Airdrie & Coatbridge Advertiser
Rovers feel the pressure of tough run-in
Albion Rovers ....1 Alloa Athletic ....3 Mark Pirie Albion Rovers boss Brian Kerr admits that every game will be like a cup final for them in the battle to avoid the drop.
With a win over East Fife, Forfar opened up a gap over the Coatbridge outfit as they slipped to a disappointing defeat against Alloa.
A Steven Hetherington double and a Jordan Kirkpatrick tap-in handed the Wasps the points, with a goal from Joao Victoria just a consolation for the home side.
Rovers face title challengers Raith on Saturday and Kerr knows the pressure is on to pick up points and rescue their season.
He told the Advertiser:“We are giving away goals too easily.
“Against a lot of teams this season we have given them a two-goal head start before we got into the game and it was the same against Alloa.
“In the second half we matched them and showed a good tempo but we gave ourselves a massive mountain to climb and just couldn’t overcome it.”
The former Scotland cap continued: “It’s a massive week for us but all the games are massive now until the end of the season.
“We will take it a game at a time but every game is like a cup final for us now.
“The pressure is on when you are down there battling. Every game is a must-win now if we want to stay in this league.
“Everyone at the club knows we need to pick up some wins to build a bit of momentum and get ourselves out of this situation.
“It doesn’t matter if the team are above us in the league like Raith, Ayr and Alloa have been. It’s crucial for us now.” ● Rovers last week narrowly lost to table-topping Ayr at Cliftonhill to plunge deeper into the relegation mire.
Jamie Adams and Craig Moore were on target for the visitors but a mistake from Jack Ruddy allowed Arbroath loanee Kane Hester to pull one back.
Alan Trouten levelled the game before stand-in keeper Daniel Potts fumbled a shot straight to the feet of Lawrence Shankland, who knocked the ball into the net.
Following the game Kerr lamented errors which cost his side again:“We gave them real problems and can take a lot of positives from the game. It’s an individual error that costs us again, but we don’t want to be too negative.”