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Albion Rovers 1 v 1 Stenhousemuir |  |
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Albion Rovers 1 v 1 Stenhousemuir | |
| Bell's League Third Division 8th March 2005 |
Attendance : 222
Scorer ~ Albion Rovers : Wilson (8). Stenhousemuir : Savage (55).
With Fahey, Mercer, Patrick and Bradford missing due to injury Rovers starting XI was even younger than usual. Man of the moment assistant referee Andy Davis (of Hearts v Rangers penalty fame) ran the line on the standside. He had an uneventful evening although referee Tumilty did overrule a corner decision of his, instead awarding Rovers a goal-kick.
It took 7 minutes for a noteworthy event which was Tommy Sinclair who had a disappointingly weak shop miss the target. Within a minute Rovers had taken the lead, Graeme McCaul supplied the ball to Lee Wilson whose shot sneaked past Willie McCulloch at his post.
A good Rovers move involving Wilson and McKenzie broke down and play quickly switched ends resulting in a low McInally shot being saved by Mark Peat who got down quickly. Pushing forward Wayne Gordon provided Wilson with a chance 5 yards from the Stenhousemuir goal but the striker was inches from connecting and scoring.
In 23 minutes Scott Friel prevented a clear Stenhousemuir chance when he appeared from nowhere to take the ball to safety. The visitors took over the game with McInally and Sinclair each having two shots saved by Peat in the following 15 minutes. Each side had a shot fail to hit the target in the dying seconds of the first half.
Half-Time
The second period started with Greg McCulloch being warned by the referee for a foul and incredibly being booked 30 seconds later for another foul. Kerr Potter was shown the yellow card 3 minutes later for a foul.
In 55 minutes the visitors drew level when Joe Savage who'd only come on as a substitute a couple of minutes previously gladly accepted a McGrillen pass to fire home a low shot past Peat.
Kerr Potter had a strong shot saved by Willie McCulloch and McCaul missed the target by a large margin before Marc McKenzie got onto the end of a pass, made space for himself and unleashed a shot which was a foot wide of the Stenhousemuir post.
Rovers were making it obvious they didn't want to lose any more goals as all 11 men in red and yellow packed the Rovers box when there was a corner to defend. Marc McKenzie went on another excellent run but his shot was straight to the 'keeper.
Chris Silvestro took advantage of some good lead-up play and fired a shot from 30 yards but it didn't trouble 'keeper McCulloch. Seconds later an overhead kick by Wayne Gordon failed to get over the Stenhousemuir 'keeper.
John Paul McBride was next to fail when his shot was easily saved by Peat after a defensive lapse gave him the ball in the first place. McKenzie and McBride both failed before Tommy Sinclair missed the proverbial sitter when poor defensive play gave him the ball 10 yards out and he contrived to miss an open goal.
McBride shooting into the side-netting when he could have squared the ball for a team-mate. Paul McGrillen talked himself into a booking 30 seconds after his gaffer and ex-Rover Des McKeown was given a warning by Mr. Tumilty.
Rovers were encamped at Stenhousemuir's end of the pitch for the last few minutes of the match but nothing came of it.
Summary
The visitors left feeling robbed as they dominated the 2nd half in particular. Man of the match was Marc McKenzie for his tireless running trying to create goals.
Albion Rovers : Peat, Friel, McInulty (Wallace 82), Black, Silvestro, Potter, McKenzie (Fleming 90), Stirling, Wilson, Gordon, McCaul. Subs Not Used : Selkirk, Hardie, Carr.
Stenhousemuir: W. McCulloch, Fallon, Henderson, G. McCulloch, McGregor, Murphy (Savage 53), Struthers, Sinclair, McInally, McBride, McGrillen. Subs not used : Easton, Menzies, Smith, Kirkham.
Referee : Mike Tumilty
Man of the Match - Marc McKenzie
