Match Report - By Match Secy

Brechin came home with one point on Saturday and yet had they taken their chances and been a wee bit tighter at the back, it could have been all three.

City went to sleep on a couple of occasions, but all credit to the players, who showed great character to come back from two goals down and fight their way back into a game, which, at one stage looked beyond them. It would have been a travesty, having created teh game's best chances had City lost this one.

Darren Smith's work rate throughout was excellent. Just back from an injury, he was the victim of a late tackle early in the game, but continued chasing and harrying and creating openings where possible for his team mates. He came back into a Brechin line-up that had a midfield robbed of Ian Nimmo through suspension, in what was the only change to the City side.

The first five minutes of the game apart, City enjoyed the best of the first half or or so. John Baird was first to be denied, when he fired low into the corner, but his effort was gratefully clutched by O'Connor. The home goalkeeper excelled again when Byers' effort, which was heading for the top right-hand corner was pushed over the bar acrobatically. From the corner, White's header was blocked.

By contrast, Raith's only effort early on came from a free-kick which saw Craig Nelson hold Allan Walker's well struck effort. Having rarely threatened, Raith went ahead when Gary Wales took advantage of a poor clearance to volley home a well struck effort. Wales could have made it 2-0 as he broke the offside trap moments later, but his chipped effort struck the crossbar and away to safety, with City's defence wondering why they were one, let alone almost two behind.

Back came Brechin and John Ward hit a powerful drive towards the bottom corner of the net. However, O'Connor reacted well again and turned the ball for a corner. From the flag kick, the same player had a header cleared off the line by Wilson who hooked the ball from under the bar.

If City had some anger at being a goal behind in a first half they created the better chances in, they were all at sea at the restart when substitute Gareth Wardlaw took advantage of slackness in the heart of the City defence to prod the ball past Nelson's outstretched arm.

Managers say players win games. However, the turning point in this match was undoubtedly the introduction of Richard Walker and Ian Diack for Charlie King and David Murie. City changed to a more attacking 4-3-3 system. The move occurred in the 52nd minute and three minutes later, with virtually his first touch of the ball, Ian Diack headed his side back into the game. Diack's arrival pepped up those about him too, he went and attacked balls inside the box and made a nuisance of himself allowing Twigg and Baird more space to play in.

Baird went agonisingly close again to opening his Brechin account when he fired a ball across the face of the Raith goal, but just beyond the far post. However, Brechin seemed to have more purpose about them now. They were getting Byers on the ball in wide areas and having provided a cross for his side's first goal, the City midfielder was annoyed to fire over from just inside the box, after a goalmouth scramble.

Brechin kept prodding and prodding, but it looked like they were going to be denied the goal that their second half display warranted. Until the 82nd minute when up popped leading goal scorer Gary Twigg lurking at the far post, as the Raith centre backs and goalkeeper once again failed to deal with a cross into the area and the City striker gratefully nodded in his ninth goal of the season and celebrated by machine-gunning a corner flag!

There were seven minutes left now and while Brechin appeared to have the impetus and looked likely to be the only side now capable of winning, the clock was against them and so it proved. An unlikely point a few minutes into the restart, could have been improved upon as the game wore on.

As Michael O'Neill said post match, a number of his players were below par. However, perhaps that should be a more worrying aspect for their hosts, who still have to play City twice this season and who didn't create that many clear cut opportunities that you would have expected to see from a side on the back of a six straight wins.

Best for Brechin were Darren Smith, Kevin Byers and don't forget Ian Diack, a sub for the last two weeks, and a guy who looked well out of the picture until he won the game against East Fife and threw himself and his side a lifeline against Raith. He may have given his manager a bigger headache than anything that was thrown his way at Kirkcaldy.