Montrose 1 v 2 Albion Rovers 
Division 3
22nd September 2001
Montrose 1 v 2 Albion Rovers
Division 3
22nd September 2001
Attendance : 392
Scorers ~ Montrose : Laidlaw (74). Albion Rovers : Harty (48), Diack (51).
Following the extremely disappointing midweek defeat by East Stirlingshire, Rovers were not given much of a chance against the team second-top of the league, especially with a catalogue of injuries which would have kept an outpatients’ department busy for a week. Nevertheless, the makeshift side turned in a gritty winning performance which confounded the sceptics and no doubt earned the gratitude of bookies throughout the country. Montrose certainly didn’t look like a team challenging for the top and although Rovers gave them just a little too much space at times, they were unable to cope with resolute defence and determined attack.
Missing a handful of regulars, manager John McVeigh was forced to reshuffle his more experienced resources and the squad had an unfamiliar look with Steve Hamilton further back than usual and Gerry McKenna filling an unfamiliar midfield role.
Rovers got a fright with only four minutes played when Montrose striker Ralph Brand burst forward on the left and fired in a shot which Chris Fahey in Rovers’ goal managed to touch away. However, the ball broke to the waiting Brand whose second drive crashed off the base of a post. For once, the good fortune went Rovers’ way. A few minutes later, Iain Diack squeezed over a cross which Colin Waldie, under pressure at the near post, hit narrowly past the upright. With almost half an hour gone, back-from-injury Steve Bonar dallied in defence and lost the ball to Brand whose shot luckily went straight into Fahey’s arms. Brand was again in the picture close to the interval when he beat the outrushing Fahey to the ball then watched disappointed as his angled shot passed across the face of the goal with no takers.
There was an explosive start to the second half, when within six minutes, Rovers found themselves two goals ahead. Firstly, a deep Diack cross found Waldie on the right and when the wee man’s header came back into the middle, Martin Harty was perfectly placed to thump the ball into the net. Before Montrose were able to regroup after this shock, they fell even further behind. Harty beat the defence on the left and raced in on home ‘keeper Gary McGlynn who flopped to block the striker’s shot. Unfortunately for him however, the ball spun clear to the waiting Diack who happily blasted number two behind McGlynn.
With this comfortable cushion, Rovers buckled down to a settled style of play which tended to frustrate the Links Park outfit whose finishing was less than effective. However, with time ebbing slowly away, Montrose eventually equalised in the 74th minute - and it was a gift of a goal. In time-honoured fashion, Steve Bonar tried to usher a ball over the bye line for a goal kick, but misjudged the pace and the wily Steve Kerrigan - so often a thorn in Rovers’ sides - stuck in a boot to send the ball across goal where substitute Steve Laidlaw poked it into the net at the near post. From then until the final whistle, play was fast and furious, and after Rovers’ substitute Ian Rankin shot narrowly past a post, the action moved to the other end where Rovers survived a penalty claim as well as a late onslaught by the fired-up home stars. Before the end, there were bookings for Montrose’s Raymond Sharp and Gerry McKenna and Mark Booth of Rovers.
Montrose : McGlynn, Craig (Mitchell 73), Sharp, McQuillan, Christie, Allison (Conway 55), Magee, Johnston, Brand (Laidlaw 57), Kerrigan, Ferguson. Unused subs : Lowe, Butter.
Albion Rovers : Fahey, Tait, Lumsden, Hamilton, McKenna, Booth Waldie, Silvestro (Easton 85), Harty (Rankin 59), Diack (Carr 76), Bonar. Unused Subs : McLees, Shearer.
Referee : Craig Thomson
Man of the Match : Mark Booth
