Albion Rovers 2 v 1 Stirling Albion 
Division 3
26th April 2003
Albion Rovers 2 v 1 Stirling Albion
Division 3
26th April 2003
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Attendance : 533
Scorers ~ Albion Rovers : Yardley (24, 27). Stirling Albion : Morris (64).
Ruud van Yardley! With eight goals in only twelve appearances, Rovers’ own superstar has already joined the ranks of Cliftonhill legends and it’s easy to understand the affection in which he’s held by supporters of his previous club, St. Mirren.
It took only a couple of quick-fire magical touches by the big man to knock the stuffing out of the visitors who never quite recovered from the shock of losing two goals in just three eventful first half minutes.
It had been no secret that Rovers were struggling to field a recognisable team, and manager Peter Hetherston had to list three youngsters among his five substitutes.
Stirling Albion seemed to get into the game quicker than Rovers and a cross by Robert Dunn was met by Steve Nicholas who, off balance, hoisted the ball high over the crossbar - a fate which was to befall all too many of their attempts. Indeed , they had only one attempt on target throughout the ninety minutes, and that was the freakish header which gave them some hope. After David O’Brien had followed the pattern, Yardley got into the act with a volley which looked capable of clearing the high flats!
Yards Strikes!
However, he had only been adjusting his sights as in the 24th minute he scored. Charles McLean found Kevin McAllister and when the wee maestro’s perfectly weighted cross came over, big Yards simply had to nod his head to put the ball into the net for a beautifully executed goal. Within three minutes, Cliftonhill erupted for the second time as he did it again. This time, a weak pass back by Albion’s defender Andrew Smith was intercepted by Jim Mercer who, with Yardley alongside him, raced towards Myles Hogarth in the Stirling goal. So far behind the defenders were the lads that they had the luxury of time and space to decide on their plan. A few examples of the "After you, Claude" kind of interpassing eventually led to our hero planting the ball firmly behind Hogarth for a welcome second.
It was not until the 44th minute that Rovers came within a glove thickness of netting a third, Hogarth doing very well to get a hand to Mercer’s goal-bound flick from a Jered Stirling corner kick.
Stirling’s Smith was booked in 48 minutes for a foul on McAllister, just shortly before both teams were forced into making changes. Rovers brought on Graeme McCaul for Ian Diack who seemed to have taken a knock to his back, and Albion’s Smith was carted off on a stretcher, Paul Hay taking his place. A Mark McNally free-kick skidded inches past an upright before the toiling Steve Nicholas was replaced by Steve Mallan who quickly showed his mettle with a low shot which Scott Shearer dived to touch for a corner. Within a minute however, Rovers’ goalkeeper was not so fortunate when a lazy, looping header from Ian Morris somehow fooled everyone and entered the net via a post. A casual goal - and an extremely careless one to lose.
No Hat-Trick
Within minutes, it looked as if Yardley was going to grab his hat-trick, but a good defensive block saw the ball spin out for a corner. Then Chazz McLean slung over a great corner from the left but before a Rover could reach it, McNally’s head sent it away from the danger area.
As time passed, Stirling tempers became somewhat frayed and the two Marks, McNally and Crilly, found referee Somers requesting their details. With only five minutes remaining there was a moment of panic in front of the home goal when a long bouncing clearance reached Morris just inside the area. Fortunately for Rovers, Morris found it difficult to control and he could only blooter his attempt high, wide and anything but handsome. The last half-chance of the match fell to visiting substitute Paul Hay, but he snatched at his long-range shot and the ball passed harmlessly wide of the goal.
So, the dream lives on, and the Coatbridge 14-match unbeaten bandwagon rolls north to Peterhead on Saturday for what is undoubtedly THE most important match in a season which has already had more than its fair share.
Albion Rovers : Shearer, McCaig, Stirling, Smith, Cormack, Lumsden, McAllister (McKenzie 88), Diack (McCaul 54), Yardley, McLean, mercer. Unused Subs : Paterson, Ross, Fahey.
Stirling Albion : Hogarth, P Nugent, Smith (Hay 55), McNally, Rowe, Crilly, Dunn (Munro 77), Morris, Kerrigan, Nicholas (Mallan 61), O’Brien. Unused Subs : Duncan, A Nugent.
Referee : David Somers.
Man of the Match : Mark Yardley
Photo courtesy & © of Jane Knox