Attendance : 385

Scorers ~ Gretna : Cameron (32, 35, 75 pen) Albion Rovers : Diack (51)

Iain Diack, aided by a slice of good fortune, scored his third goal of the season. And that, faithful reader, is the only crumb of comfort which can be drawn from this appallingly bad display by a Rovers’ outfit which finished with only nine men on the field.

Just how can a team change so quickly and spectacularly from potential champions to no-hopers in the space of seven short days? OK, referee Chris Boyle, one of the new breed of incompetent officials, didn’t help things, but boy, when Rovers fall apart, they do it with some style!

After conceding almost total territorial advantage to the hosts in a first half in which Rovers had one paltry shot at goal, Gretna might have gone in at the break with an even greater advantage - and if it had not been for goalkeeper Chris Fahey, that would certainly have been the case.

In the opening minutes, Rovers made a couple of tentative moves towards the home goal before the hosts stepped on the gas and had the visitors back-pedalling furiously to prevent falling behind. Big Martin Cameron - the man who was to have such an important role to play - brought out the best in Fahey in the 8th minute, his low drive being well held by the ‘keeper. Four minutes later a bad pass by Jed Stirling went straight to Cameron’s foot, but again Fahey mopped up the danger. As the Borderers continued to make the running, Ryan Baldacchino tried his luck only to find Fahey in the right place at the right time.

Quick Double

In the 20th minute, the speedy Gary Cohen tied Cormack in knots and it took a splendid late intervention by Stirling to prevent a score. After Mark Yardley had been booked, Cohen fired past from good position and Rovers had their backs to the proverbial wall as the black-and-white tide threatened to engulf them. Then, just as it seemed that the storm had been weathered, Gretna struck. Cameron beat the offside trap and drove for goal only to find that Fahey had advanced to the edge of his area to make a great block. Unfortunately however, the ball rebounded straight to Cameron who gleefully walloped it into the empty net from around twenty yards.

Three minutes later, Cohen and company eased their way down the left past a bamboozled defence and when the ball was played into the middle, Cameron thumped it into the roof of the net. In 38 minutes, Paul McManus created a moment of hope at the other end, but his weak shot, Rovers’ first of the half, was cleanly held by home ‘keeper David Mathieson. A booking for Cohen was the last action of a forty-five minute period best forgotten by the Coatbridge men.

Rovers Fight Back

Kevin McAllister replaced Kevin McBride at the break, but in the second minute of the half, Mr Boyle decided that Mark Yardley had illegally challenged Mick Galloway - himself no angel - and sent the rugged striker to the stand, flourishing what appeared to be a straight red card. Then, much to the surprise of everyone, Rovers reduced the leeway in 51 minutes. Diack sent in a superb drive which struck the underside of the crossbar and flashed vertically down to hit Mathieson’s back and trickle over the line. The fact that the striker had the presence of mind to race in and thump the loose ball into the net was simply insurance.

So, we were back in the game, and although Gretna were clearly still on top, the injection of the McAllister factor had balanced things to a degree. Following a booking for Cameron, it still looked as if just another break would allow Rovers to level.

Then, however, it all started to fall apart in the most dramatic fashion. In the 71st minute, Stirling got involved with Galloway and foolishly aimed a kick at the Gretna player. The colour red was flashed again and Rovers were down to nine. For complaining about the incident, McAllister saw yellow.

75 minutes had been played when Andy Paterson conceded a penalty, an action for which he was booked, as was Fahey for expressing his disappointment to the referee. Cameron stepped up and cleanly thumped the ball home for his hat-trick. As things continued to deteriorate, Jock McStay was banished from the touchline for some ill-judged remarks and David Farrell was cautioned for a foul.

Even after all this, Rovers could have made a bit of a game of it with five minutes to go when a fine McAllister cross was headed wide by Jordan Smith.

Having said that, for 90% of this match only one team demonstrated the necessary will to win - and it wasn’t Rovers.

Man of the Match : For once, there were few contenders for this honour, but the nomination goes to Chris Fahey for keeping the score to reasonable proportions.

Gretna : Mathieson, Birch, Maddison, McGuffie (Cosgrove 76), Irons, Holdsworth, Baldacchino, Galloway, Cameron, Cohen, Eccles (Skelton 85). Unused Subs : Knox, O’Neill, Wylie.

Albion Rovers : Fahey, Paterson, Stirling, Smith, Cormack, McCaig, Diack (Connolly 81), Farrell, Yardley, McManus, McBride (McAllister (46). Unused Subs : Selkirk, Kerr, Swain.

Referee : Chris Boyle.

Man of the Match : Chris Fahey