Montrose 1 Peterhead 0

GRAHAM Webster’s second half penalty was enough to give Montrose a win over Peterhead and propel the side to joint top of League One.

Webster took the kick himself after being tripped in the box by Andrew McDonald, sending a low shot to goalkeeper Brett Long’s left.

While Montrose deserved their victory, the margin of victory could have been larger, the Gable Endies creating more chances than their visitors.

The earliest opportunity came in the second minute, when Cammy Ballantyne squared the ball across goal, but Lewis Milne was unable to apply a finishing touch. Webster also came close 10 minutes later, but curled his shot at Long from the edge of the box.

Milne forced Long into a full-stretch diving save in the 15th minute with a free kick from 25 yards out, while at the other end, Hamish Ritchie had a shot held by Montrose goalkeeper Allan Fleming.

Milne came close again in the 18th minute when he curled a free kick over the Peterhead defensive wall and narrowly over the crossbar after Webster’s run was blocked on the edge of the box.

Montrose did well to contain the attacking threat posed by Peterhead, but the visitors did threaten on occasion, Niah Payne lashing a shot wide from 20 yards out in the 30th minute and former Montrose striker Russell McLean heading well over from a Josh Mulligan cross six minutes later.

Craig Johnston was a constant thorn in the side of the Peterhead defence, and he came close to opening the scoring in the 34th minute when he cut inside his marker and curled a shot over the bar.

Montrose started the second half in a positive frame of mind, Milne’s shot from inside the box scrambled wide by Long, Ballantyne also having a shot well saved by the goalkeeper, and Blair Lyons shooting inches wide.

After opening the scoring from the penalty spot, Montrose could have doubled their advantage when Johnston beat Jason Brown for pace before taking the ball to the byeline. He smashed the ball across the face of goal with Webster unable to reach it in time to apply a finish.

Ballantyne was denied by the crossbar in the 70th minute, the rebound from his shot falling to Milne. The midfielder looked to have scored, but his shot was headed off the line by Daniel Strachan.

McLean headed over the crossbar from a Ryan Conroy cross in the 71st minute, while Johnston again went close to scoring for Montrose a minute later, his shot from six yards out somehow deflecting off Long and out for a corner.

Matty Allan came within inches of scoring for Montrose in the 73rd minute when he headed wide from a Webster cross.

Peterhead could have equalised in the 78th minute, but Conroy’s free kick was sent straight at Fleming.

Substitute Liam Callaghan hit the base of Long’s post with a free kick in the 86th minute.
The final chance of the match fell to Payne, whose shot from 20 yards out was tipped wide of the post by Fleming.

Report by Mark Rae

Team Lineups & Stats

cinch league 1

Saturday 14th August 2021

1	Allan Fleming	1	Brett Long
2	Cammy Ballantyne	15	Danny Strachan
3	Andrew Steeves	5	Jason Brown (s69)
14	Seán Dillon	4	Andy McDonald
4	Matty Allan	3	Ryan Conroy
6	Terry Masson (c) (s71)	2	Josh Mulligan
7	Graham Webster	8	Scott Brown (c)
16	Craig Johnston	12	Andy McCarthy (s87)
10	Lewis Milne	7	Hamish Ritchie (s61)
15	Mark Whatley (s82)	14	Niah Payne
11	Blair Lyons (s80)	9	Russell McLean
9	Paul Watson (s82)	16	Derryn Kesson (s87)
19	Liam Callaghan (s71)	18	Jason Brown (s69)
12	Chris Antoniazzi (s80)	19	Jadel Mushanu
17	Aidan Quinn	99	Derek Lyle (s61)
9	Kerr Waddell	27	Lenny Wilson (GK)
22	Craig Brown
21	Aaron Lennox (GK)

Referee:
Scott Lambie

Assistant Referees:
Colin Drummond, David McKniff

Goalscorers:
Montrose - Graham Webster (55pen)

Yellow Cards:
Montrose - Terry Masson (36)
Peterhead - Ryan Conroy (17), Jason Brown (69), Andy McCarthy (84)

Red Cards:
None

Attendance:
552