Albion Rovers 1 v 2 Montrose 
Division 3
13th September 2003
Albion Rovers 1 v 2 Montrose
Division 3
13th September 2003
Click to enlarge
The pics below are courtesy & © of Dominic
Smith
Attendance : 262
Scorer ~ Montrose : Kerrigan (74)
Although in this one Albion Rovers created enough chances to win a few games, to have done so would have given the impression that they were over the worst and that the good times were again beginning to roll.
However, the stark fact is that the worst is by no means behind them as they toiled for long periods against a Montrose outfit which, while adequate and competent, themselves displayed a careless touch on more than one occasion. And, of course, in veteran Steve Kerrigan, the Gable Endies had the player who struck such a devastating second-half blow, as well as tormenting the home lads throughout the game. The fact that he was actually supposed to be playing in defence only adds insult to injury!
Rovers have now won only two of six their league matches - hardly form which suggests anything other than, at best, mediocrity, and some immediate action to halt the rot is required. Oh, sure, injuries and suspensions haven’t helped the cause, but the malaise seems to have deeper roots than that.
How can a relatively successful team of just a few short months ago deteriorate to such an extent - especially after having been supposedly strengthened by judicious signings? After all the pre-season hype, the reality is significantly different, and the fans are not happy. Of course, no one at Cliftonhill is jumping for joy. There are obvious problems to be addressed - and soon.
When Montrose surged down the right in the first minute, it would have taken little contact for Scott Michie to make a sensational start. He missed narrowly however, and we breathed again. In the 19th minute it was only the brilliance of Chris Fahey which prevented the opener. A Frank Conway free-kick was perfectly laid on to Kerrigan’s head, and with the ball certainly bound for the net, Fahey agilely leapt to his left to turn the ball aside for a corner. A great save. Then Rovers got going, at least briefly, and when Mark Simpson misjudged the flight of a long ball forward, Paul McManus was on it in a flash. He rounded the goalkeeper, but in doing so got too near the bye-line and could only try a cut-back which was smothered by the presence of two defenders.
McManus Out of Luck
In 21 minutes, Montrose lost Kevin Webster with what looked like a broken ankle, but it didn’t seem to affect their rhythm, with Scott Michie - on loan from Aberdeen - firing over from reasonable position. The visitors still looked the more eager lot and twice in quick succession Craig Smart caused more than a flutter in home hearts. Having said this, Rovers were more than capable of hitting on the break and in 36 minutes a nice cross from Andy Paterson reached the back post where McManus, with a most inventive and fierce hitch-kick, crashed the ball goalwards only to see it cannon off a post and run to safety. If that had gone in . . .
Rovers then had one of their better spells of the game with a Mercer header being well held by Butter and a gritty, determined run by Graeme McCaul ending when his final shot was blocked.
After the break, Montrose laid siege to Rovers’ goal and there was much huffing and puffing before the protracted assault came to an end. Around the hour, Jered Stirling - somewhat surprisingly fielded in spite of last week’s nose injury - began to get plenty of the ball, but apart from a good cross which McManus turned wide, his famous left foot was not as lethal as usual. In 72 minutes, Rovers might well have equalised when Iain Diack’s tenacity allowed him to get between two defenders, and his vision allowed him to lob the ball over Butter who was a few yards off his line. However, the experienced ‘keeper dashed home hopes by back-pedalling just enough to fingertip the ball over the crossbar. That unfortunate incident took on ever greater significance just a couple of minutes later when Kerrigan latched on to the ball about thirty yards out (from about the same position as McManus scored for Rovers last week) and calmly lashed it into the net behind the astonished Fahey. It was a stunning goal - in every sense.
Rovers Rally
Once again however, Rovers began to show some initiative and David Farrell came close with a free-kick before substitute Steven Skinner saw his drive just miss the target. With six minutes remaining, Farrell missed a through ball and allow Jamie Watt to close in on Fahey. However, Rovers’ excellent ‘keeper once again defied the odds to advance and deny Montrose their second goal. Nevertheless, it was the visitors who almost sealed the win with three minutes to go when Kerrigan (who else?) collected the ball on the edge of the box and wheeled to fire in a great shot. It looked a goal all the way, but actually hit Fahey’s right-hand post and bounced out.
So, the whistle blew, and another afternoon of sheer frustration was over, with only the post-mortem to come.
Albion Rovers Man of the Match : There were really only two candidates, Kevin McAllister and Graeme McCaul and the nomination goes to the youngster for his hard graft throughout.
Albion Rovers : Fahey, Paterson, Stirling, Farrell, Cormack, McCaig (Skinner 77), McAllister, McCaul, Diack, McManus, Mercer. Unused Subs : Smith, McBride, Selkirk, Swain.
Montrose : Butter, Donachie, Ferguson, McQuillan, Simpson, Conway, Webster (Gibson 21), Smart, Michie (Watt 63), Kerrigan, Brash (Farnan 46). Unused Subs : Smith, Hankinson.
Referee : John Gilmour.
Man of the Match : Graeme McCaul
