Battling Lichties roar back

Last updated : 29 September 2008 By Fargone

From the Sunday Mail

SKIPPER Barry Sellars was Arbroath's Captain Marvel as his double salvo salvaged a point.

A draw had seemed unlikely early on as Stranraer ran the visitors ragged and deservedly went 2-0 up before Sellars struck.

Arbroath boss John McGlashan praised his captain saying his first strike inspired the team on to grab a point. He said: "Barry's first gave us a big lift and put them under a wee bit of pressure. We went from 2-0 down to 2-2 and it was a good point for us."

Stranraer took the lead in 17 minutes when Gregory Tade's cross picked out Danny Mitchell who slotted home. Their second came in 48 minutes when Tade's knockdown was picked up by Craig Frizzell whose pass fell to Mitchell who struck again.

But four minutes later Arbroath won a free-kick from 25-yards out and Sellars stepped up to curl in a beauty. Arbroath piled on the pressure and got their reward eight minutes from the end when Sellars headed in Paul Tosh's cross.

Stranraer boss Derek Ferguson was disappointed but refused to blame his players. Hesaid: "Our young boys gave us everything. Nerves played a part in the result."

From BBC

Stranraer's Danny Mitchell scored twice and was then sent off as Arbroath fought back from two behind to draw.

In a game of 11 yellow cards, Mitchell calmly steered home Gregory Tade's cut-back after 17 minutes. He then doubled the advantage three minutes after the break when the same pair repeated the move.

Barry Sellars replied with a superb free kick and headed the equaliser before Mitchell received a second yellow card two minutes from time.

from The Courier Monday 29th   



A half-time Alex Ferguson-style hairdryer blast worked wonders for Arbroath at the weekend, inspiring them to salvage a point against Stranraer.

Lichties boss John McGlashan admitted he barked "a few choice words" during the break at Stair Park after a dismal first half that saw Danny Mitchell net for their hosts. Mitchell added a second soon after the restart and for some teams it could have seen the towel being thrown in, but not Arbroath.

"We conceded early in the second half, not through the guys not trying, but because it was a decent move," explained McGlashan. Their ears were obviously still burning because they responded very well to get a goal back which crucially took the wind out of Stranraer's sails.

"From then on, there was only going to be one team that was going to score—and that was us. Cool captain Barry Sellars pulled back the goal when he curled in a 25-yard free-kick and levelled shortly before the end when he nodded in a Paul Tosh cross.

McGlashan continued, "We were massively on top and it was no surprise that we got the equaliser. If there was more time on the clock, we could have got the winner.

"Barry Sellars played a true captain's role to get us back in the chase and grab the equaliser," he added. The second-half performance cleared up anxieties the boss had been left with after watching the first.

"I was disappointed with our first-half showing. We have been playing well most of the season and, even in defeat, we have been competing and challenging and making the opposition work for the full 90 minutes. For some reason on Saturday, we never got started in the first 45."

For McGlashan, the way his troops reacted to the task of getting back into the game has filled him with optimism. "The most pleasing aspect of the game is that I know even at 2-0 down my players have big hearts and will stand up and be counted," he went on. At 2-0 down teams can hoist up the white flag and surrender, so it was a big test for them to go and do what they did.

"I can just about now forgive their first-half showing because of their determination, enthusiasm and technical ability in the second half. We played much better, we played as a unit and with more quality when we went back out and our defending was much tighter."

The trip saw McGlashan hand a debut to 19-year-old Craig Forsyth, signed on an emergency three-month loan from Dundee late on Friday. He slotted in at left full-back and McGlashan added. "He fitted in really well."