In a hectic start to the season for every club, we find out ourselves midway up the table giving the manager and his team a platform on which to build for the coming weeks.After the midweek exertions against table topping East Kilbride, boss Darren Kerr decided to stick with the same starting eleven although he tweaked the formation with Curtiss Wilson moving to full back and Liam Park pushing into a wide midfield role. It was Parky and his pace who made the first impressions with two fine runs that caused panic in the visitors defence but with no ultimate finishing product. However we didn’t have to wait long for the opener and in the 11th minute Lewis Sloan collected the ball outside the penalty area and fired in a swerving left foot drive that deceived the trialist keeper in the Gala goal who seemed to leave the shot expecting it to go wide, but instead it nestled into the back of the net.It was the perfect start for Star but the Borders side responded well and Ross Wilson produced a full length save to keep out Rhys Craigie’s crisp shot from some distance. Midway through the first half came one of the major talking points when Dean Brotherston got himself goalside of Billy Miller and was clearly pulled back for a stonewall penalty. Gala’s anguish was compounded when, despite their appeals for a yellow card, Miller was shown a straight red as there was no attempt to play the ball. After scoring from the spot in midweek Scott Milligan stepped up but this time his effort was too close to the keeper who saved comfortably, making up for his earlier indiscretion. Minutes later though Star almost doubled their lead when Lewis Todd saw his effort from close range blocked and the rebound fell to Park who volleyed inches over. Just after the half hour Rovers equalised when a loose ball was picked up on the halfway line and an incisive pass sent striker Josh Morris clear and he rounded Wilson before slotting the ball into the empty net. This was a shock to the system for Star but Gala had coped well since going a man down, especially with the workrate of Morris who was ably assisted by Craigie, still causing the Star defence problems. However Star didn’t take long to restore their advantage and within two minutes they were back in front. Greig Thorburn picked out Milligan’s excellent run with a superb left foot pass and he calmly lobbed the ball over the advancing keeper and into the net.Star kept this lead to the interval but within seconds of the re-start it was wiped out when a cross was fired in from the left and Morris nipped in at the near post to score with a glancing header. Star may have been shocked but they responded well and the trialist keeper in goal for Gala produced a number of good saves to keep the home side out. In the 56th minute Milligan had a tap in disallowed for offside but two minutes later Star did go back ahead with an early contender for goal of the season. Brotherston picked the ball up at least 25 yards from goal and unleashed a superb strike that flew high into the net much to the delight of the home fans. Star then had chances galore to seal the points but as long as the advantage remained at one, Rovers were always in the hunt especially with Morris in good form. A combination of some fine goalkeeping and glaring misses meant the scoreline remained just 3-2 until 15 minutes from time when the points were at last sealed. Arguably Star’s best passing move of the match put Park in a position to shoot but he unselfishly squared the ball for Brotherston to volley home from six yards with the goal at his mercy. To be fair both sides continued to push forward but it was understandably Star who carried the greater threat. The trialist keeper between the sticks for Rovers continued to impress and the match ended 4-2 for the home side. It was an entertaining encounter with chances galore and Star will be glad to get their first victory of the season. Despite the defeat there were a number of positives for Gala in the way they still carried a threat up front despite being a man short for three quarters of the match.For Star it was particularly pleasing to see so many chances being created in a match, albeit against ten men, and once the season gets into full swing they will hopefully convert a higher percentage of them. The next two Saturdays see Star travel to Edinburgh first to face champions Spartans and then down the road to Civil Service Strollers. Neither is a particularly happy hunting ground for Star so it is perhaps time to start putting that right.
DALBEATTIE STAR 4 GALA FAIRYDEAN ROVERS 2
Sloan (11) Morris (32, 46)
Milligan (34)
Brotherston (58, 75) HT 2-1
DALBEATTIE STAR: R Wilson, C Wilson, Thorburn, Wells, R Thomson, Cameron, Todd (Graham 66), Milligan (Green 66), Brotherston, Sloan (Kerr 85), Park
Subs not used: O’Sullivan, Mason, C Thomson
Yellow Cards: None
GALA FAIRYDEAN ROVERS: Trialist, Johnson (Patterson 80), Trialist, Miller, Herdman, Smith, McKirdy, Craigie, Morris, Trialist (Baxter 24), Main
Subs not used: Neave, Watson, Trialist
Red Card: Miller (23)
Ref: E Birch
Assistants: R Dougan & E Pow