Albion Rovers 1 v 1 Elgin City 
Division 3
21st September 2002
Albion Rovers 1 v 1 Elgin City
Division 3
21st September 2002
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Attendance : 303
Scorers ~ Albion Rovers : McLean (72). Elgin City : McMullan (52).
Well, it could have been worse, for as the game wore on it was looking more and more likely that Rovers were never going to find the net. So, when the busy Charles McLean eventually thumped home the equaliser eighteen minutes from the end, the cheer from the home support was augmented by a liberal helping of sheer relief.
However, this was yet another occasion when it’s difficult to understand how only a single point was added to Rovers’ haul for the season, for the chances were certainly there. Oh sure, Elgin were quite efficient in defence and packed their box when circumstances demanded, but with the ball often bouncing around the danger area, it seemed that it never connected with the correct foot at the correct time. Having said that, ex-Rover Ryan McMullan was a constant pain in the neck and must have been absolutely delighted to score against his former colleagues.
There were only three minutes on the watch when Jered Stirling slung over a cross-cum-shot which drifted tantalisingly just beyond the back post, but almost immediately the game settled down into a quite scrappy affair which had no settled pattern and very little flow. Soon after John McCaig had received his eleventh minute booking, Rovers had a glorious chance to go ahead when a defence-splitting pass from Todd Lumsden found McLean in acres of space up front. It looked odds-on that the striker would score, but City’ keeper Martin Pirie left his charge to block the final shot.
Then, at the midway point, McLean was again to the fore with a demonstration of close control which allowed him to cross from the left, the ball just eluding Andy Paterson at the far post. Two minutes later, Rovers were presented with a penalty-kick, the easy way to get a goal - except for the fact that the kick has to be a good one, and John Bradford’s was, to say the least, quite pathetic, with Pirie having time to move to his left to smother the ball near the base of the post. Before the interval, there were more opportunities with Rovers’ Stirling and City’s Kevin Steele and David Craig coming close.
The second period was only three minutes old when Todd Lumsden acted sharply to boot a Steele try off the line. Almost immediately, at the other end, Rovers won a free-kick which McAllister touched sideways to Silvestro (an interval substitute for McCaig) and the wee midfielder’s powerful deflected drive was well parried to safety by Pirie. Then, very much against the run of play, City had the temerity to score the goal that put the cat amongst the pigeons. Russell McBride struck a beautifully judged pass into the path of Steel wide on the left. The ginger-haired one took just a single stride and sent a finely-weighted cross into the box where the unmarked McMullan was waiting to thump the ball cleanly behind Scott Shearer. Within a minute, shocked Rovers almost conceded another, only some desperate defending preventing what might well have sealed their fate.
In 58 minutes, McMullan again showed his ability, with only a weak final shot wasting his excellent lead-up work. For Rovers, Bradford found McLean with a great pass and it took a timely interception by Russell McBride to prevent the striker from opening his account. However, after a double substitution in which Jim Dick and Iain Diack replaced Kevin McAllister and James Coulter, McLean at last got the reward his industry deserved. Dick, operating on the left, made space for a low cross which Bradford dummied, leaving the bold Charles time and space to whack his first of the season into the net.
With ten minutes remaining, Stirling sent over a wicked cross which Diack met at the near post, with only a defender’s head preventing another goal. Five minutes later, City’s David Ross was helped from the field with blood gushing from a head wound, and the visitors might have sneaked all three points a minute from the end, David Craig missing with a header from good position.
Not for the first time even this early in the campaign, there will undoubtedly be some pointed comments directed to the players from management. Such a move has paid dividends in the past; it must do so again.
Albion Rovers : Shearer, Paterson, Stirling, Smith, Cormack, Lumsden, McAllister (Dick 66), Coulter (Diack 66), Bradford, McLean, McCaig (Silvestro 46). Unused Subs : Carr, Fahey.
Elgin City : Pirie, MacDonald, McBride, Sanderson, MacKay, Tully, Ross (Hosie 86), Campbell, McMullan, Steele (Grant 80), Craig. Unused Subs : James, Smith, Taylor.
Referee : D Somers.
Man of the Match : Todd Lumsden
