 Irn-Bru Scottish 3rd Division result |
Annan Athletic 0 |
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Elgin City 1
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Nicolson 9
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Elgin City grabbed all three points at Galabank on a testing afternoon against Annan, and despite going down to 10 men Mark Nicolson's early goal was enough to seal the victory.
With Elgin pressing straight from kick-off, it was the well-travelled away side that took the lead after only 8 minutes as Craig Summergill's clearance was charged down by Mark Nicolson, and with the goal at his mercy Twiggy easily found the back of the net.
The rest of the first half was quiet, with Craig Frizzel coming close after a strong run down the left hand side and his shot from a tight angle saved well by the Annan goalkeeper, also Brian Cameron coming close just before half time with Summersgill again doing well to keep the shot out.
The real turning point in the second half went in Annan's favour, with goalscorer Mark Nicolson picking up a second yellow card for a 50/50 challenge against Aaron Muirhead, but the referee decided that Nicolson's challenge was worthy of a second yellow card despite clearly being caught by the Annan defender.
Annan tried to make their numerical advantage count, with Bryan Gilfilan hit the bar after a scramble in the box from a free kick and also Muirhead coming close on two different occasions with a free kick after 70 minutes and a powerful shot from 20 yards saved well by Scott Bain in the Elgin goal, who hadn't much to do in the goal until then.
With Annan pressing, it was Bain that had to be on form again to keep out substitute Brian Felvus's shot from a corner late on, and despite Jack Steele and Bryan Gilfilan coming close, Elgin were able to claim their first victory of the season, a victory that was deserved considering the luck that other teams have had against them so far.
Annan Athletic: Summersgirll, Muirhead, Macbeth, Neilson, Aitken, Gilfillan, S Sloan (L Sloan 61), Steele, Walker (Felvus 77), Cox, Halsman (Jack 35). Unused subs – Jamieson, Jardine.
Elgin City: Bain, Dempsie, Edwards (Wilson 78), Kaczan, Duff, Inglis, Cameron, O'Donoghue, Millar. Unused subs – Dunn, McLeod.
Referee: Euan Anderson |
