Airdrie & Coatbridge Advertiser
Rovers deserved more in opener
Brian Reid reckons Albion Rovers are playing with a swagger and insists they should have taken at least a point from their League Two opener at Stenhousemuir.
The Cliftonhill boss was left frustrated after his side passed up a host of chances at Ochilview and ultimately paid the price with Thomas Orr’s 21st minute strike for the Warriors the only goal of the game in a 1-0 defeat.
Charlie Reilly fired narrowly wide in the first half for Rovers and hit the crossbar with a free-kick after the break, while Adam Fernie’s long-range effort late on was superbly saved by Stenny keeper Conor Brennan.
Reid is pleased with the way his side are playing and feels things will come good if they can be more clinical, but felt they warranted much more for their efforts.
He said: “We had the better chances but if you don’t take them, you get punished.
“We should have been ahead and the game would have been totally different.
“I say it all the time, but goals change games and give you something to hold on to and a wee boost.
“It was one of those days when the ball just didn’t want to go in for us. We created a lot of chances against a decent team away from home.
“It’s disappointing we didn’t take something from the game that our play deserved, but we’ll just have to dust ourselves down and get ready to go for Dumbarton.
“Their keeper had a good few saves but I think we were a wee bit careless in front of goal.
“In good positions you’ve got to hit the target, but we were getting under it or hitting it over the bar.
“That was the frustrating thing, but the players gave it their all and worked really hard. If we keep doing these things then it will turn for us, and that’s the positive to take.
“We are playing with a bit of confidence and we just need to turn these performances into results.
“At worst we deserved a point and even if we got that, I’d probably have felt we should have had three, but we’ll pick ourselves up.”
Stenny brought in the likes of exscotland international Craig Bryson from St Johnstone in the summer and Reid says his side were more than a match for one of the title favourites
He added: “Having a decent budget like they do allows you to bring in a bigger squad, but I felt we more than held our own against them with the squad we’ve got.
“We’ve got just as good players as them, but we’ve had to go with smaller numbers. We’ve got nothing to fear as a squad and that’s not being disrespectful.
“As long as we can keep everybody fit we will hold our own and win games.”
Rovers must now pick themselves up for Saturday’s intriguing clash at home to Dumbarton, who signed three players from Rovers over the summer.
Former skipper Aron Lynas, midfielder David Wilson and striker Declan Byrne all joined the Sons and Reid hopes they have a miserable return to Cliftonhill.
He said: “These things happen in football. Players move on and we wish them all the best for their careers, just not on Saturday.
“We need to make sure we bounce back from the disappointment of the weekend and win the game.
“The pitch is looking really well right now and the club plus volunteers have put a great deal of effort in to make that better for us.
“These people are very valuable to us and it’s a big thing to have a decent surface, so that should help us this season.”
• Rovers also host Celtic B on August 9 in round one of the Challenge Cup.