Albion Rovers 3 v 3 Arbroath (a.e.t. 3-3 Rovers won 5-3 on penalties)

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Attendance : 320

Albion Rovers ~ Savage (20), Chisholm (42), Chaplain (58). Arbroath ~ Martin (16, 44), Sellars (87).

This match had all the elements you could hope for in a cup tie, teams edging ahead and being pulled back, ending in a shoot-out and it was Albion Rovers who triumphed and reached their first semi-final in 85 years.

Arbroath inexplicably decked out in their all white change strip started strongly and Albion Rovers hardly got a sniff of the ball in the opening minutes, defender Gordon Lennon being called to intervene on a few occasions. In 7 minutes a long ball upfield had Iain Chisholm chasing it but Arbroath 'keeper Scott Morrison got down just in the nick of time to claim it.

Just a minute later it was the Rovers stopper who was in action when he advanced from his box to kick the ball clear, it reached Willie Martin who ran up the near wing and launched it high and far when his colleagues awaited it in front of goal.

In 9 minutes Willie Martin had the ball in the Rovers net for the first time but it had clearly been adjudged offside before it went in, an occurrence which was to crop up a few times in this match as the Lichties struggled to stay onside!

In 16 minutes Arbroath took the lead when weak defending let Martin chest the ball down and put the ball past Ewings right hand from around 12 yards.

The lead wasn't with Arbroath for long as Joe Savage who was off balance a yard or 2 inside the visitors area put the ball over Morrison deceiving most into believing it was over the bar but instead it hit the back of the net.

A low but weak Jay Stein effort didn't trouble Jamie Ewings in the home goal. On the half-hour mark the ball was flitting about the Arbroath penalty area until Jamie Doyle struck it hard but wide.

Arbroath were on the attack and Ewings was forced into punching the ball out of harms way, an activity he became used to during the game. In 42 minutes Rovers went ahead for the first time when a long run gave Chisholm the ball at the corner of the Arbroath box, he ran on beating a defender and put the ball betwixt the 'keeper and the near post.

Before fans had time to take in the fact that Rovers were ahead they weren't anymore when a failure once more to clear the ball gave Willie Martin the opportunity to slot the ball into Rovers net.

Half-Time

With just 3 minutes of the second period having elapsed chips were the order of the day, firstly Barry Sellars tried one from the edge of Rovers box putting it slightly too high. Then as play changed ends rapidly Joe Savage did the same!

In 58 minutes a Pat Walker free-kick from the far touchline went over the assembled 2 man wall and glanced off the head of Scott Chaplain in a crowded box and on into the net past a helpless Scott Morrison to make it 3-2 for the homesters.

A few long throw-ins caused problems for Albion Rovers defence as did a long cross which Lennon had to stick out a foot to clear. He did something similar a few minutes later before a Martin header was caught by Ewings.

After some substitution activity and with just 3 minutes of the 90 remaining Arbroath were awarded a penalty 25 yards out in the exact centre of goal. Sellars was the man to take it and he got it past the 4 man Rovers wall and into the bottom right-hand corner of the goal with the diving Rovers 'keeper having no chance whatsoever.

Not content to wait for extra-time the visitors were awarded another free-kick in an almost identical spot and Sellars was again the taker of it. This time however the wall did its job and the ball went off harmlessly.

Rovers themselves were awarded a free-kick outside the opposition box deep into injury time and Doyle put it past the wall but a defender between the wall and goal cleared it.

90 minutes

As the match went into extra-time it seemed inevitable that the first to score would win the tie as tired legs started to take their toll on the players. Substitute Brian Scott made a run up the near side which ended disappointingly with a shot diagonally over the goal.

Good work by Andy Sim who'd only just come on at the start of the extra period gave Graham McGhee the ball 30 yards from goal and he elected to shoot, the ball missing by a small margin. Good work, this time by Lennon ended with a pass to McGhee whose shot came close once more.

A partial floodlight failure in 100 minutes didn't delay the match or cause any worries but Arbroath were once more suffering for being caught repeatedly offside.

As the end of the first period of extra-time Arbroath were reduced to 10 men, unlike Saturdays league match however it was due to the injury of their man who fell awkwardly and couldn't be replaced as the quota of 3 substitutes had already been filled.

ET 2nd Half

McMullan put in a well-judged ball to Scott in a dangerous position only for Jamie Ewings to intercede. As had happened at Gayfield on Saturday 10 men Arbroath were on top and Ewings was very busy saving and clearing balls.

Jamie Doyle flighted a ball for Donnelly whose header wasn't up to scratch then a long ball up the park by Ewings was touched by Chaplain but it couldn't get past Morrison. A very long run by Arbroath gave Sellars an opportunity but it was it was squandered by an ill-judged header.

Albion rovers were in the ascendancy now with another long ball by Ewings almost resulting in an own-goal. The last act of normal play was an  Albion Rovers corner eventually being put high over the Angus sides crossbar.

Penalties

Albion Rovers were first to go and Scott Chaplain confidently struck the ball low to the 'keepers left as he dived to the right. Martin responded by striking the ball straight but high over Ewings who went down. Next up was Doyle who kept Rovers lead with a strong shot which Morrison wasn't quick enough to reach. McCulloch levelled it at 2 all and Andy Sim put his spot-kick away with aplomb.

Paul Watson was next to take his and it proved crucial as his short run-up ended with the ball rebounding off the crossbar close to its junction with the post. Phil Creaney knew that if he scored his Rovers were in a commanding position, and they were when he placed the ball low into the corner.

A miss by Sellers and would be all over but he made no mistake with his penalty for Arbroath. It was now down to Ciaran Donnelly, the regular Cliftonhill penalty taker who'd scored one just 4 days previously at Gayfield in the league match between the 2 teams. He showed no nerves as he struck the ball sweetly down the middle to make it 5 from 5 and sending Albion Rovers through to the semi-final and their fans into rapture.

Summary

A hard-fought match the only difference between the sides being their ability to take penalties. Nobody should underestimate the sheer grit and determination shown by Jim Chapman and his young team who go into the semi-final draw fearing no-one.

Albion Rovers : Ewings, Moffat, McGhee, Lennon, Donnelly, Friel (Creaney 111), Doyle, Chaplain, Chisholm (Sim 90), Savage (Smith 83), Walker. Subs Not Used: Nicoll, Thompson.

Arbroath : Morrison, Rennie, McCulloch, Raeside, Bishop, Dobbins, Black (Watson 64), Martin, Brazil (McMullan 80), Sellars, Stein (Scott 73). Subs Not Used : Voight, Peat.

Referee : Brian Winter

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