Elgin City 1 v 2 Albion Rovers 
Division 3
29th March 2003
Elgin City 1 v 2 Albion Rovers
Division 3
29th March 2003
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Attendance : 280
Scorers ~ Elgin City : Steele (38). Albion Rovers : McLean (78), Yardley (79).
Talk about snatching victory from the jaws of defeat? This was yet another chapter in the "too close for comfort" chronicle which has all to often epitomised Rovers’ season, especially in recent weeks. Within the space of a couple of minutes, substitute Charles McLean and Mark Yardley had transferred the smiles on the Elgin fans’ faces to those of the travelling faithful and what looked like being a mournful trip home turned into a mobile party.
Although Rovers made two changes - Todd Lumsden returning after suspension and Iain Diack being preferred to John Bradford up front - the Elgin side was exactly the same as the previous week, but their application had improved by a substantial margin and gave the visitors a tough time of things for spells. In the first half, City received a great deal of assistance from Rovers’ many misplaced passes, with a deal of frustration being evident in the Cliftonhill ranks.
After the initial sparring, the first real chance came City’s way in the 14th minute when Craig Tully at the back post got in a header which Scott Shearer took two attempts to control. Three minutes later, the visitors were cock-a-hoop celebrating a Yardley shot which found the net. Unfortunately, however, the assistant’s flag was raised for offside and the scores remained level.
Elgin Pressure
In 21 minutes, Ryan McMullan - once again threatening to be the scourge of his old team - collected a Michael Sanderson cross and made for goal, only to be dispossessed at the last moment. John Gallagher, another former Cliftonhill favourite, struck a free-kick straight into Shearer’ midriff and a good Sanderson cross from the left scuttled along the face of Rovers’ goal without anyone connecting.
The big moment for the hosts arrived in the 38th minute when from a Gallagher corner-kick, Shearer pushed the ball on to the crossbar and after a bit of a melee, Kevin Steele knocked it into the net. Elgin had scored their first goal for weeks, and the relief was plain to see. Just before the break, City’s Fraser Bremner became the only booking of the day.
At the start of the second period, Rovers looked to have new resolve and, aided by the fresh breeze, pushed forward in a number of promising attacks. Firstly, Jim Mercer shot inches past and an Iain Diack header was turned over for a corner by young home ‘keeper Peter Hamilton. Rovers sensed that the tide had turned and Mercer was out of luck with an overhead kick. Then Jered Stirling tried to control a difficult ball before hitting the side net.
Although under much pressure, City occasionally hit on the break and in the 59th minute, McMullan splendidly ghosted past two defenders before hitting his angled shot past the far post. After a Connor Campbell try had also missed, Rovers replaced Kevin McAllister with Bradford, who added an extra spark to the attack.
Rovers’ Double Strike
In 73 minutes Yardley, well off balance, fired over the bar before Bradford might have done better from close in. Four minutes later, Jim Dick made way for Charles McLean and the erudite striker made an immediate impact by heading his side level within seconds of taking the field. Phew, we were going to get a draw! Only we were not, for scarcely had the ball been centred than we won a corner on the left and when Diack’s accurate kick came over, big Yards defied gravity as he rose to power the ball into the net past the helpless Hamilton. Elgin, clearly so sure they had done enough to earn only their fifth league win of the season, were visibly stunned at such a rapid turn of events and Rovers coasted through the remaining few minutes without trouble.
So, the dream of p.......n is alive and well, and the scene is set for a real cracker when Morton come to Cliftonhill next Saturday.
Quite frankly, there were not too many candidates for nomination as Rovers’ top performer in a difficult match, but Lumsden and Chris Silvestro seemed a bit more fired-up than the rest.
Elgin City : Hamilton, Grant, Gallagher, Hind, MacKay, Tully, Bremner, Campbell (James 82), McMullan, Steele, Sanderson. Unused Subs : McBride, Smith, Love, Pirie.
Albion Rovers : Shearer, Dick (McLean 77), Stirling, Smith, Cormack, Lumsden, McAllister (Bradford 62), Silvestro, Yardley, Diack, Mercer. Unused Subs : McCaig, Fahey.
Referee : Andrew Hunter.
Man of the Match : Chris Silvestro
