Brechin City knocked Stirling Albion out of the Tennents Scottish Cup with a solitary Paul Ritchie goal being sufficient to put the Glebe Park outfit into the 3rd round draw. Whilst the score line was close, at no time did the Binos threaten to win the match or even take it to a replay. The last time these two clubs met, Brechin put 5 past Hogarth mainly thanks to 4 goals by Chris Templeman. With the lanky striker now a Morton player, the score suggests that Brechin’s goal threat will not be as potent. However, they have a strong defense which, today, dealt easily with everything the Binos threw at them.

The floodlights that don't work and the famous hedge.

At a cold Glebe Park, the Binos line up showed 3 changes from the team which beat Dumbarton. Gibson was dropped as Partick Thistle, presumably, did not want him to be cup tied. David O’Brien and Conor Gethins were relegated to the bench. Devine came back into the midfield as was Mc Donald whilst Glancy partnered McLean.

The Binos kicked off down the slope but an early attack was brought to an end when Devine was adjudged to have done a bit of pushing in the penalty box. Winter then brought out a fine save from Hogarth after being put in a good position. Ritchie was next to threaten when, following a mistake by Roycroft, a cross from the right found the Brechin number 9. Fortunately, for the travelling support, his shot went past the post.

An early midfield tussle.

The Binos retaliated and a mistake by White when he mistimed the bounce of the ball allowed Glancy to collect the ball and be left with only Nelson to beat. The diminutive striker tried to place the ball past the keeper but his shot was blocked. Next, McDonald played the ball through to McLean but his first time effort from 20 yards went past the post.

At the other end, a move involving Gibson and Byers ended with the latter’s shot being saved at the expense of a corner. Next, Ritchie knocked the ball into the path of Gibson whose shot flashed past the post. At this point, the match was being played at a tremendous pace in a typical cup tie manner. The football wasn’t flashy, but it helped to keep you warm on a cold day.

Half way through the first period, Brechin took the lead when a cross from the right was headed past Hogarth by Paul Ritchie.

The Binos tried to level the score before half time but the teams went in with the score 1-0 in favour of Brechin.

Neither team made any changes at half time, but the second half seemed to lack the pace of the first as the Brechin defence appeared happy to soak up the Binos’ efforts. An example came after 55 minutes when McLean turned on the edge of the 18 yard box but his shot was comfortably held by Nelson.

Just after the hour mark, the Binos made a double substitution when Hay and Devine were replaced by O’Brien and Wilson. 2 wing backs being replaced by out and out wingers.

Hogarth brought off a point blank save to prevent Ritchie from getting his second. Byers followed up but his shot was cleared. The Binos then had half hearted appeals for a penalty turned down when O’Brien went down in the box.

The Binos then made their final substitution when Glancy was replaced by Gethins after 72 minutes. 2 minutes later, a McLean shot was parried by Nelson. Shortly after that, Brechin made their first change when Johnson came on for King.

Wilson cut inside but his left foot shot failed to trouble Nelson as it went past the post. Brechin then brought on McNicol for Byers.

As the game went into the final minutes, a build up involving Wilson and Gethins ended with a shot from O’Brien being turned round the post for a corner. The winger might have done better if he had shot first time rather than taking a touch. Brechin then made their final change when Winter was replaced by Smi

Referee Cassidy brought the match to a close with the final score 1-0 to Brechin. The result was as disappointing as the performance. Too often, the final pass or cross failed to find an Albion player whilst the shooting rarely troubled Nelson. Hogarth produced a few good saves and was blameless for the goal whilst the rest of the defence played well considering Brechin have been banging in the goals lately.

The midfield, once again, failed to control the match, whilst McLean and Glancy got nowhere against a strong defence. However, McLean looked uninterested and one incident in the second half, when he held onto the ball despite Hay shouting for the ball, for me, summed up his contribution this afternoon.

An interesting note was that the whole match was played without either physio having to come on.

It’s back to league business next week with a visit to Somerset Park to play Ayr United. Again, it will be a difficult match and it will be interesting to see what changes Moore will make as he tries to recapture that winning formula.

NO OTHER PHOTO'S ARE AVAILABLE DUE TO BRECHIN'S VERY POOR FLOODLIGHTS.