IF the powers that be had stopped the football with 43 minutes gone in this one, the 'lucky' 500 inside would have thanked Nicola Sturgeon for putting them out of their misery. But a game of little drama could live long in the Arbroath memory come the end of the season.
It's not quite Roy of the Rovers stuff but this 2-1 win against title rivals Raith got the part-timers' Premiership advance back on track in fine style.
Nor was it 1970s Brazil but goals from Jack Hamilton and Nicky Low cancelled out Reghan Tumilty's finish as Dick Campbell's men opened up a four point lead on Inverness Caley Thistle at the Championship summit.
Arbroath arrived in Kirkcaldy with a Joel Nouble shaped hole but their narrow lead on the chasing Championship pack still intact. While the infectious forward hadn’t exactly lit up the scoring charts he was so much more to Dick Campbell’s side than that and his replacement Jack Hamilton couldn’t be more chalk to his cheese.
He’s a fine player and deservedly got his goal his performance of cunning, endeavour, and audacious efforts from the halfway line deserved. But it’s like asking Usain Bolt to run a marathon and being surprised when he stops just 10 seconds in.
The need to adapt to their new style of frontman might explain why, for much of today, Arbroath struggled to click, but even with Nouble they never got going in last week’s defeat to Ayr United. It was no surprise, then, to see Campbell ring the changes, with Luke Donnelly and Nicky Low among those given the chance to impress.
For Raith, who maintain their own ambitions of reaching the Premiership, Jamie Gullan was the only alteration to the starting XI from their 1-1 draw with Inverness. That had been the first time the Rovers had scored since early December and, with just 11 goals between today’s team, it’s easy to see where the problems lie.
With Gullan, who’d enjoyed a successful spell here last season, alongside Ethan Ross and Ben Williamson, at least no one could begrudge Raith of not trying to play pretty football. And they were at their best in the first-half when they fed the ball to the influential Ross Matthews and allowed him to pull at Arbroath’s threads and wait for one of the attacking trio to drift into space and accept the pass.
But too often, in the opening half, their play amounted to little more than keep ball between the back three until one of them punted it long in the general direction of a teammate.
All of this preamble has probably given away that real scoring opportunities were, at best, elusive in the first 45. Hamilton had an audacious early effort from the halfway line, which MacDonald did well to scurry back and save, and Low also stung the former Alloa Athletic man’s palms with a long-range drive.
But that was it and the 500 supporters inside must have wished they’d made other plans when out of nothing Raith scored with the last kick of the ball. Arbroath raged about a possible offside and likely had a case but Reghan Tumilty wasn’t caring as he scrambled home at the back post after the ball came through a ruck of bodies.
It won’t inspire Val McDermid’s next novel but it felt like daylight robbery to the guests and Campbell, as is so often his want, marched towards the assistant to protest. He was duly booked by Steven McLean.
Suddenly, this game had some drama. After such a sickening end to the first-half, it would have been easy for Arbroath to accept defeat but we should know them better by now.
Straight from kick-off for the second-half, they went for Raith’s throats and got their just rewards when Hamilton bundled home a fine goal at the end of a concerted spell of pressure. Rovers’ defending was poor but Scott Stewart’s cross had just begged to be finished off and Hamilton put it out of its misery.
For a time, it looked dangerously like a game of football might break out. Tempers flared. Gullan and Ross sent panic coursing through Arbroath veins with a couple of electric runs. Christophe Berra went off injured and was replaced by Dario Zanatta. Several directors took umbrage with a shout from the crowd and duly barked back. MacDonald had to sharply deny Liam Henderson on the turn.
Any hopes this might turn into a thrill-a-minute contest were soon dashed as both teams reverted to the norm but the drama wasn't over. Seconds after James Craigen had hit the post, Kyle Benedictus clumsily fouled Colin Hamilton in the box.
It was left to Low to be the hero and he duly obliged. The look on the Arbroath players' faces said it all.
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