Gary Burns flicked the ball past his marker then sent a low cross into the path of Thomas Robertson. The striker took a touch then unleashed a ferocious left foot shot off the underside of the crossbar and into the net to evoke scenes of jubilation on the Tannahill sideline rarely seen this season. Hopefully this last minute winner will kick start Tans’ season and spur them on to record many more victories this season.

It could have been so different but for the form of Tannahill keeper Craig Glen who denied Fordbank time and again with a string of stunning stops.

Star threatened as early as the first minute but when their striker found himself in space inside the box, he elected to cross instead of shooting and the chance was lost. The opening of the first half was fairly even with Tans giving as good as they got. Colin Forbes almost opened the scoring when he jinked past two before firing in a shot which was tipped on to the post. Shortly after, Brendan Watt had a low shot pushed away and later Frazer Martin was unlucky as he peeled off his marker to meet a free kick, but his controlled volley fell inches wide of the far post.

Midway through the half, Fordbank started to put the Tans rearguard under real pressure which they coped with well, but when the defence was breached, Glen was there to deny the home side, firstly with a diving save to his right, then an incredible double save, pushing away a powerful header then clawing away the rebound. Soon after, he did well to get his fingertips to a rising shot, tipping it over the bar. Even when Star took the lead just before half time, Glen saved the first effort before the ball was squeezed home despite the efforts of Matt Gribben on the line.

HALF TIME 1-0

Losing the opener so close to half time may have seen the heads go down earlier in the season, but Tans battled back and claimed the equaliser 10 minutes after the restart. Watt won the ball in the middle and sent it wide to Forbes. With the defence pushing out, Forbes chased his own chip and then put Watt through on goal, the midfielder looked a shade offside but played to whistle, taking a touch before using “all his might” to smash the ball past the advancing keeper.

Moments later, Watt was forced off injured after a poor challenge which was to become a feature of the home side’s tactics as continued erratic refereeing left them infuriated. Amongst the flying elbows and two-footed tackles, Fordbank regained the lead with 15 minutes to go as a shot was deflected in off the luckless Gribben. Soon after, Star could have wrapped the game up but fired over after a cross from the right.

Again, Tans refused to buckle and with Gary Burns being introduced, turned the game on its head. Burns had an immediate impact, beating two players on the left before firing across the edge of the six yard box to Robertson who fired, right footed, into the roof of the net to equalise. This seemed to rattle the home side as they appeared to think they had the game won. Tans had other ideas, however, and claimed all 3 points with Robertson’s dramatic last minute winner.


Tannahill (4-4-2)
Glen, Dunbar, Muirhead, Gribben, Forbes, R Martin, Watt (Morrison),
F Martin, Campbell, McAlinden (Burns), Robertson


For photos from the match click here