Football and Rugby

ANNAN ATHLETIC 1 FORFAR ATHLETIC 1 HT 0-1

Annan – G Bell 52 min . Forfar – I Harty 3 min.

The fans who braved the chill of Tuesday evening were treated to an exciting Irn bru SFL3 encounter, Annan played second fiddle to an experienced Forfar team for most of the first half but in a spirited second half performance a rejuvinated Annan took the game to Forfar and were rewarded when Graeme Bells magnificent 53^{rd minute strike cancelled out Ian Harty’s 3rd minute opener.}

Forfar got away to a whirwind start but the 3rd minute goal was more down to a bad decision by Annan’s Bryan Gilfillan who could have cleared his lines but Paul Watson made the most of the opportunity to set up Ian Harty who drilled the ball under the advancing Craig Summersgill in the Annan goal.

Harty almost made it 2-0 in the 18th minute when Paul Watson’s superb cross field ball over the head of Peter Watson released Harty and his well struck shot was confidently saved by Craig Summersgill.

Annans best opportunity of the half arrived in the 22nd minute when Graeme Bell’s well flighted cross ball was headed over the bar by Bryan Gilfillan who drifted in behind his markers.

Jamie Bishop connected with an Iain Campbell free kick in the 32nd minute but Summersgill confidently dealt with the header. Forfar pressed hard as half time approached and Andrew Todd headed narrowly past from a corner kick in the 39th minute. Barry Sellars was presented with a free kick 28 yards out in the 41st minute but the effort sailed over the bar.

Annan started the second half with more purpose following a period of sustained pressure Annan were level. Once again it was Graeme Bell who delivered with superb strike form 20 yards which beat keeper Alistair Brown all end up.

Annan’s enterprising start was almost cancelled out in the 54th minute when Bryan Gilfillans chest back to keeper Summersgill was intercepted by Paul Watson who blasted the ball over the bar.

Annan continued to press for the winner and Bryan Gilfillan hit a low raking powerful shot from outside the box in 59th minute and in the 70th minute the Forfar defence was unlocked by swift move down the left which saw David Cox round keeper Alistair Brown but the Annan striker could not direct the ball goal ward.

Chris Jardine then picked out Graeme Bell in a packed 6 yard box but Bell’s header never really tested Alistair Brown and a golden opportunity was lost. Forfar gaffer Dick Campbell made changes in an effort to stem the flow of Annan’s momentum.

Forfar forced a late corner and the ball broke invitingly in the box but the Annan defence cleared their lines to set up another Annan attack down the left where Lewis Sloan was a constant threat .

In the end a draw was about the right result , Annan manager Harry Cairney praised his team for the effort put in and the way they took the game to Forfar in the second half, the players worked very hard and we must reproduce the same commitment on Saturday when we entertain Elgin City.

ANNAN ATHLETIC 1 ALBION ROVERS 2

THE Galabank side never really presented a threat to Albion Rovers on Wednesday night in what must rank as the poorest performance of the season from Annan.

The signs were ominous from the first minute when indecision between Townsley and Neilson on the bye line saw Pat Walker cut the ball back into the path of Denis McLauchlin but fortunately for Annan the goal was chalked off .

Albion pinned Annan back and in the 8^{th minute the visitors struck gold when Chris Boyle struck a superb swerving shot into toe top corner of the net from the corner of the 18 yard box.}

Annan could not string 2 passes together and you could sense the frustrations building up in the Annan team who were unable to break down the well organised Albion team who looked the more composed team.

Annan’s best opportunity of the half in the 23rd minute resulted in Gilfillan and Steven Sloan combining and the final cross was well controlled by Lewis Sloan who hit a low shot which struck the outside of the post. Minutes later Steven Sloan jinked into a good position but the shot carried no power and keeper Derek Gaston mopped up the effort.

Denis McLauchlin was denied by the cross bar in the 34th minute when his shot from the edge of the box cannoned off the woodwork. Albion finished the half strong but they could not find a way past Kelly in the Annan goal.

Annan showed more promise at the start if the second half but they suffered a real blow in the 53rd minute when Albion Rovers won a penalty after Steven Sloan fouled Chris Boyle and Paul McLeod converted the spot kick to give Albion a 2 goal cushion.

Kelly then pulled off an important save to deny McLeod in the 65th minute.

Annan pulled a goal back in the 71st minute , John Macbeth worked his way to the bye line and the near post cross was tapped into the net from 2 yards by Peter Watson. The goal gave Annan a lift and they had a good spell but without testing keeper Gaston.

Annan manager Harry Cairney described the performance as dreadful and most definitely the poorest performance he has seen from Annan, there were few positives we could take from the match. Paul Martin the Albion manager was delighted with the performance of his team, that was three good points for us and stops the rot and sets us up nicely for the match against Stranraer on Saturday.

SECOND HALF REVIVAL SINKS ATHLETIC

LIVINGSTON 3 ANNAN ATHLETIC 2

HT 0-2 Livingston – De Vita 53 min, R Winters 73 min, A Halliday 78min. Annan – Neilson 19, Cox 41

Livingston increased their lead at the top of the league thanks to a second half revival against Annan who stormed ahead to a 2 goal interval lead but 3 second half goals overturned Annan’s first half advantage.

The overnight frost once again took its toll on the matches but the game at Livingston went ahead all be it that the condition of the pitch made it difficult for both the teams. Annan made a couple of changes from the team which shared the points with Berwick in midweek with Derek Townsley and Lewis Sloan making the starting eleven.

Livingston started well but it was not until the 15^{th minute that the home team had their first serious effort on goal and it took a superb save from Greg Kelly in the Annan goal to deny Liam Fox. Minutes later Kelly pulled off another cracking save to deny Keaghan Jacobs as the home team went all out to break the deadlock.}

Annan then started to impose themselves on the game and in the 19th minute Annan won a corner wide on the left and Lewis Sloan’s dangerous corner to the back post caused all sorts of problems and Kevin Neilson made the most of the half cleared effort when he prodded home inside the 6 yard box.

After their promising start the home team it was Annan who were starting to cause Livingston problems , John Macbeth was posing problems down the left and Lewis Sloan once again tested the home defence with a dangerous cross to the back post in the 29th minute. Annan continued to look the team most likely to strike and in the 39th minute Bryan Gilfillan latched in to a Steven Sloan ball to test Roddy McKenzie in the Lions goal.

Keaghan Jacobs forced a corner for the home team in the 40th minute and a minute later Andrew Halliday replaced the injured Paul Watson.

Annan once again stunned the home team in the 41st minute. Lewis Sloan did well when he slipped his marker on the by line and the cross was cleared to the edge of the box as far as Neilson who’s shot was parried by McKenzie and David Cox presented with the opportunity headed home from 3 yards to give Annan a 2 goal interval advantage.

Annan started the second half well and the combination of Lewis Sloan and John Macbeth forced a corner down the left. The introduction of Halliday and De Vita for Hamiton at half time for the home team paid dividends in the 53rd minute when De Vita connected with Halliday’s cross to reduce Annan’s advantage to one goal.

David Cox then released Lewis Sloan into a great position and the final effort from Sloan went agonisingly wide to remind the home team of the threat that Annan carried on the break. Kelly in the Annan goal pulled of a good save to deny Halliday .

Annan then carved open the Lions defence in the 70th minute when substitute Alan Inglis sent in a great cross to the back post where Cox had taken up a great position but the header went wide of the target.

Robbie Winters squared the match in the 73rd minute , Keaghan Jacobs sent in a difficult cross to defend and Robbie Winters was at hand to head the ball into the net from 6 yards.

Andrew Halliday completed the comeback for the home team when he made the best of a bad clearance and after a penetrating run to the heart of the Annan defence the talented youngster finished clinically by rounding Kelly and tucking the ball into the corner of the net.

Annan responded minutes later when Cox released substitute Phil Storey but his shot was deflected to safety. Inglis then headed narrowly over from a Cox cross as Annan went all out to square the match .

Harry Cairney could not fault his players, we knew they would come at us in the second half and put us under pressure we did have chances at 2-1 but they have so many good players with good movement the players worked hard and are gutted to have lost, we just did not get up enough in their half in the second period and could not get the quality balls to our front men to hold the ball up and consequently the ball just kept coming back.

Gary Bollan Annan bit us on the backside in the first half we did not play particularly well and we dug a hole for ourselves but the players in there are honest and our second half performance was outstanding their effort and attitude were first class. I told the players whoever scores the third goal will win the game just make sure it is us and they responded magnificently.

Livingston – McKenzie, Griffin, Talbot, Tosh (Sinclair 66 min), P Watson( Haliday 41min), McDonald, Fox, K Jacobs, Hamilton ( De Vita 45min), R Winters, Barr. Substitutes not used Malone and McDowall.

Annan Athletic – Kelly, Townsley , Macbeth, Watson, Neilson, Gillfilan, S Sloan, Jardine (Inglis 62 min), Cox, L Sloan ( Storey 71 min), Bell . Subs not used – Jack , Muirhead and Summersgill.

Attendance - 1085

Referee – Steven McClean . Assistants Alasdair Ross and Alan Muirhead.

SFA ISSUE DISCIPLINE WARNING 

QUEENS LOOK FOR THIRD WIN

CHISHOLM STAYS AT QUEENS

QUEEN of the South manager Gordon Chisholm is remaining at Palemrston.

Chairman Davie Rae and the Doonhamer fans were delighted with the news that he wouldn't be going to Kilmarnock.

The news came last night after Jimmy Calderwood, the ex-Aberdeen boss, was unveiled as the new Killy manager.

For the past 36 hours Queens fans had been on tenderhooks as they waited to see if Chisholm would be picked out for the post.

He spent two hours with the Killie chairman Michael Johnston on Wednesday.

It was on Monday that struggling Premier League side Killie were left managerless when the Ayrshire club parted company with Jim Jefferies.

Johnston had also interviewed Queens manager Gordon Chisholm and former Kilmarnock winger Tommy McLean, the former Dundee United and Motherwell boss presently working with Scotland's youths.

"I would like to thank Tommy McLean, Gordon Chisholm and several other managerial candidates that I spent time with," said Johnston.

The Queens chairman Davie Rae was delighted that Gordon is staying on but said earlier in the week that he had given the Killie permission to speak to the manager.

He said; "I wouln't stand in the way if Gordon had wanted to go to a Premier League side."

IRONS HEADS FOR FIRHILL

FORMER Gretna manager Davie Irons is moving to Firhill as assistant manager to Ian McCall.
Irons, who has been playing with South of Scotland side Threave Rovers, will replace Thistle assistant Gerry Britton, who finishes at the beginning of January.
Britton is leaving to pursue a career in law and yesterday it was announced that Irons would be returning to the club where he was a player in seasons 1991-1992 and 1992-1993, helping Thistle firstly to promotion from the First Division and then Premier League survival.
In a strange quirk of fate both the outgoing Assistant Manager and his replacement both featured in arguably Thistle's most notable result of the early 1990s, an emphatic 3-0 Firhill win over Rangers in May 1993 that guaranteed Premier League football for another season.
Irons from Dumfries will be joining Doonamer Ian McCall who moved from Queen of the South to Thistle.
McCall said: "I'm really looking forward to working closely with David Irons. As a player he was someone I knew well. Indeed as the best friend of my elder brother I've actually known David for all my life."
"I know David has always had a desire to return to Firhill. He lists the favourite time of his playing career as the time he spent at Firhill. And that's not some meaningless platitude either it's because of just how well he played  while a Partick Thistle player."
He added: "In David we are getting an excellent coach with all the relevant coaching licences and certificates and he will be a valuable addition to the management and coaching staff here.
"I think we are getting Davie at the right time. He had a hard time of things at Gretna through no fault of his own and obviously his time at Morton didn't end well."

JACK'S ALL RIGHT NOW

FOUR Scottish Premier League sides and 13 SPL sides have been told by SFA disciplinary bosses to clean up their act.

And Hearts have been told to pay the £10,000 suspended from their record-breaking £50,000 fine at the end of the 2008-09 season.

In one of the worst starts to a season a total of 45 clubs from the SPL down to the South and East of Scotland have received warnings about their disciplinary records.

In addition to Hearts having to cough up cash in mid season, Highland League side Rothes have also been required to pay a suspended fine of £1,000, imposed in August of last year.

The two clubs who have to pay the rest of their fines have told that there was no evident improvement in their position.

A spokesman said: "The committee decided that the suspended fines which it had imposed on two clubs for their poor disciplinary records for season 2008/09, should be applied.

"Both of these clubs have received warnings in regard to their records for the first half of the season, as have a further 45 clubs. Warnings are issued to those clubs that

have an 'average points incurred per match' figure which is above the average for its League or Division."

Each of the clubs has been told that there will need to be an improvement in the

standard of discipline of its players in the remainder of the season or they face further sanctions.

When Hearts were fined £50,000 last year it was the fifth successive season that they had been fined and it is the highest ever imposed on a club for indiscipline.

At the same time last year 25 other clubs were fined, including a £20,000 fine for Hibernian, and 19 clubs were warned as a result of their disciplinary records.

The other SPL clubs warned aer Aberdeen, Rangers and Dundee United while in Division 1 Airdrie United, Ayr United, Raith Rovers and Ross County have been told to improve their behaviour.

Second Division clubs warned are Alloa, Clyde, Dumbarton, East Fife and Stenhousemuir wihile in Division 3 Elgin, Montrose, Queens Park and Stranraer have been issued with warnings.

In addition to Rothes in the Highland League, eight other clubs have been issued with warnings along with 12 of the 23 East of Scotland sides and six South of Scotland teams.

SIX South of Scotland League sides have been told to clean up their act before the end of the season or face big fines.

The warning has come from the SFA's Disciplinary Committee which has issued warnings to 47 clubs from the SPL to the South and East of Scotland clubs.

Stranraer have the worst record at the turn of the year with a total of 130 disciplinary points with five sendings off and 29 bookings. Nithsdale Wanderers have 110 with six red cards and 21 yellows so far. The other warnings have gone to Creetown, Crichton, Newton Stewart, and Wigtown.

Abbey Vale who were warning about their discipline in August last year have the best record with only one sending off and 15 bookings.

ANNAN Athletic chairman Henry McClelland has praised players and management after they came out top for discipline in Division 3.

The Galabank squad have the third best disciplinary record for the whole of the Scottish Football League or the first half of the season.

They have had only one player red-carded and 27 cautions during the August - December period of the season.

"I'm delighted that the players have shown restraint and it's good for the club and shows the discipline here," said Henry.

They have picked up only 86 disciplinary points since the start of the season compared with Elgin City who have had four sendings off and 39 cautions for a total of 147 points.

With Annan failing in the Scottish Cup manager Harry Cairney have been desperately seeking a game for tomorrow but without success.

The Galabank chairman said: "Harry has just not been able to fix up a game. We were left with a blank Saturday because of the cup but now we'll just have to concentrate on training in preparation for the home game against Berwick Rangers on Saturday."

If the weather relents this the Tuesday night game will the first at Galabank for the Division 3 side since December 5.

"It's a big strain on resources but we are lucky we don't have an overdraft like some of the clubs to service, although it is a loss and we don't do as well with midweek games.

"Some of the clubs must really be feeling it now and they will be looking closely at their finances in the coming weeks," he said and added: "We are lucky that we have the social club and we've had a couple of good fund raising events in the last few weeks."

Henry added: "We are just glad that there is a prospect of us getting back to playing football and it will be a big game against Berwick.

"We have to try and gather points now and keep on the tails of the clubs fighting for play off positions. Three or four wins can really make a difference and we are still looking to get up there."