 |
Albion Rovers 3 v 1 Queen's Park |  |
|
Albion Rovers 3 v 1 Queen's Park | |
| Bell's League Third Division 13th March 2004 |
Attendance : 491
Scorers ~ Albion Rovers : McManus (15, 88), Ferry (o.g. 41). Queen's Park : Carroll (8).
Although the teams in question started as 7th and 8th in the table their recent form was pretty good, with Rovers unbeaten in three and Queen's having won their last three.
The first action of note was in the 5th minute when referee Sproule awarded an indirect free-kick to Rovers inside the visitors penalty box. The decision that Damiano Agostini had infringed pass-back rules when he used his knee to give the ball to his 'keeper infuriated Spiders fans, players and management alike. Goalie Derek Scrimgour was booked for his persistent arguing. The resultant kick was blocked on the goal line by a Queen's defender and put out of harms way.
In 8 minutes Steven Canning opened the scoring when Carcary laid off the ball after a long run. Rovers were keen not to let the visitors rest on their laurels and Scott Crabbe saw his free-kick from 25 yards just miss the target in 11 minutes. Derek Carcary was next to try his luck but his shot from the edge of the box was slightly wide of goal.
In 13 minutes mark Yardley laid on a seemingly perfect pass to striker John Bradford who was in on goal, just as fans held their breath Steven Reilly appeared from nowhere to clear the ball.
Equaliser
On the quarter-hour mark a Jim Mercer cross found club top-scorer Paul McManus waiting to slot it past 'keeper Scrimgour into the net. The game calmed down for a while and then John Whelan made an assault on the Rovers goal, Neil Bennett had to stretch to catch the ball in the process crossing the bye-line giving Queen's what proved to be an unproductive corner.
Peter Cormack failed to prevent Ross Clark approaching Rovers goal, luckily the shot crossed the front of the goal and going out. In 41 minutes Rovers took the lead when a Jordan Smith shot which seemed to be covered by the Spiders 'keeper was intercepted by defender Danny Ferry who headed the ball into his own team's net.
With two minutes left until half-time a Jim Mercer shot from the far touchline rebounded from the visitors goalpost. Things got worse for the amateurs seconds before the whistle blew when John Whelan was red-carded after taking a kick at Sean Sweeney in an off the ball incident.
Second Half
Around the hour mark the stand-side assistant referee flagged to indicate an apparent hand-ball by Jered Stirling which the referee had missed. After initially indicating a penalty Mr. Sproule awarded a free-kick on the edge of the box after the his assistant again intervened.
In 70 minutes Neil Bennett was quick off his mark to save at the feet of an onrushing attacker after a poor header in his direction caused the danger. 6 minutes later scorer Frankie Carroll tried a shot from the bye-line which skimmed across the front of the goal. Just after this a Carcary shot was parried by Bennett out for a corner when it seemed he should have held the ball.
With three minutes left a Spiders free-kick whizzed across the face of the goal but there was nobody there to stick out a foot. A minute later Paul McManus bagged his 14th league goal of the season at the end of a long run up the wing avoiding the defence and slotted home.
Summary
Rovers looked the better team for most of the game and didn't look back after Queen's were reduced to ten men. Whether Rovers unbeaten run will continue if, as he has stated, manager Kevin McAllister bloods more youngsters till the end of the season remains to be seen.
Albion Rovers : Bennett, Paterson, Stirling, Sweeney, Smith, Cormack, Bradford (Kerr 83), Crabbe, Yardley (Low 83), McManus, Mercer. Unused Subs: McCaig, Selkirk, Carr.
Queen's Park: Scrimgour, Ferry, McCallum, Dunning (Kettlewell 67), Agostini (Stewart 33), Clark (Bonnar 78), Canning, Reilly, Carroll, Whelan, Carcary. Unused Subs: Weatherston, McCue.
Referee : Martin Sproule
Man of the Match - Jim Mercer
