Date:30 Apr 2011
Kick-off:15:00
Venue:Galabank Stadium
Attendance:651

O'Connor (22) O'Connor (65)
Sloan (71)

Goal!

Live Commentary

88mins Chris Jardine is brought on as a substitute for David Cox. Peter Watson joins the action as a substitute, replacing Kevin Neilson.

87mins The official flags Sean O'Connor offside. Stuart Malcolm takes the indirect free kick.

86mins David Cox takes a shot. Darren Hill makes a comfortable save.

82mins Corner taken by David Cox from the left by-line, Jordyn Sheerin manages to make a clearance.

82mins Inswinging corner taken by David Cox from the left by-line played to the near post, Alan McManus manages to make a clearance.

78mins Free kick awarded for a foul by Alan McManus on Bryan Felvus. Direct effort from the free kick comes in from Aaron Muirhead, save made by Darren Hill.

76mins Foul by Lee Sibanda on David Cox, free kick awarded. Lee Sibanda receives a caution. The ball is sent over by David Cox, Headed effort from deep inside the area by Jack Steele misses to the right of the goal.

73mins Jordyn Sheerin replaces Gavin Swankie.

71mins Steven Sloan scores a headed goal from inside the penalty area. Annan Athletic 3-0 Arbroath.Assist on the goal came from Jack Steele.

71mins Sean O'Connor produces a right-footed shot from just outside the area that goes harmlessly over the target.

69mins Unfair challenge on Alan McManus by David Cox results in a free kick. Direct free kick taken by Lee Sibanda.

68mins Steven Doris fouled by Mark Docherty, the ref awards a free kick. Direct effort from the free kick comes in from Paul Sheerin.

67mins Inswinging corner taken from the right by-line by David Cox.

66mins Mark Docherty takes a shot. Save by Darren Hill.

65mins Sean O'Connor finds the back of the net with a goal from deep inside the penalty box to the top right corner of the goal. Annan Athletic 2-0 Arbroath.

65mins Mark Docherty crosses the ball, clearance made by Alan McManus.

64mins The referee shows Stuart Malcolm a yellow card for dissent.

62mins The referee blows for offside against Aaron Muirhead. Darren Hill takes the free kick.

62mins Paul Sheerin crosses the ball, Close range headed effort by Adam Strachan misses to the right of the target.

60mins Jack Steele gives away a free kick for an unfair challenge on Josh Falkingham. Darren Hill takes the direct free kick.

60mins Gavin Swankie is caught offside. Craig Summersgill restarts play with the free kick.

59mins Corner from the left by-line taken by Gavin Swankie, Craig Summersgill makes a save.

58mins Handball by Aaron Muirhead. Strike comes in from Gavin Swankie from the free kick, save by Craig Summersgill.

57mins The ball is sent over by Adam Strachan.

55mins (Arbroath) makes a substitution, with Josh Falkingham coming on for Craig Wedderburn.

54mins Steven Doris joins the action as a substitute, replacing David McGowan.

51mins Inswinging corner taken from the right by-line by David Cox, Jack Steele concedes a free kick for a foul on Alan McManus. Darren Hill restarts play with the free kick.

50mins David Cox takes the inswinging corner, Kevin Neilson takes a shot. Save made by Darren Hill.

49mins Corner taken by David Cox.

47mins Corner taken by David Cox from the left by-line to the near post, Aaron Muirhead produces a right-footed shot from inside the area that goes over the bar.

46mins Bryan Felvus challenges Stuart Malcolm unfairly and gives away a free kick. Alan McManus takes the direct free kick.

45mins Aaron Muirhead takes a shot. Save made by Darren Hill.

44mins The offside flag is raised against Gavin Swankie. Kevin Neilson takes the direct free kick.

43mins Free kick awarded for a foul by Bryan Felvus on Stuart Malcolm. Darren Hill takes the free kick.

42mins David McGowan is caught offside. Free kick taken by Andrew Aitken.

38mins Unfair challenge on Adam Strachan by Jack Steele results in a free kick. Ross Chisholm takes the direct free kick.

34mins The official flags Jack Steele offside. Darren Hill takes the indirect free kick.

33mins Craig Wedderburn gives away a free kick for an unfair challenge on Bryan Felvus. The free kick is delivered left-footed by Mark Docherty from right wing, clearance by Stuart Malcolm.

30mins Inswinging corner taken by Paul Sheerin, Jack Steele makes a clearance.

28mins Kevin McMullan has an effort at goal from outside the box missing to the wide left of the goal.

26mins The ball is sent over by David Cox, Bryan Felvus produces a right-footed shot from deep inside the penalty area which goes wide of the left-hand post.

24mins Ross Chisholm gives away a free kick for an unfair challenge on Sean O'Connor. Ross Chisholm receives a yellow card for unsporting behaviour. Free kick taken by David Cox.

22mins Sean O'Connor scores a goal from deep inside the penalty area to the bottom left corner of the goal. Annan Athletic 1-0 Arbroath.Assist on the goal came from Bryan Felvus.

21mins The assistant referee signals for offside against David McGowan. Craig Summersgill takes the free kick.

20mins Neil Macfarlane joins the action as a substitute, replacing Bryan Gilfillan.

20mins Shot from just outside the box by Gavin Swankie goes over the bar.

18mins Ross Chisholm challenges Bryan Gilfillan unfairly and gives away a free kick. Kevin Neilson takes the direct free kick.

17mins Unfair challenge on David Cox by Paul Sheerin results in a free kick. Mark Docherty takes the free kick.

16mins Bryan Felvus takes a shot. Darren Hill makes a save.

13mins Jack Steele takes a shot. Save by Darren Hill.

11mins Outswinging corner taken by Stuart Malcolm from the right by-line, save by Craig Summersgill.

11mins Corner taken by Paul Sheerin from the left by-line, clearance made by Andrew Aitken.

11mins Outswinging corner taken by Paul Sheerin from the right by-line, clearance made by David Cox.

6mins The ball is swung over by Mark Docherty, Shot from just outside the box by David Cox goes over the target.

3mins Foul by Bryan Gilfillan on Ross Chisholm, free kick awarded. Alan McManus takes the free kick.

Aaron Muirhead gives away a free kick for an unfair challenge on Paul Sheerin. Stuart Malcolm takes the direct free kick.

Match Preview

Not to be for Macbeth Annan will again be without full-back John Macbeth and striker Graeme Bell as they look to move ever closer to a play-off place by defeating champions Arbroath at Galabank. Manager Harry Cairney is expecting a tough contest from Paul Sheerin's side despite them being crowned as title winners last Saturday. Cairney said: "I have been in football for over 30 years now and I have never known a team to do another one a favour. Amongst other things players have bonus money and personal pride to play for so we can not even think that Arbroath will be anything other than entirely focused. "A win almost gets us over the finishing line, especially with Albion and Stranraer playing each other but we will need to play well to get it." Arbroath will be missing midfielder Keith Gibson through suspension and defender Alan Rattray through injury. There will be no resting for the Gayfield men, with manager Paul Sheerin saying: "Winning the league last weekend was great but it is back to business now. We will continue to field the strongest available side in our remaining games as there is still a lot to play for in this league. "We won down at Galabank earlier this year in a game where we hand two men sent off and a repeat of that result but finishing with 11 men is the objective this time out."

Formation:442Manager: Harry Cairney

Annan Athletic

Formation: 442Manager: Stevie Kirk

Arbroath

Craig Summersgill
Aaron Muirhead
Kevin Neilson
Andrew Aitken
Mark Docherty
Steven Sloan
Jack Steele
Bryan Gilfillan
David Cox
Bryan Felvus
Sean O'Connor
SUBS
Jonny Jamieson
Neil Macfarlane
Chris Jardine
Peter Watson
John MacBeth

Home

Away

Darren Hill
Kevin McMullan
Stuart Malcolm
Alan McManus
Craig Wedderburn
Ross Chisholm
Lee Sibanda
Gavin Swankie
Adam Strachan
David McGowan
Paul Sheerin
SUBS
Darryl Burns
Steven Doris
Josh Falkingham
Jordyn Sheerin
Daniel Griffin

Match Report

O`Connor seals play-off place Two goals from Sean O`Connor gave Annan an impressive 3-0 win against champions Arbroath which secured a place in the Scottish Third Division play-offs. The home side nearly broke the deadlock in the 14th minute but Arbroath goalkeeper Darren Hill was equal to Jack Steele`s right-footed effort from inside the box. Their persistence paid off in the 22nd minute, thanks to O'Connor`s seventh goal of the season. The striker drilled the ball home following Bryan Felvus` knock-down. Annan almost doubled their lead on the hour mark through Gavin Swankie, but his free-kick from the edge of the box was tipped round the post by Arbroath goalkeeper Craig Summersgill. They finally went 2-0 in front six minutes later, O`Connor finding the roof of the net to claim his second of the match after Mark Docherty`s cross was not cleared. Steven Sloan made the game safe with 20 minutes to go, meeting Jack Steele`s cross to head home from near the penalty spot.

Form Guide

WLWDLD Annan Athletic VS Arbroath DLWWDW

Last Meetings

Arbroath 2 - 1 Annan Athletic 05/03/2011 Annan Athletic 1 - 2 Arbroath 15/02/2011 Arbroath 0 - 2 Annan Athletic 14/08/2010

Top Scorers

Annan Athletic I Harty 12 BJ Gilfillan 7 S O'Connor 6 K Neilson 5 D Cox 4 S Sloan 4 A Muirhead 2 G Bell 1 B Felvus 1 M Docherty 1 M Jack 1 J Steele 1 C Jardine 1 N Macfarlane 1 Arbroath G Swankie 21 S Doris 11 K Gibson 8 J Falkingham 8 D McGowan 6 P Sheerin 3 A Strachan 3 K McAnespie 2 S Malcolm 2 C Wedderburn 2 R Chisholm 2 A Rattray 1

Goals

Annan Athletic Total goals 98 Goals per game 55 3 (For) 7 (Against) Period 0-10 mins 7 (For) 6 (Against) Period 11-20 mins 6 (For) 6 (Against) Period 21-30 mins 6 (For) 1 (Against) Period 31-40 mins 7 (For) 5 (Against) Period 41-50 mins 7 (For) 5 (Against) Period 51-60 mins 5 (For) 8 (Against) Period 61-70 mins 7 (For) 2 (Against) Period 71-80 mins 7 (For) 3 (Against) Period 81-90 mins Arbroath Total goals 120 Goals per game 77 4 (For) 3 (Against) Period 0-10 mins 6 (For) 4 (Against) Period 11-20 mins 9 (For) 7 (Against) Period 21-30 mins 5 (For) 5 (Against) Period 31-40 mins 9 (For) 6 (Against) Period 41-50 mins 11 (For) 5 (Against) Period 51-60 mins 11 (For) 6 (Against) Period 61-70 mins 9 (For) 9 (Against) Period 71-80 mins 13 (For) 8 (Against) Period 81-90 mins