Match Report

The Warriors marched towards another victory as they grabbed three points after a hard-fought game against Arbroath.

Stenny were searching for another victory at home against Arbroath to advance their league campaign. The first half showed that it was going to take either a slip up or spectacular effort to separate the two sides.

Former Warriors man, Aaron Steele, thought he had given the visitors the lead after seven minutes when his effort grazed the crossbar.

The only other real chance of the half came for O’Reilly in the 27th minute. Cute play from Alston at the edge of the box found O’Reilly in acres of space and his drilled shot went inches past the post.

Nothing could separate the two sides going into the second half and with a brief stoppage to change referees, the Warriors got Ochilview bouncing and secured all three points. Arbroath started the second half well and proved that they were a threat going forward, but the Warriors regrouped and caused a number of problems in the final third.

Blair Alston opened the scoring, and asserted himself as Stenny’s top scorer with 7 league goals this season. A cracking ball in by O’Reilly caused the Arbroath defence a devastating problem when Steel poked the ball towards Alston, who in turn slotted the ball into the net. 1-0.

In the 90th minute Captain, Buckie, nearly joined the scoring action after he rose highest to Taylor’s corner and watched as the goalie clawed his effort away from the top corner. This was a chance that lifted the atmosphere to an unbelievable level at Ochilview . The buoyant mood peaked when a Ross Taylor goal in the 97th minute sealed all three points. Buckie’s header back across the face of goal was well headed in by Taylor. 2-0.

This result has propelled the Warriors back up to second place as we look for another shining performance next weekend as we take on Dumbarton. Please make sure you join us on the road next Saturday and stay up to date via all our social media channels.

Photographs by Kristopher Dowell

Preview

Warriors we return to the powerhouse of Ochilview Park for another crunching top of the league tie with Arbroath.

Arbroath have proven to be tough competition this season. Despite starting their season off on the wrong foot, they now find themselves in poll position with two games in hand.

The Warriors however, have made Ochilview a difficult place to visit this season, having been undefeated in 10 home games out of 13. In this fixture, Ochilview has been a staple in our victories, with nearly all of our wins against Arbroath coming at home.

The last time we took them on was in November when we were held to a 0-1 defeat after an early goal from Arbroath’s Fraser Taylor. Casting further back in the season, we recorded our first league win against them as we came out on top in August, with goals from Taylor and Banner defeating the newly relegated side.

In recent weeks we have been finding incredible form in front of goal and this fixture is not shy of a goal or two. With over 130 goals having been scored in this fixture, since the two teams first met in 1994, and with Corey O’Donnell on a scoring streak, he will be eyeing up another chance in-front of a home crowd.

Manager Gary Naysmith gave his take on the important weekend ahead: “I’m really looking forward to the game on Saturday evening. Both teams are coming into the match in good form, and both are at the right end of the table.

“There nothing between the teams as both matches already this season have shown, and I’m sure Saturday will be another close game.”

Warriors, in this high-stakes game, your support continues to be vital and we hope you can join us this weekend, at the later kick off time of 17:30, to support Gary and the boys. Remember to stay up to date via all our social media channels.

Kick off: 17:30pm 22nd February

Location: Ochilview Park