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Albion Rovers 1 v 1 East Stirlingshire |  |
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Albion Rovers 1 v 1 East Stirlingshire | |
| Bell's League Third Division 5th January 2005 |
Pics courtesy and © of Dominic Smith
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Attendance : 350
Scorer ~ Albion Rovers : Bradford (51) . East Stirlingshire : Oates (49) .
Rovers unbeaten run under the stewardship of Jimmy Lindsay continued against bottom side East Stirlingshire. Into the side came new signing Lee Wilson from Dunipace and trialist Wayne Gordon, formerly of Gretna. Missing due to suspension was Scott Friel.
An early 'Shire assault on Rovers goal failed before a Neil Wallace header missed its intended destination at the other end of the pitch. In 10 minutes Garry Fleming was closing in on the visitors goal but found it too packed and his shot was deflected out for a corner. As usual it was Jered Stirling who swung in the corner, Jim Mercer rose to head over the bar.
Wallace worked well to provide Wilson with the ball 10 yards out but his strong header was foiled by a one handed save by Derek Jackson. Derek Ure provided a well judged pass to the 'Shire trialist who was a few yards from goal, it seemed a certain goal but the shot deflected out for a corner which Denham headed woefully high.
In 30 minutes the ball broke to Tyrrell about 30 yards from the Rovers goal but his strong, low shot was well wide of the mark. A Wallace cross resulted in a Lee Wilson bullet header which resulted in a corner shortly afterwards.
At the other end of the pitch a defensive mix-up gave the ball to the 'Shire trialist on the edge of the box but the weak shot which resulted from this was easily gathered by Chris Fahey.
In 40 minutes there was stramash in which 'Shire's Johnny Walker almost instigated an all out punch-up. Rovers captain Jim Mercer stepped in to diffuse the situation but became entangled with the former Hamilton Accies man who was sacked for drug taking. Most of the players of both sides were involved in the incident which saw Walker, Mercer and Fleming booked.
Seconds after the situation calmed down Ross Donaldson latched onto a long ball and executed a skilful turn and snap shot which was matched by an equally skilful diving save by Fahey. Fahey was again on hand a minute later when a strong Denham header followed a corner by the 'Shire trialist.
Half-time
Four minutes after the restart Oates grabbed a goal for the visitors from close range from a Donaldson pass. This prompted gaffer Jimmy Lindsay to replace Wallace and Fleming which paid off with a minute. Substitute Marc McKenzie cut back the ball from the edge of the park for John Bradford to blast home.
A couple of minutes later McInulty was leaning back when he shot giving the ball too much altitude. Paul Tyrrell had a creditable shot just miss the target from 30 yards just prior to a McKenzie cross cum shot palmed away by the East Stirlingshire 'keeper.
In 63 minutes poor defensive work by goalscorer Stephen Oates gave substitute Wayne Gordon the ball 4 yards from goal with only Jackson to beat but rather incredibly the shot resulted in a throw-in for 'Shire.
A back header by Jim Mercer from 6 yards didn't catch out Jackson who smothered the ball. Both sides pressed for a winner with McKenzie and Mercer for Rovers and Ure and Tyrrell all having decent attempts to nab two extra points in the remaining time. It was perhaps East Stirling who had the best of the late play with Tyrrell and Ure both forcing saves fro Fahey in injury time.
Chris Silvestro received a booking during the game.
Summary
This "6 pointer" didn't go any way to solving either teams worries or aspirations as the gap at the bottom remains 4 points. Until this season Albion Rovers had won 11 matches on the trot against their Falkirk rivals but have drawn all 3 encounters this term.
Albion Rovers : Fahey, Paterson, McInulty, Stirling, Wallace (McKenzie 50), Potter, Fleming (Gordon 50), Silvestro, Wilson, Bradford, Mercer. Subs Not Used : Black, McCaul, Carr.
East Stirlingshire : Jackson, Harvey, Livingstone (Robertson 54), Oates, Denham, Walker, Ross (Thywisson 54), Tyrrell, Donaldson, Ure, Trialist (Rae 71). Subs Not Used : Parks, Mitchell.
Referee : Martin Sproule
Man of the Match - Chris Fahey
