everybody thought the match was over up stepped the irrepressible Mark Yardley who scored the winner from close in. This extended Albion Rovers run to nine straight wins over their rivals from Falkirk.

Summary

Neither team had a defence worthy of that description and the Rovers keepers performance didn't inspire anybody with confidence. That having been said the battling spirit was however in evidence especially among Paul McManus who ran his heart out as always.

East Stirlingshire : Connolly, Maughan, Oates, Hare, McLaren, McGhee, Livingstone, Leishman (Trialist 78), Ure, Kelly (Trialist 90), Baldwin. Unused Subs : McKay, Irvine, Todd

Albion Rovers : Bennett, Connolly (Paterson 63), Cormack (McBride 86), Sweeney, McCaig, Stirling, McCaul (Bradford 86), Smith, Yardley, McManus, Mercer. Unused Subs : Fahey, McKenzie.

Referee : Calum Murray

Man of the Match - Jered Stirling

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