Albion Rovers fight back to claim derby victory over 10-man Cumbernauld Colts.
Owen Ronald’s brace secures comeback victory for Albion Rovers against Cumbernauld Colts at the Reigart Stadium.
Thomas Horn gave the Colts a dream start, scoring inside the first minute, before David Wilson’s red card changed the game with Owen Ronald striking in both halves to secure all three points for the Wee Rovers.
A change in personnel and formation for Albion Rovers after a difficult night on Tuesday at home to Kilwinning Rangers.
Grant Tamosevicius remained the man between the sticks, with Chris Neeson, Innes Clark and Liam Dolan forming the central defence. Captain Barry Duncan and Alex McCaw operated as wing-backs, with Conor McLaughlin and Dan Hunter in the deeper midfield roles. Che Campbell and Owen Ronald start in attacking midfield, with Adam McMillan leading the line.
There was no substitute goalkeeper for Albion Rovers this time round, while Tony Garth returned to the matchday squad. Rock Moses, Leo Clark and Kemo Darboe dropped to the bench, alongside Nathan Brown, Devan McColl and Dean Rhappozzoh. Alex Eguagie missed out once more after featuring for Queen’s Park midweek.
There was a huge delay to kick-off at the Reigart Stadium ahead of the local derby against Cumbernauld Colts, with the away side and officiating team emerging from the tunnel five minutes after the game was scheduled to begin.
It was a dismal start in terms of both weather and performance for the Wee Rovers, as the Colts opened the scoring inside the first minute. A pass deep in Rovers territory was played out to Harrison Howe, whose cross was met at the front post by Jamie Semple. He could not quite trap the ball, with his touch skimming off his boot and into the path of Thomas Horn.
The forward superbly got in front of his man before tapping the ball into the bottom-right corner to give the visitors the ideal start.
The Wee Rovers looked to hit back almost immediately, with Alex McCaw threatening down the right-hand side and winning a corner. The set-piece came to nothing as the visitors looked to hit on the break, with an effort from Howe blocked.
Owen Ronald had a decent opportunity to bring the game level following another corner. Barry Duncan’s delivery into a dangerous area for McCaw took a fortunate touch, allowing the attacking midfielder to run onto the ball just inside the area. Ronald met it on the half-volley, but his effort went straight into the hands of David Wilson in the Cumbernauld goal.
McCaw continued to be the home side’s best threat, picking up the ball and taking on his man on numerous occasions, winning corners and getting crosses into the box. One of the best opportunities came after the makeshift wing-back won the ball in midfield, advanced forward and played a one-two with Ronald. His resulting cross was well defended as it looked to land at the feet of Adam McMillan in a dangerous position.
Albion Rovers carried most of the threat despite the game settling into a scrappier affair, with fouls and free-kicks marring the remainder of the half. Duncan found himself in the book after challenging for a loose ball and coming out on top, with the Colts defender going to ground. Referee Olivia Nicholson showed the captain a yellow card, and she would remain busy for the remainder of the half.
Conor McLaughlin was booked for a foul on Abraham Osemeke, giving the Colts a decent opportunity from a free-kick. Osemeke returned the favour minutes later with a late challenge on McLaughlin, resulting in a yellow card for the Colts forward.
Duncan’s delivery from the resulting free-kick allowed Chris Neeson to knock the ball down for a teammate to tap home, but the ball went behind for a goal kick.
Albion Rovers turned up the intensity as they chased an equaliser, but opened themselves up enough for the visitors to threaten. A long-range shot was parried by Tamosevicius before Liam Dolan cleared the danger.
Then the game exploded into life.
A long ball over the top from Tamosevicius caused trouble, with McMillan challenging Callum Home as Wilson came off his line to clear. A breakdown in communication caused problems, with Wilson’s shanked clearance falling to McMillan on the edge of the area.
The striker had an open net to aim at before going down under the keeper’s last-ditch challenge.
Nicholson initially waved away the appeals for a foul to the dismay of the players and the Cliftonhill faithful. After what felt like an age, the referee finally blew the whistle after noticing the raised flag of her assistant. Following the consultation, Wilson was shown a red card for denying a goalscoring opportunity.
Duncan had the opportunity to level the scoring from a free-kick 25 yards out, calling substitute keeper Steven Garcez-Kearney into action. The Colts goalkeeper parried Duncan’s shot into the danger area, but McMillan was unable to lift the rebound over him and into the net.
Albion Rovers finally got themselves level after knocking on the door.
A long ball up the left channel from Dolan allowed McMillan to challenge for a header. He missed it initially but ran onto the loose ball on the left side before driving into the Colts box. The striker’s outside-of-the-foot attempt was put into the path of Owen Ronald inches from the goal-line, allowing the attacking midfielder to tap home and equalise for the home side.
Nicholson blew the half-time whistle to bring a hectic first half to an end, with two goals and four cards, with one being red – setting up an intriguing second half.
The second half began without delay, and the sunshine even made an appearance as Albion Rovers came out firing and looked to take the lead.
Horn gave away a foul on the edge of his own box and was booked shortly afterwards for his protests. Dan Hunter stepped up and fired a powerful effort from 30 yards, but his strike whistled over the bar.
The Rovers had the ball in the net in the 50th minute, but the flag was raised for offside. Che Campbell’s pass out to McCaw on the right-hand side allowed the wing-back to swing a terrific ball into the box, finding McMillan in space. His first effort was well saved before the striker fired the rebound into the back of the net, only for McMillan to be adjudged offside.
The offside flag continued to frustrate Albion Rovers. A well-worked short-corner routine on the right-hand side between Hunter and Duncan allowed for a terrific cross into the area, where Neeson’s diving header flew over the bar.
Minutes later, a free header from McMillan was nodded wide after another fantastic delivery from Neeson, although the offside flag was raised once more.
Albion Rovers maintained the pressure and looked to make their numerical advantage count. Some nice play on the left-hand side between Duncan and Campbell saw their one-two allow Duncan to reach the byline and poke the ball across for McMillan, whose effort was unfortunately blocked.
Cumbernauld Colts hit on the break for the first time after sitting deep, with Neeson fouling Howe in the middle of the Rovers half. The header from the resulting free-kick flew over the bar.
Saunders turned to his bench in search of the winning goal, with Nathan Brown replacing the hard-working McMillan. The substitute almost made an immediate impact, doing well to retain possession before finding Duncan, whose dangerous cross went begging.
Rovers continued to dominate, as expected due to their numerical advantage, with most of the football taking place in the Colts half — and it would not be long before Albion Rovers made that pressure count.
A throw-in on the right was played back to Innes Clark, who crossed from deep and found Ronald in acres of space inside the box. The attacking midfielder made no mistake, running onto the ball and finishing low underneath the keeper to send the hosts into a deserved lead.
Ronald was substituted immediately afterwards, along with Campbell, as Leo Clark and Kemo Darboe came on with Saunders looking to put the game to bed in the final 15 minutes.
Cumbernauld Colts looked to hit back, briefly pressing high and aggressively in an attempt to salvage something from the game after sitting back since the red card. With 78 minutes on the clock, they created an opening.
A series of long balls and clearances between both sides resulted in the ball dropping to Aiden McLaughlin on the edge of the area. He looked to take a touch and break into the box, but the midfielder could not control it.
Albion Rovers continued to carry a threat while looking comfortable defending the occasional long ball as the final 10 minutes approached, with the hosts looking to put the game beyond the Colts.
The inclement weather returned, with torrential rain and blustery winds adding another element to the game.
A tricky run from Leo Clark won a free-kick on the edge of the area, where Conor McLaughlin’s effort was saved and pushed behind for a corner. Darboe’s header from the resulting set-piece was well saved again before Duncan came close from another corner delivery as the blustery conditions continued to cause problems.
Cumbernauld Colts hit on the break as the full-time whistle drew closer, winning a corner after the tricky conditions impacted Neeson as he attempted to clear his lines. The weather continued to prove difficult as Conor McLaughlin won the header to clear at the front post, with the ball ending up in a dangerous area. Fortunately for the Wee Rovers, there were no takers.
A collective sigh of relief came with the sound of the final whistle as Albion Rovers saw out the remainder of the match in torrential conditions.
A mature performance in the closing stages from a youthful Albion Rovers side secured a second league win of the season, with the Wee Rovers bouncing back from their recent disappointing run of form and picking up a much-needed boost ahead of a double-header against Pollok in the league and Scottish Cup.
Albion Rovers: Tamosevicius, Neeson, Clark, Dolan, McCaw (McColl, 85), Duncan (C), C. McLaughlin, Hunter, Ronald (Clark, 72), Campbell (Darboe, 72), McMillan (N. Brown, 64).
Subs: Moses, Rhappozzoh, Garth.
Cumbernauld Colts: Wilson (Sent off, 37), Fernie, Home (C), Devlin, Hynd, Howe (Trialist 22, 76), Walker (L. Brown, 46), A. McLaughlin, Osemeke (Garcez-Kearney, 39), Semple (Williams, 62), Horn (Trialist 19, 76).
Subs: Moy, Stevenson.
