Airdrie & Coatbridge Advertiser
Defeat to East Fife riles Young
Albion Rovers....0 East Fife......1 Mark Pirie Albion Rovers boss Darren Young feels his side should have taken at least a point against 10-man East Fife.
Jason Kerr scored the only goal of the game and despite Chris Duggan being sent off for the visitors, Rovers couldn’t grab the equaliser.
Young believes his players deserved something from the game. He said: “We had the better chances.
“We just had to be more clinical in the final third.
“I heard Barry Smith (East Fife boss) saying he felt they deserved it – with all due respect it was us that deserved it.
“We should have got at least a point.”
He feels a single point from their final two games will be enough to guarantee safety. He said: “It’s a close division but just a point should see us safe.”
Rovers started the brighter of the two teams, with Gary Fisher bursting through midfielder and pumping the ball into the box.
The awkward bounce almost caught out The Fifers keeper Mark Hurst with Ross Stewart ready to pounce, however, the stopper just smothered the ball.
A long ball fell perfectly for Ryan Wallace as the striker cut through the play-off hopefuls defence.
He attempted to lob the East Fife goalkeeper, but the ball drifted narrowly wide of the post.
Wallace was causing the visitors all kinds of problems, and his darting run allowed him to let his shot fly from the edge of the box. It beat Hurst, but trickled just wide of the left hand post.
Despite their dominance, Barry Smith’s men looked dangerous on the break through the pace of frontman Nathan Austin.
After RC Stewart dived low to stop a cross going into the Cliftonhill net, Austin was first to the rebound - but ballooned the ball over the bar from just six yards out.
The warning signs were there coming into the second half, and the Fifers hit Darren Young’s boys on the break.
Chris Duggan ran down the right flank, and was able to put an inchperfect cross in to the feet of Jason Kerr. The midfielder calmly slotted into the bottom corner.
However, Chris Duggan quickly turned villain after receiving a second booking for diving.
The 10-men were put under pressure, and a neat move down the wing saw Alan Reid’s ball met by Wallace.
His quick turn and shot brought out a brilliant save from Hurst.