Albion Rovers 6 v 0 East Stirlingshire 
Division 3
28th December 2002
Albion Rovers 6 v 0 East Stirlingshire
Division 3
28th December 2002
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Attendance : 326
Scorers ~ Albion Rovers : Bradford (15, 20), Diack (42, 72, 81), Lumsden (51).
Rovers were unlucky in this one! How so, when they scored six? Well, there were another two shots which hit the woodwork and a couple disallowed for offside, plus numerous efforts blocked or saved. Indeed, if the tally had reached double figures it would not have been out of keeping with Rovers’ total command of the game.
It has to be said, however, that this Shire side is by a distance the poorest in the Third Division - and probably the worst ever to wear the black and white hoops. They were totally overrun by rampant Rovers who carved their way through the visitors’ static defence almost at will. Shire boss Danny Diver was magnanimous enough to say that Rovers were the best team his lads had met all season. Mind you, having conceded a total of nine goals to the lads in yellow and red in the two matches played, he could not fail to have been impressed.
At the other end of the scale, Rovers’ gaffer Peter Hetherston was absolutely delighted with the result - and the performance. "Our work rate throughout was splendid", he said, "All the lads were magnificent and it was great to see our strikers getting amongst the goals to such an extent." Although reluctant to single out anyone for special praise, the boss felt he had to mention the superb contribution made by the ageless Kevin McAllister, the recipient of a standing ovation when he was substituted in 77 minutes.
Rovers, with Jered Stirling back after a prolonged spell of injury, pushed forward from the whistle and within the first minute a good Chris Silvestro run was snuffed out near goal, before a John Bradford shot was saved. Then, following a corner, McAllister weaved some magic on the right before sending over a good cross which Jordan Smith met with his head only for Chris Todd in the visitors’ goal to save low down.
Bradford Strikes!
It seemed as if the constant home pressure must bring some reward and with fifteen minutes on the clock, it did. Jim Dick found Bradford inside the box and the striker’s low shot eluded the despairing arms of the diving Todd to enter the net at the back post. After McAllister’s audacious lob had been fingertipped away by Todd, Bradford struck again. McAllister’s wicked inswinging corner was met by the forehead of the leaping front-man whose strong header gave the goalkeeper no chance.
After Shire’s Sean McAuley gained the dubious distinction of seeing the only yellow-card of the afternoon, there was a slight lull in proceedings. Smith did well to get his head to a Stirling cross but the ball struck the underside of the crossbar and was cleared. It was not until the 31st minute that Shire got near Scott Shearer in the home goal, but after a brief flurry of anxiety, the ball was cleared.
Diack On Target
Half-time was nearing before Rovers again came close when Chris Silvestro, lurking on the edge of the area, pulled his shot wide of the goal. The next moment of joy was only delayed however, as in 42 minutes Diack easily beat the fragile visiting defence to give his side a healthy interval lead.
The second period immediately followed the same pattern as the first and in 51 minutes, the influential Todd Lumsden, rising to meet Stirling’s corner-kick and send his header into the net, scored with one of his trade-mark goals. Rovers were now in easy street and turned on the style - but without actually increasing their advantage. However, as time wore on, that all changed.
Diack Double
In 72 minutes, another excellent corner-kick by McAllister was confidently headed home by Diack and just nine minutes later, the striker completed an excellent hat-trick when he strode through to slide the ball past the helpless Todd. By this time, Shire were totally demoralised and were surely praying for the intervention of the final whistle. However, Rovers were not yet done and with only two minutes left, came within inches of making it seven. A high lob from the right might have been going in, but Bradford and a defender jumped together almost on the line, the ball struck one or other and went over.
So, the points were safely locked away, the goal difference was significantly improved and Rovers were back on top of the table. In addition, the win was a massive boost ahead of this Saturday’s cup clash against Queen’s Park at Hampden.
"I couldn’t have asked for more", beamed the boss, "It was simply a magnificent performance from start to finish. To start the New Year looking down on all the others will send a message they can’t ignore. Albion Rovers are on the way and we’ll take some stopping."
Albion Rovers : Shearer, Paterson, Stirling, Smith, McCaig, Lumsden, McAllister (Weir 77), Silvestro, Bradford, Diack (Mercer 81), Dick (McLean 83). Unused Subs : Duncan, Fahey.
East Stirlingshire : Todd, Maughan, McLaren, Grant (Oates 52), McGhee (Struthers 57), Reid, Boyle, Penman (Livingstone 77), Ure, McAuley, Leishman. Unused Subs : Diver, Findlay.
Referee : Brian Winter
Man of the Match : Iain Diack
