Montrose Roselea

MONTROSE ROSELEA vs DUNDEE VIOLET WHYTE & MACKAY TAYSIDE PREMIER DIVISION 16/10/2004 SINGLE CROALL SINKS VIOLET Roselea were at home to unbeaten Dundee Violet in a Tayside Premier League match. With the Roselea absentee list disappearing the like the old bridge there were not too many changes from the previous weeks team. Kevin Crawford (flu) sat out for the returning Eric Watson who was back from injury/holiday and Martin Christie replaced Luke Myers who was also on the sick list. Paul Masson was offshore, James McKellar on holiday, Graham Walger, Hayden Smith and Chris Simpson are still longer term injured. Roselea lined up in a 4-4-2 formation: : Ross Mcleod, Matt Miller, Paul Whyte Paul Ross, Chris Masson, Martin Christie, Eric Watson, David Craig and Scott Findlater, Colin Page and Duncan Croall were upfront. The bench consisted of Luke Myers, Lee Walker, Kevin Smith, Dean Milne and John Wands. Roselea almost opened the scoring in the first minute, Duncan Croall closed down a defender and forced an error Scott Findlater weaved his way to the byeline and almost found the arriving Eric Watson. Violet retaliated and should have opened the scoring in 10 minutes. Possession was given away in midfield and Paul Clark should have made more of a close in chance. Colin Page had a shot blocked in 24 minutes and from the resulting corner Chris Masson had a downward header blocked on the line. In 30 minutes Roselea had their best chance to take the lead, Martin Christie failed to fully connect with a Croall cross and the danger was cleared. Roselea were turning on the pressure and Page & Masson both went close within minutes of each other. Just on half time Colin Page had a swerving, dipping shot from 30 yards tipped onto the crossbar by Violet keeper Brown. Half Time Roselea 0 Violet 0 The game was flowing from end to end and Violet had a free kick tipped over the bar by Mcleod with Roselea replying with a great run from Watson, unfortunately he could not despatch a shot at the end of it. Roselea took a deserved lead in 57 minutes after a long spell of pressure. Scott Findlater had a shot blocked and a Violet defenders clearance was blocked by Croall with the result being the ball ending up in the back of the net. This was Duncan’s second goal in two weeks. Scott Findlater picked up the matches first booking in 65 minutes for a second heavy challenge. Duncan Croall almost got a second when he found himself clear in the box but his chipped effort went tamely past the left hand post. Roselea made a substitution in 71 minutes when Kevin Smith replaced the tiring Eric Watson. Everyone connected to Roselea were glad to see the return of the midfielder. In 80 minutes Roselea had the prefect opportunity to increase the lead and secure the points when they were awarded a penalty. Martin Chrisite who was about to be subbed made a strong run into the Violet box and although he managed to get his shot away he was impeded from behind and referee Dalgetty had no hesitation pointing to the spot. A long delay ensued whilst Christie received treatment and the Violet player was booked. Chris Masson stepped up but his kick was at a good height for Brown and he pushed the ball away. As time dwindled away Roselea replaced Chrisite with Dean Milne and Roselea held on comfortably for three very valuable points. Final Roselea 1 Violet 0 Match Sponsors: Bryan & Keith Wellington who awarded Paul Ross with his Man of the Match award. Other results: North End 2 Kinnoull 5 ASC 2 Forfar West End 3 A very pleasing result for the Roselea and it could not be argued that they were the better side. Even at this early stage in the season it was a vitally important result as they need to keep up with the current leaders in the table. Roselea have now gone four matches at home without conceding a goal and this can probably be put down to having a settled side and defence. This week will be a tough test for the defence with high scoring Forfar West End visiting on League Cup duty. Roselea will be desperate to avenge the 5 goal drubbing which West End handed out at Forfar. Kick Off is at 2.30pm