Albion Rovers 1 v 2 Montrose

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Attendance : 245

Scorer ~ Albion Rovers : Stirling (21). Montrose : Smart (pen. 62), Wood (71).

Manager Kevin McAllister called the match "must-win" to have any aspirations of climbing the table but for the 8th match in succession Rovers failed to win and for the 5th match in succession they lost. Chris Fahey regained the number 1 jersey after having been dropped for ‘non-footballing’ reasons.

It was Cliftonhill assistant manager Scott Crabbe who got the match going in the first minute when he hit a 30 yard free-kick straight to 'keeper Butter. 5 minutes later perennial thorn in Rovers side Stevie Kerrigan laid off the ball to Kevin Webster who skelped the ball goalward only to see it deflected over the crossbar.

Webster was the playmaker when he provided the ball to Smart who had his shot blocked by Black at the edge of the 6 yard box. Mark Yardley then came close when his header rebounded off the foot of the Montrose post after McManus set him up. In 21 minutes Rovers took the lead when Jered Stirling took one of his trademark free-kicks from 25 yards not giving Butter an earthly chance.

A few minutes later the Gable Endies piled on the pressure when Smart had an excellent dipping shot saved by Fahey, Sharp missed the target and Wood picked up the ball only to see the 'keeper save. In 30 minutes Martin Wood had his shot hit the Rovers woodwork. Rovers surged forward with a through ball from Yardley letting McManus storm towards the visitors goal but the resulting shot was a yard wide.

The last action of note before the half-time whistle was Marc McKenzie who evaded a couple of defenders to hit a dipping shot from 25 yards, unfortunately it was just a tad too high.

Second Half

In 53 minutes a long ball into the Rovers box looked dangerous but Fahey saved from Wood at the edge of his area. Seconds later play had switched to the other end of the pitch with an inswinging Stirling free-kick found a well positioned Paul McManus who uncharacteristically shot past the post. Then McManus turned provider to Yardley whose strong header was saved by Butter.

Around the hour mark a stramash inside the home box resulted in a visiting player going down although it's unclear who the culprit amongst the throng of players was. Chris Fahey and Scott Crabbe received bookings for complaining about the decision, Smart stepped up to take the penalty which he scored despite the 'keeper getting a hand to the ball en route to the net.

Paul McManus made an assault on the Montrose goal, nipping past a couple of defenders it wasn't clear whether he intended to shoot or walk the ball into the net. He was denied both options when Butter plucked the ball from his feet.

Kerrigan had a glancing header go just past the post before the visitors took the lead in 71 minutes. Smart laid off the ball to Wood who blasted the ball into the back of the net from the edge of the box.

In 84 minutes referee Downie denied a seemingly soft Rovers penalty claim much to the chagrin of the home bench, Graeme McLaren being the player who went down in the box. Joe Boyle almost bagged a late equaliser but his header was stopped by Butter.

In addition to the 2 players already reported McLaren, Stirling and McKenzie received yellow cards from the over fussy Mr. Downie as did Kerrigan, Smart and Wilson of the Gable Endies.

Summary

Although they competed for much of the game Rovers lacked the vital spark against Montrose who climbed to 3rd place on the back of the win.

Albion Rovers : Fahey, Paterson (Bradford 70), Stirling, Black, McLaren, Patrick, McKenzie, Silvestro, Yardley, McManus, Crabbe (Boyle 80). Subs Not Used : Selkirk, Richardson, Peat.

Montrose : Butter, Donachie, Ferguson, Doyle, Stephen, Kerrigan, Webster, Smart, Wood (Spink 74), Hall (Watson 59), Sharp (Dodds 85). Subs Not Used : Greenhill, Hankinson.

Referee : Jamie Downie

Man of the Match - Chris Fahey

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