Annan Athletic 0-0 Montrose

Last night was sunny and pleasant at Galabank, although there was a noticeable breeze blowing down the slope towards the social club, and it got pretty cold once the sun had gone down, and the floodlights came on.

Manager Tweed was obliged to make several changes from the team which had subsided to defeat so feebly, against the same opposition, on Saturday. With Campbell and Crighton out, Stevie Nicholas unavailable, and Paul Tosh ill and unable to make the trip, the worn and battered deck of Montrose first team cards had to be ingeniously shuffled. Milligan dropped back to right back, Aaron was at no. 3, with Tweed partnering McNally at centre half. Maitland, Davidson and Hegarty formed a trio in the middle of the park, with Nicol wide right and Tomana wide left. Both the wingers played just behind Gemmill, wearing the no. 9 shirt. All in white, the lads lined up: McNeil, Milligan, Sinclair, McNally, Tweed, Hegarty, Nicol, Davidson, Gemmill, Maitland, Tomana. There were only three outfield subs, with James Collier recalled from Roselea to take his place on the bench alongside a fit looking Gordon Pope, and Sean Fleming.

Annan began the game kicking down the slope. Their line up was unchanged from Saturday, although they did look significantly more tired than they did then. The early exchanges were hesitant and cautious, with neither goalkeeper being called into significant action. Annan tried to test McNeil with a couple of high balls flighted into the far post, but the keeper did well, and on the one occasion he lost the ball, the referee blew for a foul.

At the other end, Montrose threatened through both Nicol, and Tomana. Our passing was back to its sharp best, having been painfully awful at the weekend. Sinclair, Davidson and Tomana triangulated down the standside touchline and the little Slovak almost played Sinclair in with a telling ball. Nicol was full of running, and having held off a robust challenge from Annan's right back, sent a ball scuttling across the face of goal. Gemmill, under pressure, sent a shot a yard wide of the right hand post.

Unfortunately, the "Beast" then had a moment of trademark petulance which completely altered the equilibrium of a finely balanced game. Halfway through the first half, he and the balding Gilfillan challenged for a bouncing ball on the semi circle. Both players tumbled to the ground, and the referee blew for a Montrose free kick. The official ran over to supervise the placing of the ball. As both players got to their feet, Gilfillan turned his back on Gemmill. Under the nose of the official, Gemmill aimed a light tap at the back of Gilfillan's head, and the Robbie Savage of the Scottish Third Division collapsed to the ground, as though felled by a sniper. A straight red card was immediately flashed by the flabbergasted referee.

I'm not sure what Gemmill hoped to achieve with his actions. He protested long and loud at the referee, but the official shook his head and pointed at the dressing rooms. Tweed, his face dark with rage, strode up into the Annan half, his arms outstretched in a "what the fuck?" gesture. The big centre forward departed the scene with the jeers of the Annan fans ringing in his ears, to contemplate the consequences of a second cretinous red card, in under a month. David Cox was shown the door this time last year for a second sending off at the same venue: I'll be absolutely amazed if Gemmill doesn't suffer the same fate in the days to come. I'm certain that last night will mark an ignominious end to an unhappy chapter in his football career.

The free kick came to nothing, but Annan failed for the rest of the half to make their advantage tell. Where they had been direct in attack at the weekend, they were cautious and laboured last night, wanting one too many touches of the ball, or sending the final pass astray. I was really impressed that Nicol and Maitland pushed hard at the other end, trying to fill the gaping void left by Gemmill's departure. Time and again Nicol, in particular, threw himself into aerial challenges with Annan's giant centre halfs, and he made enough of a nuisance of himself. However, goalkeeper Summersgill had little to do in the Annan goal. He'a an amiable big chap. "It's dead, isn't it", he told me, whilst contemplating the blades of grass on the palms of his gloves. "Like an exhibition match".

Some reorganisation was called for at half time, in what would no doubt have been a heated discussion. Davidson and Hegarty dropped deeper in midfield, covering the defence. The side took on an even more defensive look when poor Tomana hirpled off not long after the re-start, his left leg trailing after a clogging midfield challenge. It was great to see James Collier, who's had such a frustrating season, come on to make a long-anticipated debut for his home town team. Alongside Maitland, he put himself about in the half hour or so he had on the park.

The last half hour, as the night darkened and the players laboured under the ghostly metallic lustre of the floodlights, saw immense Annan pressure exerted, as our back four swayed like a police line trying to contain an angry mob. One of their forwards fell in the penalty area, and the girning old men by the dug outs wore out their voice boxes, demanding a penalty that never was. The referee quickly turned his head away from the claim. Moments later, just outside the box, an Annan forward and "Scooby" Davdison crashed to the ground, and the Stadtlers and Waldorfs almost melted the referee's earpiece with demands for a second red card. The volume didn't decrease as Davidson saw yellow, and a foul mouthed cacophany from these elderly parakeets chuntered on shrilly: "at's a fuckin' disgrace referee", "he was the last man ya bliddy numpty, straight rid kerrrrd" but, tough luck guys.

Too late, Annan tried to stretch us down the flanks. David Cox sent a murderous low header, from around the penalty spot, which McNeil brilliantly turned away at the base of the right hand post; he then got up in under the blink of an eyelid and blocked the shot from the rebound away for a corner. Unfortunately, in an attritional match, McNeil was also injured with about fifteen minutes to go. He tried to catch a floated cross from Cox's forehead, and the Annan forward must have banged him in the hip with a stray knee. McNeil stayed down and there was a stoppage for two or three minutes whilst our physio tried to patch him up. However, his left hip was dead and he couldn't take the resultant bye kick, so he limped off as well, and Steven Coutts was called into competitive action for the first time since the end of October.

Annan tried to pressure the rusty Coutts, an it almost paid off. A weak punch fell straight to an Annan forward on the edge of the area, and his shot was blocked on the line by Tweed. Another horrible ball in was three quarters dealt with by the big keeper, but it went to ground, and this time McNally belted clear. Two minutes later, he was obliged to dive full length to his left to claim a low half volley from distance, which was creeping just inside the post- a really good save, that. I don't want to appear critical of Coutts, he did well enough in a difficult situation.

The home team were running out of time, and they began to get frustrated as over-hit passes trundled out, or timely interceptions were made. There were no further alarms, and the referee's whistle peeped to bring to an end one of the better goalless draws I've seen this season. The game had a good tempo about it, was played in a reasonable spirit, and it was one of our more resolute defensive showings of a bleak campaign. The players worked really hard for one another and defended from the front after Gemmill's dismissal, nullifying the threat from a pretty decent Annan side.

As for Annan, their failure to win means that the last breath of their dying play off hopes has been spent. They were too anxious to win last night, too hurried in their forward play. It might be argued that Cairney should be doing much better with a good squad of players at his disposal, and I fancy he'll be under pressure to deliver a play off place next season, now that Annan are established in the league. As for us, we can take this very decent point tonight, and head to Station Park at the weekend hopeful of another memorable day in the Bridie capital of the world, with the faint possibility of reeling in Elgin, still just about alive.

Man of the Match: For me, a joint award: Steven Tweed and Steven McNally, who were both outstanding at centre half. That said, this was a significantly better showing than Saturday, and, other than Gemmill letting himself down, there were no failures in the team. Everyone showed a great deal of backbone and desire in a very difficult fixture for the club.

Crowd: 278. Er, I was the Montrose support, unless there was someone hiding in the stand.