Match Report - By Keith Johnston

Brechin manager Ian Campbell made a host of changes for tonight’s game compared to the team that took the field at Easter Road – partly because of injuries. Out went Steve Hamilton, Kevin Byers, Craig Winter, Paul Ritchie and Graham Gibson. They were replaced by Jamie Smith, Steven Ferguson (his debut), Grant Johnson, Stuart Callaghan and Ally Mitchell.
Harry Cairney brought his Arbroath side to the Glebe on the back of a decent run of results, which have seen his team climb closer to Second Division survival.

The game got off to a slow start as Brechin perhaps struggled to get going with all the changes to the side. The early exchanges saw a couple of half-chances for each team, but nothing to get overly excited about.
It took until the 23rd minute for Brechin to have a chance worthy of mention. A good passing move culminated in Grant Johnson playing a through ball for Ally Mitchell. His effort was blocked by a sliding challenge, but he was able to stay on his feet and find Stuart Callaghan. His shot whistled narrowly wide of the post.
A couple of minutes later Johnson was again in the action, making a promising run down the inside right channel. He was abruptly halted by a Steven Rennie foul. Stuart Callaghan’s free-kick was dangerous but just eluded Jamie Smith at the far post and went behind for a goal kick.
You felt that the game needed a goal to kick it into life, and perhaps even Brechin might up their game if they went behind. That’s exactly what happened as the Red Lichties took the lead in the 36th minute. Gavin Swankie played the ball inside to Greg Henslee who strode forward and curled a beautiful shot over Nelson and into the net.
Brechin’s response was immediate. David White played a high ball over the top for Steve Hampshire to chase. He had timed his run to perfection and hit a first time lob over the advancing Neil Inglis to get his side back on level terms.
Things got even better for Brechin three minutes later. Stuart Callaghan’s free-kick from the left was missed by Jamie Smith, but almost sneaked in anyway. Neil Inglis scrambled the ball clear with the aid of a defender. The clearance only went as far as Charlie King who looked up and supplied a superb cross towards the far post. David White had stayed up from the initial set-piece and made the task of heading past Inglis look simple.
Brechin looked to extend their lead a minute later when Grant Johnson hit a shot from range, but the keeper made a comfortable save.
However, City then conceded a free-kick near the left corner of the box. It was taken by Gavin Swankie who curled a magnificent shot in off the underside of the bar. 2-2.
So after a dour start, the game sprung into life ten minutes from the break and the sides shared 4 goals before half time!

The second half followed a similar pattern to the first, with a rather slow spell to begin with followed by an exuberating finish.
To be honest, I was never comfortable watching the second half. I felt that Brechin were not playing to their potential and the game had Alloa on the third of January written all over it.
It took until 10 minutes into the half for the first good chance to come up. Swankie and Donaldson combined well down the left, resulting in the latter supplying a cross to the far post that was attacked by Diack. Fortunately Nelson was in the right place to make a crucial block.
Brechin began to re-introduce some familiar faces to the team as the half progressed, the likes of Gibson, Ritchie and eventually Hamilton coming off the bench.
In the 75th minute, City had the ball in the net as Ritchie’s snap-shot fell to Gibson who prodded it home. The assistant referee’s flag was rightly up for offside though to deny Gibby his eleventh of the season.
Seven minutes later, Gibson was again in the thick of the action. Paul Ritchie won a header from a long clearance, it was flicked on by Stuart Callaghan and Gibson tried to emulate Steve Hampshire’s goal from the first half with a cheeky lob. However he overcooked the effort as it landed on the roof of the net.
It was looking as though City were going to have to settle for a 2-2 draw as we went into the last minute. But then disaster struck. A cross from the left was not dealt with and Steven Rennie rose to power the ball past Nelson. Realising how little time was remaining, the Arbroath players celebrated as if they had won the lottery. It was Klinsmann dives, kitchen sink, the lot in the corner of the pitch while their fans went ballistic in the Trinity Road stand. Fingers were being pointed in the Brechin defence as the inquest began.
Fortunately for Brechin there had been a few stoppages for substitutions and injuries, so there was still a bit of time for a desperate scramble to salvage a point. In the second minute of stoppage time, City won a free-kick down the right that was taken by Callaghan. It fell to Paul Ritchie in the box who found Grant Johnson 25 yards out. His shot deflected its way to Steve Hampshire at the edge of the six yard box and he slid in to poke home an equaliser.
Play continued and Arbroath made a cheap attempt to run down time with a substitution in the fourth minute of stoppage time. But the referee wasn’t about to blow up yet and we entered the fifth minute of time added on. Brechin won a throw down the right side that was taken long by Steve Hamilton. Graham Gibson got in front of his marker and flicked the ball into the danger area. It was met by Stuart Callaghan, in the right place at the right time to slide in, get his foot to the ball before the diving Inglis and make it 4-3. Superb stuff. It was the turn of the Brechin players to dive around the corner and the fans in the Cemetery End to celebrate an incredible victory.

So what can you say? Fantastic character showed by the players to pull off a sweet victory. With 89 minutes on the clock, the obituaries were being written. Brechin had been made to pay the penalty for fielding a weakened team. The Stranraer/Morton/Stirling/etc. fans sat watching their teletext saying “thank you Arbroath”. But Brechin’s attitude in stoppage time summed up their entire season so far. This is what being a football supporter is all about.