Albion Rovers 0 Accies 1: Sunday, 25 March 2001

Scottish League Divison 3, Cliftonhill, Coatbridge

Sunday, 25 March 2001

TEAM NEWS

Ally Dawson stood by the team which had performed creditably at Cowdenbeath in midweek, with Robert Downs keeping his place up front despite Michael Moore being clear of suspension.

There was still no sign of "enigmatic" midfielder Allan Russell.

FIRST HALF

Accies went into the attack right from the start and created two good chances in the opening 90 seconds. Firstly Robert Downs shot tamely at Chris Fahey in the Rovers goal and then David McFarlane hit a good low shot which had the 'keeper at full stretch.

Accies looked to be in the mood and we all thought it was going to be a procession. Before half time, Accies were to squander no fewer than 5 good scoring chances, with Downs bringing a great save out of Fahey but Paul Gaughan and Davie McFarlane unable to hit the target when they should have scored.

Rovers' main creative force seemed to be the left boot of former Thistle and Motherwell (all the credentials are there for a hate figure), has-been Jered Stirling, who has now found his true level. (You may remember that he thought he was too good for Motherwell and tried to get a game with a big club down south.) Anyway, he swung in a few dangerous corners in the first half but Rovers never really troubled Ian Macfarlane in the Accies goal.

SECOND HALF

Accies continued to have the bulk of the play in the second half but had the same old problem - an inability to score. Despite the efforts of Stuart Callaghan, Dylan Kerr and Michael Martin to deliver decent crosses into the box, it seemed to be turning out to be another of those frustrating days.

Ally Dawson could see (as could everyone else), that Mark Nelson was having another poor game at right back and decided to make a tactical change by replacing him with Michael Moore. This almost had an immediate impact, with Screech getting onto a great cross from Stuart Callaghan to power in a bullet header which was well saved by Chris Fahey. That would have been quite a first touch for Moore.

It seemed inevitable that a goal would come, but we naturally had fears that Accies would concede a daft goal and the heads would go down. However, all the Accies fans were mightily relieved when Accies went ahead after 73 minutes. Stuart Callaghan won the ball on the left hand side of the area, pushed it past the defender but was tripped as he ran to make the cross. It was a clear penalty, and Stuart blasted it past Fahey to put Accies one up.

The rest of the game was fairly gruelling for the spectators, with neither side able to provide anything of real quality. Accies still had the bulk of the ball but were unable to increase their lead.

It was entertaining to watch the antics of Rovers boss John McVeigh. As you would expect, he bawled at his men throughout the game. But just behind him, there was another man (presumably a coach), who also shouted out instructions. He got quite animated, climbing onto the first bit of the barrier on several occasions. But the whole thing just reminded of a Chewin' The Fat sketch.

The real comedy highlight of the game was saved until the very end. The referee had already added on a minute or so of injury time when a Rovers player took ages over a throw-in. After about 10 seconds, the referee finally lost his patience and blew for time up, much to the amusement of the Accies fans and the visible frustration of John McVeigh.

IN CONCLUSION...

Not a great Accies performance by any means. However, they did clearly deserve to win the game and would have done so quite easily if they'd had their shooting boots on. This seems to be a habit for Accies now and unless the strikers start to score goals again, we'll be going nowhere at the end of the season. It was a valuable three points nonetheless.

Accies lineup:

Michael Moore replaced Mark Nelson after 58 minutes and Ryan Kelly came on for Robert Downs with a couple of minutes left. The unused substitutes were Graham Potter, Brian Vaugh and Keith Hogg.

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