Albion Rovers 3 v 1 Montrose

Attendance : 435

Scorers ~ Albion Rovers : Lennox (8), Chaplain (41), Creaney (55). Montrose : Henslee (51).

Albion Rovers triumphed in this "6 pointer" which would have seen the Cliftonhill men lose touch with Montrose a place above them in the league table had they lost. An impressive performance topped with quality goals thrilled the fans and left the Coatbridge men just 5 points off 2nd place!

Rovers started positively, pressuring their guests from the kick-off and it took just 8 minutes for them to go ahead. Bryan Felvus whipped the ball across the face of goal and Tommy Lennox was there for a relatively simple tap-in.

Tommy Lennox was in the thick of it once more when a shot cum cross of his came off Creaney who had no time to react, the ball going out for a goal-kick. Jamie Doyle tried his luck from distance a few minutes later after a long cross found him but it was off target.

Again a Felvus cross found Lennox but the midfielder didn't quite catch the ball properly, his shot still rebounded from the goalpost. Jamie Ewings was brought into action in 18 minutes when he made a treble stop in the space of around 2 seconds. Bryan Felvus nearly sneaked a goal when he ran in unchallenged and struck the ball along the ground, Reid was down to gather but it bobbled at the last second making the 'keeper struggle to stop it go over his prone body.

Scott Chaplain fired from 30yards but was inches wide of the mark. At the other end of the park Jamie Ewings came out of his box to the side to challenge for the ball but failed, Montrose failed to take advantage and the Rovers defence did their job.

Play switched ends quickly and a dangerous situation was averted by Reid getting to ball a split-second before goal machine Chaplain. Hugh Davidson made Ewings pull off an instinctive save with his snap shot in 35 minutes. A Montrose corner was met with a poor shot then another which Tommy Lennox standing at the post cleared.

In 39 minutes a Jered Stirling free-kick from 35 yards was punched over the bar by Ewings, shortly afterwards a Davidson header rebounded off the Rovers post.

With 4 minutes remaining Rovers doubled their advantage when Felvus was again tormenting the Gable Endies defence. He collected the ball inside his own half and advanced up the wing evading burly defenders on his way, finding Chaplain inside the box and once more a relatively easy tap-in followed for the man who'd advanced 80 yards in anticipation.

A fantastic 80 yard run by Gordon Lennon ended with a cross into the Montrose box which a defender was astute enough to intercept. Phil Creaney saw his shot stopped on 45 minutes and a cross into Rovers area being headed over the bar by Henslee finished the half.

Half-Time

The first notable occurrence in the second period was Montrose scoring. A defensive mistake let Greig Henslee collect the ball, sidestep the defender and put the ball across Ewings into Rovers goal.

Just when it seemed Montrose may be coming into the game Rovers dealt the killer blow with a Brian Smith cross from close to the corner, Creaney blasting the ball home from 20 yards.

In 59 minutes Stuart Cumming was booked for some off the ball incident spotted by the far-side assistant referee. Paul Napier took a corner which former Rover Jered Stirling fired "miles" wide. Bryan Felvus was waiting in the box for a high ball but couldn't quite make contact when well positioned to take advantage.

Racking up the pass count Rovers failed to make it end meaningfully as the attack fizzled out. Montrose took it upon themselves to attack the home goal and Ewings advanced from his box struggling to control the ball until it crossed into his area. Stirling firing from around 35 yards into Ewings arms was soon followed by the stopper punching another attempt clear.

With little time remaining a long run by Chaplain ended with the ball being given too much elevation to increase Rovers advantage. The almost obligatory late substitutions by Jim Chapman followed, Pat Walker replacing Brian Smith in 86 minutes and Bonnar replacing Creaney in injury time.

Good lead-up play by Lennon gave Felvus the chance to unleash one final strong and low shot which Andy Reid was equal to.

Summary

Just the sort of performance a football fan savours and it was clear from their reaction that the Cliftonhill faithful did just that!

Albion Rovers : Ewings, Nicoll. Watson, Lennon, Donnelly, Doyle, Lennox, Chaplain, Felvus, Creaney (Bonnar 90), Smith (Walker 86). Subs Not Used: Sim, Moffat, Thompson.

Montrose : Reid, Stewart (Tawse 56), Fraser, Cumming, Stirling, Donachie, Davidson, Adam, Kerrigan (Mackie 81), Henslee, Napier (Michie 57). Subs Not Used: Kelly, Farquhar.

Referee : Martin Sproule

Man of the Match : Tommy Lennox

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