Report: Arbroath 3-1 Berwick Rangers
Berwick remain rooted to the foot of Scottish League Two after surrendering a half-time lead to fellow strugglers Arbroath at a wet and windy Gayfield.
With a strong wind advantage in the first half, Blair Henderson put the ‘Gers ahead from the penalty spot on 28 minutes but they were unable to add more crucial goals as the Red Lichties came back in the second half.
Bobby Linn latched on to a hopeful long ball to level things up with 16 minutes to go and moments later Craig Wilson had made it two, while Darren Ramsay added a third deep into stoppage time.
Goalscorer on Saturday Darren Lavery was a notable absentee from the ‘Gers’ starting line-up – replaced by Henderson – while David Morris was handed a start on the right wing with Ross Drummond on the opposite flank.
And inside the first minute, Drummond should’ve put Berwick ahead. Henderson did well to chase a long ball from Ewan McNeil and waited on the byline for the run of Drummond but his shot was deflected onto the bar.
Aside from another two decent chances for the former Dunfermline man, Berwick barely created anything of note despite the majority of the game being played in the Arbroath third. However, keeper Allan Fleming was helpless when Henderson sent him the wrong way from the spot shortly before the half hour mark after Morris got his toe to the ball in the box and was brought down.
Unable to add to their one-goal lead, the ‘Gers faced an uphill battle to keep things that way in the second half as, unsurprisingly, roles were reversed with Arbroath now having the wind advantage.
For almost half an hour, Berwick battled well, pressing high up the pitch and limiting the amount of shots into Kevin Walker. But eventually, the hosts found their way through and in the simplest of circumstances; a long ball evaded the defence leaving Linn to loft the ball over Walker and in.
Just two minutes later, Arbroath were ahead as Wilson cut inside and unleashed a terrific 25-yard strike into the top corner, while Ramsay wrapped it up with a 35-yard lob after Walker failed to clear his lines effectively.
