Airdrie & Coatbridge Advertiser
ISOLATION TO ELATION
Lewis goes from Covid quarantine to last gasp match winner for rampant Rovers
Lewis Wilson has revealed he climbed out of Covid isolation to net a stoppage time winner for Rovers.
The midfielder fired the Coatbridge men to a 3-2 victory over Stranraer on Boxing Day and he picked a good time to open his account for the club, netting with his weaker right foot in the 93rd minute.
And it was an unexpected goal in more ways than one as the 25-year-old hadn’t trained with the club all week and never thought he’d get a run out.
But he came on in the 76th minute for fellow scorer Kieran Dolan and left it late to grab a vital win for Rovers in their bid for the promotion play-off spot in League Two. The 25-year-old, whose side are four points off the play-off spots going
into the
New Year, said: “I’m pretty happy with that. It was a tight game, a bit of a battle, so I was delighted to get it over the line - literally.
“The ball came across the box to me and I just managed to knock it in on my right foot. I think I’ve only scored once before with my right so it was good to be in the right place.
“It was unexpected. I wasn’t in the squad last week because I was isolating.
“My wee brother had tested positive so I hadn’t been in training this week or anything. I wasn’t even expected to come on, so to score the winner was great and I was delighted to get my chance.
“It was a big win, especially knowing Kelty had dropped points and Forfar lost as well. Teams around us had picked up points they maybe weren’t expected to, so it was important that we kept up with them.
“We are hoping to push on now, keep looking up the table and aiming for that play-off spot.
“We need to make sure we keep
putting in performances and that will get us results.”
It’s been a stop-start season so far for Wilson, who has managed just 12 appearances for Rovers due to injury. And he added: “My ankle has been giving me a bit of bother during the season.
“It’s been quite a difficult season for me, trying to find a bit of form, so hopefully I can kick on from here now.”
Wilson’s winner may have come deep into stoppage time but he admitted he was never going to get carried away until the final whistle, as he knows from bitter
experience that full concentration is required. He explained: “It was one of those goals where it came late in the game but there was still a wee bit of time left, so we had to keep our heads.
“I’ve seen it before when you celebrate, get a bit carried away and you end up losing a goal.
“The last time I scored a late goal a couple of seasons ago against Cove Rangers, they scored a couple of minutes after it to get a draw.
“So it was one of those you can’t fully celebrate until the whistle goes. But we are delighted we’ve got the three points.
“It’s a good result to get over the Christmas period.”