Brechin City v Stenhousemuir FC

Match Report

Brechin City v Stenhousemuir at Glebe Park, Brechin on 28.2.15

SPFL Division One             Att 506

Brechin City 2 [A.Jackson 18, McLean 58] Stenhousemuir 1 [McMenamin 3]

Brechin City – Smith, McLean, Hamilton, McNeil, McLauchlan, Storie, Trouten [b19], Molloy, A.Jackson, Ferguson [Fusco 83] and Thomson. Subs not used – S.Jackson, Tapping, O’Neil and Durojaiye.

Stenhousemuir – Fleming, McCormack [b63], Summers [b57], Lithgow, McMillan, Hodge, McMullan [b64], K.Millar [b78] [ Gallacher 89], McMenamin, Grehan [Sutherland 70] and Marenghi [Watt 29]. Subs not used – Meechan, Fotheringham, Faulds, and Fairley [t].

Referee – George Salmond           Assistants – Andy Milne and Paul Reid

Stenhousemuir went into this game with one change from the previous week with Anthony Marenghi the ex-Stranraer player making his first start after a couple of sub appearances. With Chris Smith unable to travel due to work commitments once again there was a trialist goalkeeper once more on the bench who was Connor Fairley whose last senior club had been Stenhousemuir but has since been in the navy.

The form guide indicated that Brechin would be clear winners in this game as they were unbeaten in their last 13 league games whilst Stenhousemuir haven’t won this year and had picked up only one point in that time. The last victory was an unexpected one at Stranraer to stop a lengthy unbeaten run and they were hoping that they could repeat that feat in this game.

Ultimately though the bookies were correct in their forecast but the Warriors were only inches away from a draw with the last kick of the ball as Colin McMenamin tucked the ball into the net from close range only to have been deemed by the officials to have been marginally offside coming back into play when the ball was played through to him.

McMenamin had been more successful in the early stages of the game putting Stenhousemuir into the lead with less than three minutes on the clock. For much of the first period Brechin struggled with the movement of McMenamin and the running of Paul McMullan but apart from the goal Graeme Smith in the Brechin goal was only tested a couple of times. He was also beaten in the seventh minute by a Bryan Hodge strike but the ball hit the base of the post and went out for a goal kick. The keeper did well though to claw a Marenghi free kick out for a corner.

Brechin had looked uncomfortable at the back but were more composed going forward and they equalised through an Andy Jackson strike in the 18^th minute that took a slight deflection off Alan Lithgow and went into the net.  Four minutes later the Stenhousemuir defence struggled to clear a Ewan McNeil free kick and Colin Hamilton bundled the ball past the far post from only a couple of yards out.

The Warriors were forced into a substitution just before the half hour with Marenghi suffering after an earlier head knock with Paul McLean and Josh Watt entered the fray. The Brechin player had received lengthy treatment during the half but continued and it was he who came closest to breaking the deadlock with a header just over the bar.

McNeil had been the provider in the first half but he showed his defensive abilities to cut out a dangerous McMullan cross in the 52^nd minute that fell between two Stenhousemuir attackers. Six minutes later he set up the second Brechin goal that was headed across goal for McLean to fire home.  After that Brechin were fairly comfortable apart from a couple of long range efforts Ciaran Summers the first in the 75^th minute that Smith had to tip over but it was only at the end that the Brechin defence was breeched.