Albion Rovers 1 v 0 Peterhead 
Division 3
29th September 2001
Albion Rovers 1 v 0 Peterhead
Division 3
29th September 2001
Attendance : 296
Scorer ~ Albion Rovers : Waldie (81).
As Rovers’ boss John McVeigh rushed off from Cliftonhill to attend the premiere of the movie "A Shot To Glory", it was fitting that just a single well-taken goal should have won this match for the Coatbridge lads. Colin Waldie was the man in the spotlight in 81 minutes as he lay in wait for just such a chance, and when it eventually arrived, the wee man gleefully thumped the ball home to give Rovers their second successive win. After the match, the respective managers were "delighted" and "disappointed" - can you work out which was which?
Injuries and illness again gave Rovers selection problems, but the reshuffled squad fought their hearts out for the cause - as well as playing some very good football at times.
There’s no doubt that Rovers had much the better of things during the first twenty minutes or so, but with only a Gerry McKenna effort (latterly ruled offside) and an audacious Iain Diack 45 yard lob coming close, Peterhead were not unduly troubled. A free-kick by on-loan Martin Canning gave Stewart McKay a glimpse of goal but his shot flew harmlessly over the top before Rovers’ Martin Harty came within a couple of coats of paint of opening his account at the other end. He collected the ball close to the left touchline and cleverly beat two defenders before firing for goal and watching in dismay as his shot clipped the crossbar before going over. Within a minute, Peterhead themselves almost nicked the opener when Ian Stewart, at the back post, got on the end of a Tindal cross to head just wide.
In between bookings for Rovers’ Todd Lumsden and Peterhead’s Mark Simpson, Colin Waldie had a good shot well saved by Ivor Pirie in the Blue Toon goal. The, with just four minutes of the half remaining, home hearts missed a beat when a Tindal rocket shot - blocked by Chris Fahey in the home goal - fell at the feet of Stewart McKay about eight yards out. A split second later there was a collective Coatbridge sigh of relief as McKay’s instinctive shot crashed off the crossbar instead of finding the net. It was a bad miss which led to the blank interval scoreline.
Following fifteen quite unremarkable opening minutes in the second half, Rovers were denied a free-kick on the edge of the box when Diack was clearly impeded by a visiting defender. Referee Charlie Richmond had other ideas however, and waved play on. The visitors’ McKay and Rovers’ Paul Bonar then tried their luck to no avail before Peterhead’s Kevin Tindal - clearly accidentally - received what looked like a fairly severe facial injury and was carted off in the waiting ambulance. (It later transpired that the injury was not so bad as originally thought, with only a black eye and a few stitches marring the lad’s good looks).
With 77 minutes played, Colin Waldie embarked on a run up the right and cut the ball back to the waiting Ryan McMullan, but the youngster was slightly off balance and his shot sailed over the bar. Just four minutes later however, the same two players combined to grab the goal which sent the home fans wild. Substitute McMullan collected the ball inside the opposition half, set off on a run right into the heart of their defence and unleashed a powerful drive which Pirie could not hold. The ball bounced out to the lurking Waldie and before anyone could move, the net was bulging and the celebrations began. Although McMullan latterly drove a yard over and Peterhead’s Martin Johnston missed a half chance in the last minute, the points were most definitely staying in the Cliftonhill locker and the gaffer could enjoy his night at the pictures.
Albion Rovers : Fahey, McKenzie, Bonar, Hamilton, Lumsden (McLees 56), Booth, Waldie, Silvestro, Harty, Diack (McMullan 71), McKenna. Unused Subs : Easton, McLean, Shearer.
Peterhead : Pirie, Canning, Smith, McKay, Simpson, Tindal (Clark 74), Cooper, Stewart, Yeats (Findlay 72), Bissett (Johnston 66), Livingstone. Unused Subs : Murray, McLean.
Referee C Richmond.
Man of the Match : Mark Booth
