Match Report

MATCH REPORT
Stenhousemuir v Arbroath at Ochilview Park, Stenhousemuir on 12.01.19
SPFL Ladbrokes League One Att 740
Stenhousemuir 1 [McGuigan 40] Arbroath 4 [Linn 4, 57, Wallace 9,52]

Stenhousemuir – McMinn, Reid, Donaldson, Neill, Ferry [McMenamin h/t], McGuigan, Duthie [b65], Cook, Ross, Dickson and Dingwall. Subs not used – Douglas [t], Tena, Paterson, Halleran and Vaughan.

Arbroath – Jamieson, Thomson, Hamilton, Little, O’Brien, Gold [McKenna 75], Denholm [Kader 75], Donnelly [McCord 75], Wallace, Swankie and Linn. Subs not used – Doris, Whatley, Hester and Hill.

Referee – Greg Aitken Assistants – David Dunne and Alan McFadyen

For this top versus bottom clash there were several changes to the Warrior’s starting eleven. Connor McBrearty returned after suspension whilst Lewis McMinn made his first start following Graeme Smith’s injury at Kirkcaldy and Russell Dingwall made his debut on loan from Ross County. With Lewis starting the game Taylor Douglas from the Under 19s was on the bench as a trialist.

As Lewis was short of match practice it was vital that the Arbroath attack was kept quiet in the early stages of the game. Unfortunately this was not to be the case as the Red Lichties took the lead in the fourth minute when Bobby Linn had time to control a Danny Denholm cross before firing an acute shot into the net.

Things went from bad to worse in the ninth minute when a Ryan Wallace strike from 22 yards made it 2-0 for the league leaders. Wallace was to be denied in the 25th minute when McMinn tipped a shot round the post.

The visitors were well on top but as the half progressed they appeared to lose their focus and they were to pay the price when Mark McGuigan fired home a loose clearance by Gavin Swankie with five minutes of the half left. That strike lifted the Warriors and they almost equalised a minute later when a sweetly struck shot by Alan Cook struck the upright. After dominating the game Arbroath were grateful to get to the half time interval without any further damage.

Colin McMenamin brought himself on at half time as the Warriors to get back on level terms. They did come close within a minute of the restart when Ruaridh Donaldson headed a Connor Duthie corner wide. The Arbroath players had been given a roasting from manager Dick Campbell during the interval and they regained their focus. In the 51st minute they appealed for their third goal when a Colin Hamilton header struck the bar and bounced in the area of the goal-line. Referee Greg Aitken though did not award a goal to the ex-Warrior.

Arbroath were not to be denied for long however as they did indeed score their third goal within a minute. Ryan Wallace scoring his second goal of the game when a run went unchecked and he was able to fire the ball home without too much hindrance from the home defence.

There was a further scare in the 54th minute when a Swankie shot appeared to go through McMinn’s hands as the keeper dived but he managed to recover the situation.
In the 57th minute Arbroath scored their fourth goal. This time it was Bobby Linn getting his second goal of the match when he struck a corner kick that caused problems and landed in the net. It may have got a touch off a Stenhousemuir player but the Arbroath player quite rightly claimed the goal for himself.

Arbroath almost went nap in stoppage time when Wallace was denied a hat-trick after his shot beat McMinn but was cleared off the line by Morgyn Neill.

The game ended just after that and it is fair to say that 2019 has not been a good one for Stenhousemuir so far and certainly not the ideal preparation for the forthcoming Scottish Cup match against Aberdeen.