league 1 Match is abandoned after a keeper’s kick resulted in a corner
arbroath 0 stranraer 0
(Match abandoned after 11 minutes due to high winds) The storm-force wind which blasted from one end of Gayfield to the other made serious football impossible – and left referee Craig Napier with no option other than to abandon the game after 11 minutes.
The home side, playing into the teeth of the gale, struggled to get out of their own half, while the visitors also found it near impossible to maintain any control of the ball.
The situation became farcical when Lichties keeper Darren Jamieson watched his kick-out spin back in the wind and go behind for a corner.
At that stage, Napier stopped the game, and after consulting both managers, decided to call a halt.
Arbroath boss Dick Campbell said: “It’s disappointing, but I think it’s the right decision.
“Apart from anything else, you have to consider player safety and both managers are in agreement over it.”
His Stranraer counterpart Stevie Farrell added: “It was farcical.
“Their goalkeeper was kicking the ball as hard as he could, but it kept coming back.
“Neither Dick nor I would want to win a game under these circumstances, so it was the right and sensible decision.
“It is, however, disappointing for the fans who have travelled so far.”
Forfar athletic 2 airdrieonians 0
Irvine (41), Eckersley (72) Forfar moved into third spot in League 1 with a comfortable win over Airdrie.
There was little excitement in a dire first half spoiled by the blustery conditions.
However, Dylan Easton raised the temperature after 39 minutes with a shot from just inside the box which clipped the post with the goalkeeper to beat.
If that warmed things up, Forfar’s debutant Gary Irvine was on fire just three minutes later with a scorcher of a long-range shot that sailed over Airdrie goalie David Hutton.
The former Dundee and St Mirren man took advantage of the wind at his back to loft a 30-yard effort into the net to give Forfar a half-time lead.
The wind continued to create problems for both sides into the second half and a ball over the top held up for Lewis Moore to go one-on-one with Hutton.
The keeper did well to block, and Forfar’s assistant manager John Baird could only hold his head in disbelief after blasting the rebound high over the bar from eight yards.
But Forfar did double their lead in the 72nd minute when Adam Eckersley slotted home from a tight angle on the left after a surging counter-attack.
Airdrie sub Dale Carrick has a glorious chance to pull one back in quick fashion, but he somehow screwed the ball wide from two yards out.
stenhousemuir 1 Montrose 0
Hurst (68) Stenhousemuir moved off the bottom of League 1 after this hard-fought victory against Montrose.
This was the second win in a row for the Warriors and they had debutant Greg Hurst to thank for their win after he drilled the ball past Allan Fleming to secure all three points.
At a windswept Ochilview, chances for both teams were few and far between.
The visitors will have felt they should have taken the lead just after the start of the second half. Russell Mclean, starting for the first time, was thwarted twice by Graeme Smith in the Stenhousemuir goal, the keeper bringing off a couple of fine saves.
The home side were unlucky not to increase their lead in the 70th minute when a Mark Mcguigan header struck the crossbar.
For most of the closing stages, though, the Gable Endies had the bulk of the play, but they were denied by a resolute home defence on a number of occasions.
There was a palpable sigh of relief for Stenhousemuir, though, when, after almost five minutes stoppage time, the final whistle was blown.