Montrose Roselea

MONTROSE ROSELEA vs KIRRIE THISTLE 25/09/2004 DJ LAING CUP SECTION 4 Roselea were at home on Saturday in a DJ Laing League Cup Section match. A win for Roselea was going to be a must after three disappointing results in the first five section matches. Broomfield Park was flat, but very dry and the cross wind was going to make conditions difficult for both teams. Roselea’s pool was at full stretch with the injury/suspension list of the previous week being on much the same lines. Paul Whyte was on holiday, Graham Walger and Eric Watson were out due to injuries but on a plus note Kevin Crawford and Scott Findlater returned with Findlater only managing a position on the bench. Kirrie Thistle had a very youthful look about them and only had four recognised experienced players in their starting line up. Roseleas line up 4-4-2 was: Ross Mcleod, Martin Christie, Paul Ross, Chris Masson, Dean Milne, Matt Miller, Kevin Crawford, David Craig and Luke Myers, two trialists were included upfront. The bench consisted of Kevin Smith, Lee Walker, Graham Walger, Scott Findlater and John Wands. Roselea started brightly but it was Kirrie who had the best chances in the opening quarter. Kris Morrice, farmed out by Montrose seemed keen to look at any free kick from any distance and one effort smacked the cross-bar. Roselea took the lead in the 30th minute when Matt Miller scored a top quality goal to open the scoring. A defensive clearance came to him 25 yards out and after chesting the ball he volleyed an unstoppable drive into the top corner. The goal was all the more sweeter considering it was taken slightly into the wind. Luke Myers made several sorties into the Kirrie half and looked as if he would threaten but the Lea could not add to their tally. Half Time Roselea 1 Kirrie 0 The second half started in much the same pattern as the first and although Kirrie could claim to have the upperhand in possession terms they certainly never looked like scoring. Roselea appeared to have doubled their tally with 10 minutes remaining when one of the trialist strikers found the net with a cool finish but was given offside, probably very harshly. The game died out with Roselea replacing Kevin Crawford with Kevin Smith, Trialist with Scott Findlater and worryingly Lee Walker replaced an injured David Craig. Final Roselea 1 Kirrie Thistle 0. After recent weeks, a win was very welcome and although the quality of football has not yet returned to a peak it was still good to see a clean sheet with very little chance of it being breached. The league cup table is now tightening up although disappointingly North End won against Forfar West End when a draw would have been nice. Roselea should now have at least a three-week break from League Cup action and with three out of four games remaining at home, qualification is not yet gone although it will be an uphill struggle to get through. Match Sponsor was Keyline Other results: North End 2 Forfar West End 1 Coupar Angus 1 Broughty 2 Next week Roselea kick off their league campaign away to newly promoted Blairgowrie and if their recent results are anything to go by this will be a tough opening fixture. October 9th fixtures will be given once Scottish Cup replays are taken into account and Roselea will be at home to Violet on October 16th in the league. Apologies for the late cancellation of the Car Boot Sale, this was due to unforeseen circumstances.