Stranraer 1-0 Arbroath (agg 1-3)

May 11 2008 Kenny Macdonald At Stair Park

ARBROATH boss John McGlashan heaped praise on the beaten Blues and insisted they should have joined his Gayfield troops in Division Two. Stranraer battered the Red Lichties from start to finish and McGlashan admitted his boys were lucky to hold on for promotion.

Gregory Tade fired the Stair Park club to victory but it wasn't enough to win a place in the Second Division.

A relieved McGlashan said: "Stranraer have been unlucky and they put us on the back foot until the last minute.

"We had a couple of half chances that would have made a difference but it didn't happen. They could have won it easily to be fair but our defence was strong and stood up to the pressure.

"I've never known anything like the last 20 minutes in my football career.

"But our defending was marvellous and it would have been nice to see Stranraer and ourselves go up. They fully deserve to be in the Second Division.

"We haven't had the greatest luck in play-offs but maybe it's payback time."

"I've commiserated with Derek and with a bit of luck they could have won but my players rose to the challenge and we defended superbly well."

The away team were hit by an early blow when captain Barry Sellars took a head knock in just 10 seconds.

But Sellars was given the all clear and Arbroath wasted no time putting Stranraer on the back foot before almost opening the scoring 40 seconds later.

Alow ball across the six-yard line picked out Roddy Black on the left but with the chance to kill off the tie he side-footed a soft shot at goal, allowing keeper Scott Black to pounce on the ball on the goal line.

Black was involved again in seven minutes as he headed back across goal for team-mate Alan Brazil.

The forward tried to loop a header over Black from six yards but the stopper managed to get back in time.

Derek Ferguson's side responded and carved out their first opening in 12 minutes as Alex White fired a diagonal ball to Michael Mullen on the right.

Mullen cut inside two defenders before rattling a left-foot shot from the edge of the box that sped by.

Stranraer continued to press and Gerry McLauchlan came close to breaking the deadlock with a header off the bar in 21 minutes.

White's corners were causing havoc in the box and he picked out McLauchlan seven yards from goal.

Ferguson's men were well on top by this stage and pushed again for that elusive opener.

Arbroath sent out an early warning just two minutes into the second half when Paul Watson whipped in a shot from the corner of the box that flashed past the right post.

However, the tension finally boiled over just before the hour when Arbroath's Craig Tully was sent packing.

The defender lunged two-footed at Danny Mitchell, leaving him sprawling on the halfway line.

Players from both sides waded in but whistler Steve Conroy was quick to defuse the situation before flashing the red card at Tully. That sparked anger on the sidelines and furious Stranraer boss Ferguson was then involved in a war of words with his opposite number.

The Blues gaffer's anger turned to joy within five minutes as Tade gave his side hope for promotion.

A perfect pass into the box from James McKinstry found hitman Tade in the box and he made no mistake, ramming home a superb low shot.

The Blues mounted a late rally and McLauchlan scraped the post in 83 minutes with a header then Tade's shot from six yards went agonisingly wide in stoppage time.

Agutted Ferguson said: "I'm no fan of the play-offs and I've said that before but I'm just glad we've shown by finishing second just what we can do.

"It's such a good squad I'm only losing three or four.

"I'm proud of these boys and they know that.

"They're gutted but I've told them to get their heads up.

"Now I'm just away to enjoy a large glass of red wine."