Montrose Roselea

MONTROSE ROSELEA v PUMPHERSTON McBOOKIE.COM EAST PREMIER LEAGUE SAT FEB 1st 2014 Roselea once again beat the wet weather with many game in the area being off however after an early morning check that the pitch was in good condition the players had to battle against the elements which turned stormy as kick off approached. The only plus was the wind was on the diagonal rather than straight from end to end. Roselea were almost back to full strength with only Stewart Fletcher missing due to work and Carlos Silva was unavailable. James Collier replaced Silva in midfield as Roselea looked to build on the previous weeks win over Kirkcaldy YM. Roselea: Mcleod, P Taylor, R Taylor, Reoch, Whyte, Anderson, Rae, Collier, Cruickshank, Reid & Watson. Subs: Thomson, Riach, Ross, Richardson & Brand. In 3 minutes to demonstrate the strength of the wind Mcleod raced out to clear and a ball which would normally have reached touch at the halfway line went out for a corner. Mcleod then punched the corner out and McQuillan shot over for Pumpherston. Watson had a chance when strike partner Reid slipped the ball wide to him but again the wind made the chance difficult and he shot over. It was then Reids chance to show what he could do and he drilled a great first time shot from a Rae cross which hit the bar from 20 yards. In 20 minutes a string of fouls by the visitors were starting to catch up on them and Campbell was booked. Ryan Taylor swung in a great curling cross using the wind as an advantage and once again Reid hit the bar this time with a header. It was surely only a matter of time before the home side scored and they did so in 26 minutes. Rae played Reid down the right flank and strike partner WATSON made a text book front post run to finish from 5 yards and may have even been fouled before he scored. It was just not Dale Reids day and he had another great chance in 31 minutes when a Cruickshank cross was delivered to far post and as he slid in to head from point blank range the ball somehow went wide of the post. Mcleod had to battle with the elements again as Pumpherston again tried to push forward and he punched the ball clear to keep Roselea in front. Roselea had two more chances just before half time. First Calum Watson was put in and drew an early dive from the keeper but just as it looked like he had lobbed him Hunter managed to get a hand to the ball. Then Watson turned provider as he squared to Rae and when his shot came off a defender Cruickshank blasted the ball into the arms of Hunter who saved well. Half Time: Montrose Roselea 1 Pumpherston 0 Roselea made an enforced change at half time with Danny Ross replacing Ryan Taylor who had taken a knock in the first half. Dale REID finally managed to get on the scoresheet in 48 minutes with a well taken goal. Watson flicked a Mcleod goal kick on and set Reid in on goal and after drawing the keeper he drilled the ball into the bottom left hand corner to make it 2-0. It was one way street from then on with Roselea having a slight advantage of the wind and Anderson was put through but elected to shoot early when an extra touch might have made his chance easier still Hunter had to save well. Roselea made sure of the points in the 67th minute when WATSON finished from close to the penalty spot when he was allowed time to take the ball down from a free kick. Collier went close in the 70th minute when Calum Rae tucked the ball inside onto the right foot and he narrowly missed the target from 25 yards. Roselea made another change in 75 minutes with Scott Riach replacing Calum Rae. With the conditions ever worsening Roselea seemed content with the 3 goals and 3 points and although the ball was being knocked around the pitch well there was no real need to keep going at Pumpherston. There was an injury scare for Roselea in the last minute when Reoch took a knock and had to be replaced by Richardson who took great delight in facing the elements for all of one minute! Full Time: Montrose Roselea 3 Pumpherston 0 This was a very commanding with for Roselea however both teams must take great credit for even playing in such harsh conditions. Pumpherston who are not having the best of seasons due to the loss of their Management team and loss of most of their promotion winning squad should also be praised for their agreement to reverse the fixture to Montrose to allow the players to attend the Sportsman’s Dinner at night. This now means Roselea have won five of their last nine games and if that form continues safety will become a possibility. Calum Watsons two goals takes his tally to 19 for the season with strike partner Dale Reid on 10. This week Roselea travel to Glenesk Park Dundee to visit Violet and hope that their current form and Violets lack of recent games can continue the push for league safety. Kick off in Dundee will be 2.00pm