Brechin City Football Club

Glebe Park, Brechin, Angus DD9 6BJ

Tel : 01356 623344
Email : secretary@brechincityfc.com
www.brechincity.com

Brechin City 4 Alloa Athletic 0

Match Report - By Keith Johnston

Brechin went into today's game with Tuesday's controversial defeat at Albion Rovers still fresh in the mind. The last home game against Stirling was still in the mind of many Brechin supporters though and Dick Campbell's men needed a good performance to get everything back on track again.

Whether any of that was on the mind of the players is open to debate, but City came out all guns blazing for the start of the match. In the first few minutes Alloa's defenders found Charlie King difficult to handle and he almost opened the scoring after two minutes having been picked out unmarked in the box by Paul Deas. On this occasion though, he was unable to bring the ball under control and get a shot in.
Moments later, Grant Johnson provided a good cross for Kevin McLeish after good work by Graham Gibson, but McLeish's effort went just wide.
Brechin then continued their good spell of pressure when Jamie Smith's cross in the direction of Gibson was headed behind for a corner. Charlie King took the set piece and sent in a ball for Scott Walker who saw his header acrobatically tipped over the bar by ex Montrose goalkeeper Gary McGlynn. If nothing else, McGlynn certainly has plenty experience of thrashings at Glebe Park. The resultant corner was a carbon copy of the first, but this time Walker was denied by Richard Walker on the line.
Still inside the first ten minutes, Graham Gibson had a chance after a mistake by McGlynn, but he was off balance when he got his shot in, allowing Bolochoweckj to clear for a corner. King again took, this time picking out Paul Ritchie who headed home from inside the 6 yard box. A good goal, but not a great deal could be said for Alloa's zonal marking system at corners as they simply weren't able to cope with City's aerial threat all afternoon.
The visitors replied with a shot by Michael Daly that David White had to block for a corner. City's latest goalkeeper Craig Nelson punched the set piece clear and early signs are that he is just the sort of safe pair of hands Brechin were needing.
Ross Hamilton then had an attempt at lobbing Nelson from the edge of the box after getting away from White, but the effort went over. City fans may remember Hamilton as the scorer for Stenhousemuir in a last day of the season promotion decider at Ochilview a few years ago.
Brechin doubled their lead in the 18th minute. Graham Gibson broke clear of the defence and struck the ball past McGlynn who got a touch but was unable to keep it out of the net. At this stage Alloa really looked poor at the back.
However, at times City didn't exactly look invincible in defence themselves, with Ross Hamilton having another couple of chances to get a goal back for the Wasps.
The game calmed down for a while after its frantic start, but Kevin McLeish had an attempt at extending City's lead with a shot from range that McGlynn had to parry to safety with 36 minutes on the clock.
McLeish wasn't to be denied though, giving City a three goal lead with the last kick of the first half. And what a beauty it was, his half volley sailing past McGlynn and into the top corner.

After the pulsating first half, it was perhaps no surprise that the second was a bit quieter. For a while, it looked as though both sides knew the game was over and neither came up with anything too inspiring. Brechin were nearly punished for this sort of complacency though in the 53rd minute when Andy Brown's header had to be well saved by Nelson.
At the other end, Gibson did superbly to break clear down the left and square for Ritchie, but the defender's presence was enough to put off the striker and he fluffed his shot.
Midway through the half, King took a quick throw in having spotted a great run by Grant Johnson, but the midfielder's shot went over the bar. He may of been held back, but the referee was unmoved.
Brechin attempted to liven the game up again with the introduction of Steve Hampshire for the tiring Ritchie, but before he had a chance to make an impact Michael McDermitt had a decent effort from distance that went just over.
Grant Johnson then had a similar long range effort, but his shot was a couple of inches too high.
Brechin wrapped up the three points with ten minutes to go. Jamie Smith's clearance found Steve Hampshire clean through and he emphatically slammed the ball past McGlynn. Bolochoweckj appealed for offside, but there was no question of that as Hamps had timed his run perfectly.

Overall, a convincing win for City, although perhaps a slightly flattering result. Yes Brechin had chances that could have resulted in an even better scoreline, but Alloa had a few decent chances of their own and on another day the result could have been closer. So it is two wins and two defeats in the league for City whose next game is away to Stranraer next Saturday.

Other Results - Bell's League Division 2


Arbroath 0 Stranraer 1

Arbroath still looking for their first point of the season. Stranraer are next for Brechin.

Ayr United 2 Morton 0

Ayr with a good result against Morton.

Dumbarton 0 Forfar Athletic 1

Forfar win narrowly at Dumbarton, whose fans were annoyed by a controversial refereeing decision that cost them the match.

Stirling Albion 3 Berwick Rangers 1

Stirling are still sitting pretty at the top of the division. Something will have to give in next week's battle between the two sides with 100% records.

Result

28 August 2004
Carnegie Fuels Stadium at Glebe Park
Attendance: 428
Paul Ritchie 8
Graham Gibson 18
Kevin McLeish 45
Steve Hampshire 80

Brechin City

1 Craig Nelson
2 Jamie Smith
3 Paul Deas
4 Scott Walker
5 David White
6 Chris Jackson
7 Charlie King
8 Grant Johnson
9 Paul Ritchie
10 Kevin McLeish
11 Graham Gibson
     
12 Shaun Dennis
14 Craig Winter
15 Chris Templeman
16 Steve Hampshire
17 David Hay

Substitutions:

  • On: Steve Hampshire
    Off: Paul Ritchie ( 72 )
     
  • On: Chris Templeman
    Off: Kevin McLeish ( 77 )
     
  • On: Craig Winter
    Off: Chris Jackson ( 77 )
     

Alloa Athletic

1 Gary McGlynn
2 Richard Walker
3 Dougie Hill
4 Chris Townsley
5 Michael Bolochoweckj
6 Ross MacLeod
7 Michael Daly
8 Brown Ferguson
9 Andy Brown
10 Ross Hamilton
11 Stuart Callaghan
     
12 Steven Nicholas
14 Paul McLaughlin
15 Alex McMillan
16 Michael McDermitt
17 James Evans

Substitutions:

  • On: Michael McDermitt
    Off: Dougie Hill ( 46 )
     
  • On: Steven Nicholas
    Off: Michael Daly ( 46 )
     
  • On: Alex McMillan
    Off: Andy Brown ( 65 )