Airdrie & Coatbridge Advertiser
Kerr says his men were worth draw
Albion Rovers ....... 2 Raith Rovers ......... 2 Albion Rovers boss Brian Kerr insisted his side were well worth a point after their last-gasp penalty against Raith.
Star man Alan Trouten gave the home side the lead as he broke through the league leaders defence, before Euan Murray equalised.
Raith then took a second-half lead with an own goal from defender Jason Marr – who was back in the starting line-up after an injury-hit season so far.
However, top scorer Trouten sparked a furious finish by sealing his double from the spot after going down under a challenge from Jason Thomson in injury time.
Despite the protests from the Kirkcaldy visitors for both goals, gaffer Kerr believed a draw was the least that they deserved from the game.
He also noted that they had their own justified grievances with the officials.
He felt that Arbroath loanee Kane Hester’s cross-come-shot had been put over the bar by Raith keeper Aaron Lennox.
A goal-kick was awarded instead, which eventually led to Murray’s equaliser.
He also felt they had gripes about further claims for a spot-kick.
“It’s disappointing in that we should have had at least one more– maybe two – penalties,”he told the Advertiser.
“They are a good side and had their bit of pressure but it’s frustrating when we could have been up by two or three.
“We were unlucky but thankfully got our penalty at the end.
“You look at some of the decisions from the officials - for both sides - and I’m not sure either team would be happy.
“For the performance and the application we put in a point is the least of what we deserved.”
The players were without a game last Saturday with Ayr in Scottish Cup action – and Kerr gave the squad the weekend off.
He believed this had rejuvenated the squad after their poor run, which has seen them dragged into the bottom two and the relegation battle.
“We sent the players off for their free weekend – we didn’t have them in for training and gave them a chance to have a bit of a break,”said Kerr.
“Sometimes when you are on a bad run you just need a break from your surroundings.
“I think that helped. The players had a bit of freshness that you don’t always get when you are on a bad run.
“The players were determined to keep going until the very end and it’s important to build now and show that it was a great point against one of the toughest teams to come up against in the league.” Mark Pirie
The‘Rovers in the Community’ group want to take Cliftonhill back to it’s roots – and follow in the footsteps of Barcelona.
Albion Rovers director and community group representative Eddie Hagerty has laid out his vision for the future of the Coatbridge side with the help of the Rovers group – who have recently been granted charitable status by the Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR).
Hagerty believes that they can follow in the footsteps of the Catalonia giants – who have basketball, futsal, handball and roller hockey teams all associated with the FC Barcelona name.
The Nou Camp and nearby sporting facilities Palau Blaugrana and Ciutat Esportiva give a hub for the Barca sides and Hagerty hopes Cliftonhill can one day offer the same in Coatbridge.
He notes that the origins of the Wee Rovers follow the similar Sporting Club ideals and would love to have the chance to redevelop parts of the historic ground in a bid to aid the next generation of talent in all sports.
“We want this stadium to be open five days a week through the work of Rovers in the Community,” he told the Advertiser. “Although we are aligned with Albion Rovers, we have our own board and status.
“When we are using the pitch for the football school we rent out the facility.
“The good thing about that is it helps the club financially.”
He continued: “Long- term, I would love to have some capital developments.
“That’s way down the road – we are just getting established and what we have on the go just now is ambitious.
“Ultimately, I would like to see Cliftonhill stadium as a supercommunity asset.
“There would be stuff like tennis courts, multi-sports areas, and we’ve got places we have identified within the stadium that we are looking at.
“Again, we haven’t started looking accounts. Hagerty states they are effectively a charitable trust with a diverse range of projects working in the background currently.
Midfielder Sean Higgins has been leading the community coaching with school pupils and the 12-week ‘football fans in training’ course.
Along with midfielder Higgins, gaffer Brian Kerr helps out with football camps.
“Is there any Scottish professional team where a manager will turn up and do that? I don’t think there is,” notes Hagerty.
The quality of what happens is pretty damn good