Bellshill Athletic 1 v 1 Albion Rovers
Friendly
1st August 2001
On the tight contours of Bellshill's Brandon Park, the hosts held Rovers to a nervy draw in this, the final match in the schedule of pre-season friendlies. Rovers, with only Todd Lumsden and Iain Diack of the first team squad on show, fell behind to a fifth minute goal when the break of the ball allowed a home striker to beat Shearer from close range. Rovers shrugged off this early set-back however, and drew level in 20 minutes when trialist centre Joe Flannigan collected a through ball and advanced to coolly slide the ball behind the home 'keeper. In the 34th minute, substitute David Carr fired across the face of the goal and although James Burrows instinctive volley was on target, his shot struck the goalkeeper and rebounded to safety. The second half was a much more niggly affair, with a fair number of free kicks and warnings from the referee. It looked as if the hosts were going to snatch a winner in the last seconds when two of their players were clean through on Shearer, but the big goalkeeper spread himself well at their feet to make an excellent stop.