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| Camelon 2 v 5 Albion Rovers |
| Friendly 22nd July 2004 |
Attendance : Approx. 75
Scorers ~ Camelon : McGeechie (63) Unknown (79). Albion Rovers : Bradford (18), Yardley (39, 54) Patrick (88), McManus (90).
Camelon opened the match with a high shot on goal a couple of minutes in. John Bradford was first to have a go for Rovers when his shot was well held by the opposition 'keeper in 4 minutes.
In 18 minutes Rovers took the lead when a Graeme McLaren cross found its way to John Bradford who seemed only to have to tap the ball into the net. The 'keeper had other ideas though and dived in front of the striker, the ball hit him and went over his prostrate body into the back of the net.
Marc McKenzie was next to test the 'keeper but the shot was held. In 28 minutes a cheeky chip over a Rovers defender from inside the box led to a decent shot which the Rovers trialist 'keeper managed to hold.
John Bradford missed the proverbial sitter and Camelon also came close before Rovers went further into the lead in 39 minutes. Mark Yardley scored by chipping the ball over the 'keeper who'd dived in front of the veteran striker.
Second Half
Camelon started the second half strongly coming close twice within seconds of the whistle. In 54 minutes Mark Yardley bagged his second goal when he jinked past a couple of defenders and slotted a low shot into the net. McLaren and Yardley both forced saves from the Camelon 'keeper before Ross McGeechie pulled one back for the homesters after beating a few defenders.
Rovers trialist 'keeper pulled off a great block of a close-in shot before a series of four attempts on his goal within about 20 seconds which were blocked by him and his post. In 79 minutes an unidentified Camelon player scored with a quality shot which he smacked across the Rovers 'keeper.
In 82 minutes substitute Paul McManus was tackled by the 'keeper but he managed to recover and hit the ball goalward by which time the 'keeper had got back between the sticks to punch clear. The ball fell to McLaren whose shot hit the crossbar and rebounded to a trialist who hit the ball too high.
The next couple of minutes again saw McManus troubling the Camelon defence when he forced two brilliant saves from the home stopper. With just 2 minutes left Ricky Patrick scored when the 'keeper made his first mistake of the match when he palmed the ball to the Rovers youngster. Patrick had just to step round the 'keeper and tap the ball home.
In injury time Paul McManus got the goal he deserved for his efforts since coming off the bench when he smacked the ball across the still standing 'keeper into the top corner of the net.
Albion Rovers : Trialist, Silvestro, Stirling, Smith, McGowan, Trialist, McKenzie, Patrick, Yardley (McManus 72), Bradford (Trialist 63), McLaren. Unused Sub : Carr.