AFTER two previous play-off defeats in recent seasons, Arbroath finally shook off their promotion jinx to clinch a move up to the Second Division with a 2-1 aggregate victory over Stranraer, despite losing 1-0 at Stair Park.
Arbroath had the first attack of the match as Roddy Black fired in from eight yards, but he saw his shot well saved by Scott Black.
Stranraer had the benefit of playing into a strong wind in the first half and as they settled into the game, they
produced the better of the scoring opportunities.
Youngster Gerry McLauchlan, making his last appearance for the club before joining Queen of the South, saw his header cannon off the crossbar before Gregory Tade clipped the outside of the post with his effort from the edge of the area.
The game really came to life on 58 minutes. Arbroath's Craig Tully went in with a heavy tackle from behind on Danny Mitchell and was immediately given a red card.
Five minutes later Stranraer came back into the tie as Tade gave them the lead on the day. After a great run up the centre of the pitch, Ian Dobbins laid the ball off to James McKinstry out wide on the left. He then crossed the ball back into Tade, who finished brilliantly into the top corner of the net.
Stranraer boss Derek Ferguson asked his side to throw everything into scoring a second goal to take the match into extra time. But they were thwarted by an excellent Arbroath defence that continued to function well despite being a man down.
The full article contains 279 words and appears in Scotland On Sunday newspaper.
