Montrose Roselea

MONTROSE ROSELEA vs FORFAR WEST END WHYTE & MCKAY TAYSIDE PREMIER LEAGUE 15/01/2005 Montrose Roselea kicked off 2005 at home to Forfar West End. The Forfar side arrived at Montrose unbeaten in their four league matches to date and were one point ahead of Roselea with one game in hand. The sides had met twice earlier in the season in the League Cup with Forfar West End winning 5-0 at Forfar and Roselea winning the reverse fixture 1-0. West End had also been stagnant for 4 weeks due to the Christmas break and the postponement of last weeks game against Kinnoull. Roselea on the other hand were buoyed by their win at Super League Oakley the previous week. Roselea reverted to 4-4-2 from the previous week with John Wands in goal behind a back four of Matt Miller, Chris Masson, Paul Ross, and Paul Whyte, Kevin Crawford, David Craig, Eric Watson and Scott Findlater made up the midfield and Colin Page and Jai Clayton making his full Roselea debut were upfront. Lee Walker, Duncan Croall, Wayne Keith, James McKellar and Ross Mcleod were the subs with Dean Milne, Martin Christie, Hayden Smith, Chris Simpson and Graham Walger unable to find a spot in the line up. Roselea kicked off with a fairly strong Broomfield wind at their backs and were awarded a dubious corner in 5 minutes. This was to prove to be very crucial as Colin Pages corner was met by Chris Masson and Jai Clayton knocked the ball over the line from close range to make it a wonder start for himself and Roselea. West End were spurred into action and Duell was unlucky not to equalise from a free kick, which rebounded off the bar in 15 minutes. Cougan then went close for West end when his shot had to be turned round by the alert Wands. West End were getting on top and only a great block by Chris Masson prevented them equalising. Roselea fought back and Forfar keeper Van Der Eyll had to gather at the second attempt with Watson ready to pounce. In 34 minutes Roselea scored a wonderful goal. Scott Findlater gathered the ball just inside the West End half and went on a run beating two players in the process, he then played a 1-2 with Jai Clayton and finished off the move in style with a left foot strike. In a two minute spell the referee had to book four players with Roselea’s Craig & Watson being particularly unlucky to see yellow after some provocation form the opposition. Jai Clayton was then released by a long Wands clearance and he held off two defenders before forcing a save from the keeper. From the resulting Colin Page corner, the outstanding Chris Masson guided a header into the far corner off the post to make it 3-0 Roselea. Half Time Roselea 3 Forfar West End 0, although West End defended well,Roselea built a substantial lead with three well taken goals. In 48 minutes Roselea almost sealed the points when a great run and cross from Findlater was almost finished by Eric Watson whose header crashed against the bar. In 52 minutes a moment of madness by the usually reliable Paul Whyte let West End back into the match. A rash tackle when McGregor was running away from the goals resulted in a penalty. Cougan made no mistake from the spot to make it 3-1. Moments later Forfar West End found themselves down to 10 men when Duell was booked for a second time when he squared up to Miller in a threatening manner following a heavy challenge on Watson. In 60 minutes West End made it a real match of it and McGregor finished a move with a hint of offside about it. West End were well on top but Roselea had a great chance to clinch the points when Clayton outstripped the defence with his pace. His first effort was blocked by the keeper but his follow up effort appeared to be handled on the line by a West End defender. Wayne Keith then replaced the injured Kevin Crawford. The previously booked Miller was fortunate not to see red when he was let off with a deliberate handball. Roselea were getting the run around and West End they forced a series of corners with the mounting pressure telling on Roselea as they panicked with some poor clearances. Wands was tested at full stretch and then Craig was almost enticed into a penalty bearing tackle as the clock run down. Masson then had series of blocks and headers to make sure that the points remained at Broomfield For the second week in a row Roselea held on for a hard fought and very important victory. This result really opens up the title race and Roselea now find themselves 4 points off the top with 3 games in hand. Although the display was not the classiest Roselea performance of the season the result was certainly one of the most important. Chris Masson was a rock for Roselea at the back and made a number of important blocks and headed clearances to make sure of the points. Jai Clayton had his first taste of Junior football and as well as scoring on his full debut will prove to be a welcome addition to the squad in the testing months ahead. Match Sponsor was Gill Financial Services Ltd. Man of the Match went to Chris Masson. Other Premier League scores: Broughty 1 Scone 1 Blairgowrie 0 ASC 3 Kinnoull 2 Violet 1 North End 2 Lochee Harp 2 This week Roselea are at home to Elmwood who were knocked out of the Scottish Junior Cup at Dunbar last week, losing 3-2. Kick Off is at 1.45pm.