Albion Rovers 3-3 Gala Fairydean Rovers: Ex-Albion man earns late Gala point in thriller

A fine opening half for Martin Scott’s side saw them go 1-0 up after 14 minutes when midfielder Liam Watt got on the scoresheet.

Some pressure from the hosts followed, with Murray MacKintosh shooting over on 14 minutes and then coming agonisingly close to levelling on 34 minutes when his shot rebounded off the inside of the post before being cleared.

Rovers then produced the classic sucker punch within a minute when they established their two-goal advantage through ex-Hibernian star Danny Galbraith.

Still leading 2-0 at the interval, it was to prove a nervy second half for the away team as Sandy Clark’s hosts hit back at them.

Early second half ascendancy for the Wee Rovers saw quickfire goals for Alan Reid and Dom McMahon level proceedings at 2-2 after 54 minutes.

And things then got even worse for Gala Fairydean when Albion went 3-2 up when Barry Duncan netted with a fantastic strike from the second phase after an initial corner had been cleared.

But this extraordinary contest took yet another twist courtesy of a Fairydean equaliser on 83 minutes through former Camelon Juniors striker Kieran Dolan, a former Albion Rovers player.

Gala Fairydean visit Tranent in the league tonight (Tuesday) with a 7.45pm kick-off.

This week’s first round draw for the Scottish Cup handed Gala Fairydean a home tie against Banks O’Dee on the weekend of Saturday, September 28.