Albion Rovers 3 v 1 East Stirlingshire 
Division 3
10th May 2003
Albion Rovers 3 v 1 East Stirlingshire
Division 3
10th May 2003
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Attendance : 682
Scorers ~ Albion Rovers : Mercer (15, 22, 36). East Stirlingshire : Ure (45).
There were one or two tears shed at Cliftonhill shortly after this astonishing match finished. And no wonder. Rovers’ magnificent season had ended in record proportions, and yet in the cruellest of fashions, they were condemned to spend another term in the Third Division.
At the end, the ovation given by the fans to the players was absolutely magnificent and would not have been bettered even if the objective had been achieved. In return, the players came back on to the field to acknowledge the support and thank the loyal fans for their encouragement during the season.
Amidst all the pride at the lads’ performance during the campaign and the sadness that it didn’t bring the reward it deserved, the statistics of what was an incident-packed game paled into insignificance. Under normal circumstances, the fact that Shire used four goalkeepers during the course of the ninety minutes would have made the headlines - and probably will in the Scottish nationals. But for the Cliftonhill fans, it didn’t really matter that Shire, the poorest team in the Division, were further weakened by some unusual circumstances.
Rovers, with Jordan Smith back in the team, had a great first half during which captain Jim Mercer put the finishing touches to three good moves - and Rovers were cruising. Following a blow to Shire in 7 minutes when goalkeeper Chris Todd was injured in a collision with Mercer and had to be replaced by Scott Findlay, Rovers were generally in control. The first goal came after a quarter of an hour when a Kevin McAllister free-kick reached Mark Yardley. Yards turned it on to Jim Mercer near the back post and his header across the goal crept in at the far post.
In the 22nd minute, Mercer was again the man of the moment when, taking a Yardley pass in his stride, he coolly lobbed the ball into the net over the stranded Findlay. There was no stopping the lanky one and when fourteen minutes later a Jered Stirling corner kick landed on his head, a slight flick diverted the ball neatly past Findlay - and the rest of the visiting defence.
Although big Jim was getting the glory, his colleagues were not idle and with Kevin McAllister pulling the strings, Stirling and John Bradford saw good efforts well saved by the substitute ‘keeper. Then Braddo, collecting a great pass from Stirling, really ought to have scored but somehow managed to skite the ball miles past.
Shire, to their credit, rolled up their sleeves and retaliated. In 41 minutes (just after he had been booked) Scott Livingston hit a post and then a Graham McGhee 25 yard free-kick beat Shearer all ends up. Shire celebrated, but their joy soon evaporated when referee Andrew Hunter disallowed the strike, apparently because it was indirect and entered the net without hitting anyone. They had better luck just before the break when Derek Ure’s low, bumbling shot seemed to deceive Scott Shearer at his near post and ended up in the net.
On the restart, Rovers withdrew Jim Dick and put on Graeme McCaul who was destined to have a really good game. Although Shire were a bit more animated at this stage, it didn’t last too long as their world began to crumble around them. In 53 minutes, sub ‘keeper Findlay raced all of forty yards from his goal to intercept John Bradford. He did, Braddo went flying and Findlay went off. After visitor Kevin McCann had been booked for complaining about the decision, defender Graham McLaren took over between the sticks - but not for long!
Following eleven quite uneventful minutes, substitute Chazz McLean raced into the area where McLaren clearly impeded him. Penalty kick! McLaren took the long walk, McCann became Shire’s fourth goalkeeper of the match - and became an instant hero by touching Stirling’s spot kick over for a corner.
In spite of the fact that they were now down to nine men, Shire put in a gritty performance and had Rovers’ defence (and fans) a wee bit worried on more than one occasion. However, Rovers, with numerical superiority and acres of space to work in, unsurprisingly created the better chances, but Iain Diack and McLean found their scoring touch had deserted them as they found it tough going up front. Indeed, it was Mercer who came closest to completing a fine day’s work when his 25-yarder was just a couple of feet too high.
So, the sixteen match unbeaten run was achieved, as was the satisfaction of having witnessed during the season probably the best Rovers’ team in more than a decade. The ifs and buts will no doubt be discussed for some time and we’ll all have our theories. nevertheless, Peter Hetherston and his team (behind the scenes as well as on the field) can be well satisfied with their efforts. Albion Rovers. A joke team? No longer!
Albion Rovers : Shearer, Paterson (McLean 55), Stirling, Smith, Cormack Diack 66), Lumsden, McAllister, Dick (McCaul 46), Yardley, Bradford, Mercer. Unused Subs : McCaig, Fahey.
East Stirlingshire : Todd (Findlay 7), Maughan, McLaren, Penman, McCann, McGhee, Livingstone, McAuley, Kelly, Ure (MacKay 67), Baldwin (McCulloch 55). Unused Subs : Boyle, Campbell.
Referee : Andrew Hunter.
Man of the Match : Jim Mercer
