Match Report

We returned to winning ways with a hard-earned victory against Albion Rovers in the Irn-Bru Cup First Round.

The match got underway in blustery conditions and we were pressing from the off, with a Craig Thomson overhit cross coming off the bar in the opening stages. Against the run of play, Albion took the lead with their first goal of the season after ten minutes, the number 9 getting the break of the ball and slotting past Calum Antell in the City goal. From that point on it was mostly City pressure, albeit there were few clear cut chances leading into half-time.

The second half saw pretty much the same balance of play, with City pressing but no end product, however that all changed just after the hour, when the returning Scot Shepherd who only minutes earlier had come off the bench for his second debut, smashed home a loose ball to level things up. Albion almost immediately re-took the lead with a fantastic long-range drive which whistled just past, but another goal was inevitable and it duly arrived when Blair Henderson brilliantly controlled Conrad Balantoni’s long pass to lob past the advancing Rovers keeper and into the net.

City completed the scoring late in the game when Scott Sherpherd was brought down in the box and Blair stepped up to wrong foot the goalie and give a bit of sheen to the scoreline. While the match was a low-key affair, it was a valuable run out for City and allowed new signings Liam Henderson and Scott Shepherd to get some minutes under their belts. We await the draw for the second round, which could take us to any corner of Britain or Ireland!

Man of the Match: Blair Henderson