Montrose1–5Arbroath

Arbroath travelled up the coast to Montrose only 14 days after their success in the 2nd round of the Scottish Cup, but it was back to League action today as the second quarter of the season kicked off.

Conditions were mixed – The sun was starting to break through the cloud but the wind had been strong all day however the main stand offered some resistance but it meant each goal was exposed to the conditions.

Allan Moore stuck with the same line up and bench that left Galabank with all three points on Tuesday evening. This meant Little, Nicoll, El-Zubaidi and McBride were in front of keeper David Crawford. Paul McManus and Simon Murray again spearheaded the attack with Linn, Stewart, Whatley and Carreiro sitting behind them in midfield. Adam Hunter and Craig Johnstone missed out through injury but good news that Jack Smith is back training next week.

Montrose brought in young on loan Dundee United Defender Adam Harwood who started which meant Captain Garry Wood could retake his place in attack.

Arbroath kicked off the first half playing towards the main Montrose entrance with the sun hidden behind some dark clouds. Dylan Carreiro full of confidence from his match winning goal midweek had a shot at goal in the first 60 seconds but fellow countryman Lucas Birnstingl was able to save it for a corner kick. Montrose registered their intent when a strike by Garry Wood whizzed past Crawford’s goal before Deasley also had an effort at the Arbroath goal. At the other end Crawford kicked team mate Campbell in the chest as a mix up in defence almost allowed Murray in before good link up play between Linn, McManus and Murray ended up back at the feet of Linn who shot at goal, but it went over the bar.

Simon Murray scored his 5th goal of the season when Bobby Linn ran down the left wing and crossed the ball across the Montrose goal with Murray sliding in at the back post to put Arbroath in the lead. This spurred Arbroath on as they looked to put the game out of sight and Keiran Stewart who brought the ball forward from his own half found Murray and McManus but the pair couldn’t utilise the pass. Paul McManus came tantalising close as he pounced on a short back pass to beat the outrushing Birnstingl. As he stepped past him he hit a snap shot from the angle only to see the ball come back off the post and as Harwood came rushing in to help his keeper the rebound hit him on the chest and bounced off him just past the post to go out for a corner. The Lichties kept up the pressure and first a beautiful ball from McBride found Murray in space but he couldn’t beat the keeper then almost in an identical position a few minutes later Carreiro hit a pass which tore open the Montrose defence through to McManus .

Half time – Montrose 0 – 1 Arbroath

Montrose kicked off the second half with the sun having burst through the clouds leaving their defenders and keeper with a real fight to see past it. Manager George Shields must have given his players the hairdryer treatment as straight away they seemed to be passing the ball around better but Dylan Carreiro had other ideas. The young Canadian picked up the ball in his own half before riding a challenge which had been deemed illegal but the referee waved play on as he stayed on his feet and as he approached goal he looked up and stroke a low shot from 25 yards out which beat Birnstingl at his post.

The good fortune wasn’t to last and Kevin Nicoll was deemed to have fouled Scott Johnson in the penalty box. Montrose skipper Garry Wood stepped up. With the goal exposed to the elements both Crawford and Wood had to wait as the wind kept on rolling the ball off the spot. A lull in the wind and Wood ran up and thumped it to the left hand side of the net with Crawford diving to his right. Game on.

Montrose were rallying and brought on ex Arbroath loanee Leighton McIntosh on for Bryan Deasley before Arbroath made their first switch with Kevin Buchan replacing Simon Murray. Keiran Stewart came close to opening his Arbroath account with a header but the keeper was able to get down to save. With the game being more open Montrose made their second change with Masson coming on for Watson with Jonathon Crawford testing his name sake with a header. Kevin Buchan had a good chance when he found room in the box but he wasn’t able to get a full connection on the ball and it went wide on the left hand side of goal.

Ricky Little won a foul on the right side of the pitch just outside and to the right of his own penalty box. As keeper David Crawford placed the ball down he faced the same scenario as Wood moments earlier. As time ticked away and the ball kept rolling from the spot referee Charleston waved him to play on. As Crawford launched the ball high up the pitch Paul McManus and a defender went for it but the wind took it away from them before it bounced and as Birnstingl jumped and got his finger tips to it he could only look on as the ball powered past him into the net! The Arbroath players went running up field for their keeper before swallowing him up as a pile of bodies leapt on top of their ecstatic new goal scoring machine!

Jordan Lowdon came on for Bobby Linn directly after the goal with Montrose making their final switch a minute later with Stephen Day coming on for Alan Campbell. Moments later Arbroath won their first penalty kick since the 8th of November 2013 when Lee Erwin scored against East Fife – a massive 34 league games ago. Paul McManus took advantage of a sloppy ball and picked up and charged at goal with Birnstingl rushing out to clear the danger as he went to ground and to his left Paul McManus went the other direction and fell over his outreaching leg. Craig Charleston ran into the box pointing to the spot before pulling out a red card. With all their changes already made captain Garry Wood took over in goals as Paul McManus had the ball in his hands ready to take responsibility. With the keeper’s jersey and gloves now on Wood took place in goal as McManus waited for the whistle before hitting a shot to the left of goal, it has to be said that Garry Wood was unfortunate as he got a hand to the ball but the power was too much.

Arbroath made their final change with Johnny Lindsay coming on to replace Scott McBride and as space opened up Arbroath pushed for another goal with Paul McManus getting his 9th of the season slotting past Wood from a Kevin Buchan pass.