Stirling Albion 0 v 1 Albion Rovers 
Division 3
3rd August 2002
Stirling Albion 0 v 1 Albion Rovers
Division 3
3rd August 2002
Click on pic to enlarge
Attendance : 582
Scorer ~ Albion Rovers : James Dick (13).
How on earth Rovers didn’t win this one by the proverbial first-half barrowload is a mystery. However, having survived a spirited second-half fight-back by the home side, the single excellent strike by Jim Dick was most welcome and gave Rovers the perfect start to the campaign.
All the good initial work was put in jeopardy when injuries to scorer Dick, Jered Stirling and Andy Paterson put the game plan in disarray, but Peter Hetherston’s men dug in and despite some hairy moments, came out on top.
With just sixty seconds on the clock, Rovers set the scene when Dick, at the back post, headed Iain Diack’s cross just wide. Soon afterwards, another good cross from Diack was met by John Bradford but his header too, slipped past a post. In the thirteenth minute, a Dick shot was touched for a corner and when Paterson’s kick came over beyond the back post, the same player dived to power a header low into the net. It was a splendid goal and no more than Rovers deserved at that stage.
In 16 minutes, Stirling’s Mark McNally drove high over from around thirty-five yards before a Paul Nugent grounder was easily held by Scott Shearer. Rovers quickly regained the initiative however, and when a Chris Silvestro cross reached Dick on the edge of the box, his brilliant goal-bound volley was touched over the bar by home ‘keeper Chris Reid.
Rovers suffered a blow in the 23rd minute when the influential Dick took a knock and had to be substituted by Colin McKinnon following which there was a noticeable brief lull in proceedings before Diack saw his 23 yard drive saved by Reid. Just before the break, referee Brian Winter took exception to a couple of tackles by Jim Mercer and Silvestro, and flashed the yellow card at them both, much to the annoyance of the visiting fans.
The opening ten minutes or so of the second half were quite unremarkable, but after Diack fired over a penetrating cross from which McKinnon looked to have netted - except for the fact that the ball came off Reid’s legs and was cleared - Stirling gave themselves a shake and began to make good use of the acres of space which suddenly became available. Fortunately for Rovers, Stirling seldom actually got near goal with the majority of their attacks, although a cut-back to Steve Nicholas saw the former Aberdeen star slice his shot wide.
As time slipped by, Rovers seemed to become more and more nervous as Stirling’s confidence visibly grew and there were some extremely worrying moments in the visitors’ penalty area, especially during the last ten minutes. However, when Shearer casually plucked a dangerous-looking free-kick out of the air in the last minute, it was clear that the victory had been won. Nevertheless, the final whistle was something of a relief to Rovers who will hopefully take some lessons from their second-half display. Jordan Smith was a third Rover to be booked by referee Winter.
Stirling Albion : Reid, Nugent, McCole, McNally, Rowe, Duncan, Moore (Stuart 46), Hay, Munro (Beveridge 67), Nicholas, O’Brien (Butler 89). Unused Subs : McLellan, Turner.
Albion Rovers : Shearer, Paterson (Coulter 63), Stirling, Smith, Cormack, Lumsden, Dick (McKinnon 23), Silvestro, Bradford, Diack (McLean 69), Mercer. Unused Subs : McCaul, Fahey.
Referee : Brian Winter
Man of the Match : Chris Silvestro
