Stenhousemuir 0 v 1 Albion Rovers

Attendance : 362

Scorers ~ Albion Rovers : Wright (89).

Fresh from cup duty in which Rovers triumphed and Stenhousemuir flopped both teams entered this "six pointer" knowing a win was essential to keep in touch with the sides above them in the table. It was a whopping four goals to nil win for Rovers the last time they played on the artificial surface at Ochilview but one nil was almost as satisfying despite a red card taking the shine off somewhat.

It took all of 15 seconds for Rovers to have a shot, Kenny Wright latching onto a cross hitting a string low drive which Hibs on loan 'keeper Ally Brown stopped. Play switched ends and shortly afterwards John Dempster fired the ball over Rovers goal.

Wright once more forced a save from the Stenhousemuir 'keeper, shortly afterwards he crossed the ball to Pat Walker but it was intercepted before it reached him in front of the Warriors goal.

An enforced change saw Ciaran Donnelly replace the injured Barry Donald a mere 13 minutes into the match. Rovers were dominating the play now with Jamie McKenzie puting a free-kick from 30 yards over the bar.

Roddy Hunter was next up to have a go, he turned quickly and that man Brown was again in the way. A Warriors corner then led to Scott saving a Willie Lyle header.

With half-time fast approaching a good move by Rovers ended disappointingly with Michael McGowan drilling the ball low and wide of the target.

Half-Time

Five minutes after the restart Brian McLaughlin was causing problems for the Rovers defence and just when it seemed he would put in a killer pass the move fizzled out as his colleagues had gone too deep. Four minutes later Donnelly received the ball on the halfway line and went on a run to pull the trigger 25 yards out, the ball narrowly avoided the goal and went out of play.

Stenhousemuir now started to come into the game and McLaughlin took a corner which John Dempster headed towards the Rovers goal, luckily for the Coatbridge men McKenzie was standing at the post to deflect the ball past.

Dempster shot straight to Scott then Hunter cross to Pat Walker resulting in a slightly wayward header. Wright again came close when he headed a cross for Brown to save. Fans hearts missed a beat in 67 minutes when Alan Reid hit a spectacular volley from 30 yards only for it to go agonisingly wide.

Alan Benton preceded a Warriors period of domination by intercepting the ball and running 60 yards then passing to Hunter. The hitman who bagged four last week just failed to gain control of the ball.

In 78 minutes Kenny Wright was shown a yellow card for an apparent dive in the homesters penalty area which was later to prove significant. A high ball onto the Stenhousemuir box found the head of Brian Smith who nodded it goalward but with insufficient strength to cause real danger.

A diving Scott stop thwarted another Warriors thrust before Rovers rode their luck when McLaughlin stumbled on entering the penalty area giving the defence an easy mopping up opportunity.

With 60 seconds remaining Donnelly put the ball through to Wright in space, he streaked down the park and deciding not to pass to a teammate he slid the ball into the net despite Brown trying to block its progress. Understandably overjoyed at scoring what was bound to be a winner he somewhat foolhardily removed his jersey which gave the referee no option but to administer a second yellow card and the resultant red. Despite being given his marching orders he still managed to raise a smile to the visiting fans as some of their number cheered him off the pitch.

A last ditch Stenhousemuir attempt which saw 'keeper Brown advance to Rovers penalty area for a corner failed in its objective.

Summary

Rovers dominated the firs period but just couldn't get that killer goal and struggled for much of the second as Stenhousemuir had the edge. Kenny Wright gets the man of the match award despite blotting his copybook after scoring!

Stenhousemuir : Brown, McEwan, Dillon (Hamilton 34), Lennon, Gilbride, Lyle, Menzies, Hampshire (Thomson 81), Dempster (Murdoch 70), Tyrell, McLaughlin. Subs Not Used : Flynn, Johnstone.

Albion Rovers : Scott, Reid, McGowan, Robert Walker, Benton, Donald (Donnelly 13), Wright, McKenzie, Hunter (Chisholm 86), Adam, Patrick Walker (Smith 63). Subs Not Used : McStay, Mitchell.

Referee : Scott McDonald

Man of the Match - Kenny Wright

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