Albion Rovers 2 v 1 Gretna 
Division 3
9th November 2002
Albion Rovers 2 v 1 Gretna
Division 3
9th November 2002
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Attendance : 332
Scorers ~ Albion Rovers : Duncan (50), McLean (63). Gretna : McGuffie (48).
Although the scoreline looks tight - and it is, of course - certain match statistics tell a more positive story. Apart from a supremacy in corners and offsides, the one most indicative of the flow of the match is that which shows that Rovers had eighteen shots at goal compared to Gretna’s four.
Once again however, the lads in yellow and red had the fans on tenterhooks before finally carving out the win which took them into joint second in the table. Indeed, even in the last minute, Scott Shearer had to dive on the ball at the base of a post to prevent the visitors snatching the draw they certainly didn’t deserve.
With Jered Stirling added to the sick list, Manager Peter Hetherston drafted in James Coulter to the side which did so well against East Fife seven days previously.
With barely a minute played, Gretna had a chance - and missed it. Veteran Davie Irons floated a free-kick into the heart of the home box where Daniel Grainger was unmarked. He swung a boot then watched in dismay as his volley flew yards and yards over the crossbar. Rovers then buckled down to the task with Kevin McAllister the architect of nearly all that was good. His cross from the right was cleared out to Todd Lumsden, but an awkward bounce led to the midfielder shooting over. Then, after John McCaig had made an important block at the other end, McAllister was again at his creative best by threading a fine pass to Lee Duncan whose cross to Charles McLean saw the striker’s first-time shot miss by inches. Once more, the action switched downfield as Irons strode forward and fired in a strong shot which Shearer was happy to push for a corner.
In 17 mins, McAllister crossed into the middle where the ball eventually broke to McLean, who, under severe pressure, could only manage to hit the post from close range. As Rovers continued to create the majority of the chances, yet another McAllister corner was met by the spring-heeled Todd Lumsden whose back post header flashed the wrong side of the upright.
Quite honestly, the remainder of the first half was at best scrappy, but Ryan McGuffie almost sent the Borderers in with an interval lead. Within seconds, he had two chances - but missed them both. Firstly, his strong shot was blocked by Shearer and when the ball rebounded to him all he had to do was to pop it into the unguarded net. Fortunately for Rovers however, he blootered it miles over the crossbar.
At the interval, Rovers withdrew Coulter in favour of Iain Diack, a move which seemed to backfire almost immediately when Gretna scored in the 48th minute. McGuffie raced up the right, evaded a tackle by the substitute and let fly with an awkward bouncing shot which sped past the diving Shearer and crept in at the back post. The Cliftonhill silence was deafening! However, seconds after Gretna’s Marc Cleeland had been booked for a foul, the home support was back in full voice as Lee Duncan met a cross from McAllister to head the equaliser past David Mathieson in the visitors’ goal. Game on!
Rovers then launched attack after attack on the Gretna goal and on more than one occasion came within a few inches of doubling their tally. The visitors’ William Barr was yellow-carded for a bit of unwise verbosity towards the referee, before a Lumsden headed sailed straight into Mathieson’s arms.
In the 63rd minute, Rovers again bore down on the Gretna goal - and this time there was success! A free-kick by - that’s right, McAllister - was knocked down by Jim Mercer to McLean, prowling around the edge of the area. Chazz took a couple of steps forward and from about fifteen yards sent a sizzler into the net for a great goal, his third in as many games. Rovers continued to dominate, but as time went by and they failed to get the third, killer goal, Gretna seemed to realise that they might just salvage something, and began to push forward. However, although they made tentative advances upfield, their powder-puff attack was embarrassingly inept and, in general, were easily brushed aside. Graeme McCaul replaced McAllister in 77 minutes, the wee man leaving the field to a rousing reception for an afternoon’s work well done.
In 81 minutes, Mercer fell foul of referee McGarry and had his name entered in the book. A few minutes later, McLean shot wide and with only a couple of minutes remaining, John McCaig made a splendid last-gasp intervention to deny Gretna substitute Mark Dobie a scoring chance. Then Shearer’s last minute save ensured that justice was done.
Albion Rovers : Shearer, Paterson, Coulter (Diack 46), Smith , McCaig, Lumsden, McAllister (McCaul 77), Silvestro, Duncan, McLean (Bradford), Mercer. Unused Subs : Stevenson, Fahey.
Gretna : Mathieson, McGuffie, Grainger, Turner, May, Barr, Cleeland, Irons, Eels (Dobie 56), Henney, Cummersky. Unused Subs : Thwaites, Bell, Hewson, Wylie.
Referee : Brian McGarry
Man of the Match : Kevin McAllister
