MONTROSE ROSELEA v BLAIRGOWRIE

EAST REGION NORTH DIVISION

SAT JAN 22^nd 2011 

Roselea faced one of their fellow title challengers in Blairgowrie who were relegated from the Premier League last season along with the home side. Four points separated the sides with Roselea having the advantage and both having played the same 9 games. A win either way would have a massive impact on the Title race. 

Roselea had a few selection worries with Jonathon Mitchell & Mark Fotheringham unavailable and Calum Rae out with flu although he made the bench. In came Lee Hood & Scott Riach with Sean Mustard replacing Matt Miller at fullback and Colin Kennedy replacing Rae in midfield. 

The match was fortunate to proceed as the heavy frost of Wednesday & Thursday almost ruled it out however a thaw and rain on Friday improved matters and following a 9am inspection the game went ahead. 

Roselea: Mcleod, Mustard, Whyte, Reoch, Doug Craig, Hood, David Craig, Urquhart, Kennedy, Riach & Collier. Subs: Aitken, Strachan, Miller, Reid & Rae. 

On a perfectly calm day the wind was not going to be a problem however underfoot conditions were greasy with an inch of soft ground covering ice underneath.

Roselea were first on the attack and Collier headed a Craig cross goalwards in 5 minutes but Obrien held well at the second attempt. 

In 8 minutes Ireland of Blair was booked for attempting win a penalty then Dewar went close for the visitors a minute later when his shot from the edge of the area was deflected behind for a corner. 2 minutes later Cruickshank and another chance for Blair but his shot was direct at McLeod. 

Blairgowrie were getting on top and Neave intercepted a ball played between Doug Craig and Riach in 15 minutes and only a great save from Mcleod prevented the opener. 

In 21 minutes Urquhart received a yellow card for the home side and was lucky that he got some of the ball otherwise a straight red would have been the only outcome. 

Cruickshank had another header go just wide in 23 minutes with Blair controlling the traffic towards the Lea goal. 

Hood went on a great run in 41 minutes gliding past his fullback before hitting a great low cross which was excellently delat with by Obrien in the visitors goal. 

Roselea almost broke the offside trap with a well time run from Riach which was adjudged offside then at the other end Brash should have given Blairgowrie the lead when he also timed his run to perfection but slid the ball past the post with Mcleod beaten at the edge of the box. 

There was still time as the half drew to a close for Nicoll to beat the offside trap and again be thwarted by another terrific Mcleod save then the Roselea stopper then put in a great tackle as the ball was bouncing about in the box following a corner. 

Half Time Roselea 0 Blairgowrie 0

Roselea made a change at half time with Miller coming on for the booked Urquhart and the pack was shuffled to contain the Blairgowrie attacks. 

Roselea were becoming more positive and a Kennedy cross came of a Blair player at close range in the box. Surprisingly the referee gave a bye kick only for his assistant to correct him awarding the correct corner decision. Blairgowrie dealt with the corner well with Obrien holding Kennedy’s cross under pressure. 

Roselea were coming more into the game and in 55 minutes they had a great chance to take the lead through Collier. He broke in to the box getting in front of Chrisitison but keeper Obrien came flying out and made a great blocking save. From the corner kick a well rehearsed move saw Dougie Craig strike a first time shot which whistled just wide of the upright. 

In 65 minutes another Roselea break saw Kennedy find himself in a useful position on the left but with Collier poised on the penalty spot on his own the cross found Ferguson at the near post who cleared the danger. 

Kennedy picked up Roseleas 2^nd booking of the day for a late tackle in 68 minutes. 

On 70 minutes Roselea served up another chance. This time Lee Hood drifted in and met Craig’s cross with a downward header which seemed to take the power out of the ball and Obrien held easily. 

Menzies the Blairgowrie right back had a strong run in 72 minutes and David Craig’s timely block almost went into the net via his own player Mustard. 

In 78 minutes disaster struck for Roselea. Reoch went in for a tackle and although he brought the player down he also made strong contact with the ball however referee Beats saw fit to administer a straight red card to the youngster. 

In 84 minutes an unsual site at Broomfield Park as Whyte had to leave the field due to injury and was replaced by Aitken. 

Roselea were looking to hold on however deep into stoppage time they got a dramatic winner. Kennedy fed the ball through to Hood and with keeper Obrien commited he slid and prodded the ball past him into the path of the inrushing AITKEN who took his time and finished from 6 yards. There was still time left for a lengthy treatment to Aitken following a head clash and for Roselea to run down the clock with the replacement of Kennedy for Strachan. 

Final Score: Roselea 1 Blairgowrie 0 

A much welcome win for Roselea and a very important one at that. With Blairgowrie holding the upperhand in the first half and Mcleod saving the bacon at times they were happy to go in all square at Half Time.The change of formation at the break seemed to swing it more in the home teams favour but Blairgowrie will feel that they should have had things wrapped by then anyway.  After last weeks loss at home to North End this had become a must win game and the players and Management team will be delighted with their efforts.