Henderson goes from hero to villain
edinburgh city 1 annan athletic 2 Edinburgh – Henderson (pen 40); Annan – Wilson (47), Henderson (og 72)
So often the hero, Blair Henderson was to be the villain as his own goal gave visiting Annan all three points at Ainslie Park to put a dent in the host’s title challenge.
Henderson’s day started brightly as his he put his side into the lead from the penalty spot five minutes before halftime after Peter Watson had bundled over Scott Shepherd.
Annan pulled level within two minutes of the restart. A Chris Johnston corner was headed out to the edge of the box and David Wilson was there to finish beautifully on the volley.
Henderson’s moment of ignominy came with 18 minutes left, the marksmen getting his clearance from another Johnston corner all wrong and heading into his own net.
stirling albion 1 Queen’s Park 1 Stirling – Smith (9); QP – Mclean (pen 27)
Albion went ahead after just nine minutes when Danny Jardine’s perfect pass allowed Darren Smith to beat Jordan Hart with a cool first-time finish.
The Spiders hit back and equalised in 27 minutes when Scott Mclean converted a penalty after Kyle Banner had brought down new signing David Galt.
In the second half, Stirling struggled, with on-loan Dundee keeper Calum Ferrie denying Lewis Hawke from six yards, then Dom Mclaren fired over.
Ferrie made a fine stop from substitute Euan East in the last minute and Hawke headed wide from the resulting corner when he looked certain to score.
Veteran midfielder Alan Gow was outstanding for Queen’s Park, who somehow failed to claim their first victory since November and are now eight matches without a win in League 2.
Peterhead 2 Berwick rangers 0 Mcallister (82), Leitch (90+3)
Peterhead started with top scorer Rory Mcallister, who has been suffering from a back injury, on the bench, while the influential Jamie Stevenson missed out for a similar reason.
It was the lowly Berwick who could have taken a third-minute lead when a free-kick out on the left wing by Paul Willis found the head of Craig Hume, but his downward effort was scooped away by home keeper Greig Fleming.
Three minutes later, incredibly, the side second from bottom had another great chance when Daryl Healy was one-on-one with Fleming, who did well to block the ball.
Peterhead were struggling to make a mark on the game and a Jack Leitch side oot shot that went weakly past the left-hand post was the best they could muster in the opening 10 minutes.
On the quarter-hour, Derek Lyle at least hit the target, but his header was weak and comfortably held to his left by Kyle Allison.
A minute later, a Leitch header hit the turf before crashing off the crossbar as the home side started to come more into the game.
It was the 33rd minute before any further action, another Lyle header easily held by Allison.
The second half started as the first had with Berwick on the front foot and a Paul Willis 25-yarder forced Greig Fleming into action again at the expense of a corner.
The Blue Toon response was another Lyle header header past the back post following a corner, then, moments later, Ryan Dow headed over.
Eventually the deadlock was broken in spectacular style after 72 minutes. The talismanic Rory Mcallister came off the bench and earned a free-kick 25 yards out on the left. With most inside the stadium expecting a cross, the striker went for goal and thundered a shot into the top corner for a stunning goal.
Three minutes into added time, Mcallister set up Jack Leitch for a late second.