Brian Reid hopes Albion Rovers’ luck is finally beginning to turn after they saw a sending off, a penalty save and a last-gasp spot-kick winner all go in their favour during a dramatic victory at East Fife on Saturday.
The Coatbridge side moved up to eighth in League Two with a battling win at Bayview, in which the Fifers played 84 minutes with 10 men after Aaron Steele’s red card for a tackle on Jamie Leslie after just six minutes.
Rovers fell behind to a Joao Balde strike after 20 minutes before Charlie Reilly levelled eight minutes later and Blair Malcolm fired the visitors in front five minutes before the break.
Balde levelled for the 10 men in the 65th minute and then Rovers keeper Jack Leighfield conceded and saved a penalty, with Scott Shepherd denied from the spot.
In the third minute of stoppage time Reilly drew a penalty and converted it to claim a vital victory and extend Rovers unbeaten run to five matches
Delighted Reid said: “Any win is a good win, so we are pleased.
“It’s been long overdue for us to get a couple of breaks because we have had zero so far this season.
“Clubs like East Fife can have absolutely no complaints because we absolutely battered them at our place and lost 1-0.
“It’s about time we got some luck and maybe this is the start of our luck turning. We have played a lot better than we did on Saturday and not picked up the three points so it was nice to actually get the rewards with a late goal, which is always nice.
“Jack gives the penalty away and he should maybe stay on his feet.
“But he comes up and redeems himself with the save. If we’d lost the goal there it might have been a different outcome.
“We never played at the levels we know we can, but it’s funny how football works sometimes and we end up getting the three points.
“We played really well at the start of the season and should have had nine points from our first three games and ended up with zero, so we aren’t going to complain.
“It’s a tough place to go and they are up at the top end of the table challenging so we are pleased.”
Rovers now host sixth-place Stranraer on Saturday, where a win would close the gap on their rivals to two points
And Reid added: “It’s another big game for us at home to try and keep our wee run going.
“People forget we are five games undefeated now, albeit there have been quite a few draws in there that should have been wins.
“We are on a good bit of form, the players are doing well, working hard and they got their rewards on Saturday.
“I said to the players they need to enjoy it when they get these moments so we will do that and focus on Stranraer.
“We need to go and build on this win now.
“We are five points off of fourth spot so there is not that much in it.
“If we can get another win on Saturday, which we will need to work hard for because Stranraer had a good result against Stenhousemuir, it’s a good opportunity for us to get up the table.”
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