Mild damp evening at Gayfield moistened by gentle sea spray - a decent night for football for the gallant 386 that turned up to witness a crucial an batting win.
Those gallant few saw the Lichties – against the odds and expectations – turn in a disciplined and committed performance to bring us back into range of other playoff rivals.
For the second time in a fortnight Arbroath were relatively comfortable winners in a hard-fought game against our high-placed county rivals. With better finishing we should have made a major improvement to our goal difference
Brechin had slightly more of the possession first half but it was Arbroath who looked more dangerous up front. Booth’s speedy runs down the left and Jackson’s capable control and runs left them nervous. After being fouled on one such run on 14 minutes, Rattray headed in powerfully.
Twenty minutes later sloppy defending by Arbroath (not a problem tonight in general) meant danger but Hill palmed the ball onto his left post. Immediately afterwards, Jackson scored what seemed our second only to be ruled out by the linesman’s flag (fro what??_
Second half Arbroath came into their own. We seemed to find space in and about their defence and Booth was teasing their rightback. A series of chances fell – to Doris, Jackson Hislop and great cross balls from a series of corner came agonisingly close to a head. Nelson in Brechin's goal was also influential saving their bacon at least twice
McGuire had gone off after a head clash first half, then Doris and Hislop were subbed for Scott then Milne. This created danger. The two subs couldn’t get into the game or hold onto the ball when it arrived. Milne spurned the best chance of the night, Scott was booked for a wild challenge . The last minutes were tense as we stood back and Brechin pressed for an equaliser.
Good performance and good result. We need to convert more chances. great showings tonight from Marco, Ratts, Moyes and of course Callum Booth. Jackon was handful.
the Courier:
| Arbroath win Angus derby | |||
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ARBROATH secured the bragging rights in the latest Angus derby after a deserved 1-0 win over Brechin last night. Arbroath were worth the points and spent large spells of the game on top. Both teams started brightly but it was the hosts who posed more of a threat up front. They took the lead in the 14th minute when Keith Gibson fired a free-kick into the box from 30 yards out and Alan Rattray rose to head home past Craig Nelson, who got a hand to the ball but couldn’t keep it out. Arbroath’s Phil McGuire came off on 19 minutes when he and Brechin’s Mark Cowan clashed heads. The hosts continued to look the more dangerous of the two teams and defended strongly. Brechin did enjoy the odd chance and came close to levelling in the 39th minute following a break down the middle. Neil Janczyk’s long ball to Rory McAllister was headed down for Mark Cowan, whose close range shot was well blocked by goalkeeper Darren Hill for a corner. Arbroath had the ball in the back of the net at the other end two minutes later when Andy Jackson knocked the ball home from six yards out, only for it to be ruled offside. The hosts enjoyed some good pressure but their one-goal cushion ensured that Brechin remained in with a shout and the visitors created pressure with 15 minutes to go. They went close in the 76th minute when Janczyk fired the ball into the area and Paul McLean forced a one-handed save from Hill. Kevin Byers went close with a long range effort two minutes later to jangle the nerves of the home fans, but Arbroath were able to hold on. Arbroath manager Jim Weir said, “It’s a massive three points for us. “Tonight we put in a battling performance.” Brechin boss Jim Duffy said, “It was a very competitive match and was always going to be a difficult match but I felt the goal we lost was a naive goal and we should have defended it better to be honest.” Attendance—386. |
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