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623 gathered in the freezing Ochilview Park, only heated up with anticipation of the tasty fixture of Stenhousemuir F.C. versus Bonnyrigg Rose F.C. in the cinch league 2. Despite the -4°C conditions, it was quite a hot-headed affair seeing 2 red and 8 yellow cards dished out. The fixture was in danger of postponement following heavy snow fall overnight saw the pitch covered in snow. Thankfully 35 volunteers heroically cleared the snow from the pitch and got it playable, shaming a certain premiership club who couldn’t replicate this feat. The cagey fixture kicked off as planned at 3pm. The game saw Stenhousemuir abandon their usual free-flowing style of football and saw a more unattractive, old-fashioned approach deployed. The first 20 minutes were largely uneventful with a few attempts for either side but failing to trouble Paddy Martin or Darren Jamieson. In the 25th minute Adam Brown sends a troublesome ball into the Roses box which is flicked on by Nicky Jamieson into a dangerous area. The ball came loose in the box and Matty Aitken does what he does best and pounces on the loose ball and shows us why he is the Cinch League 2 top goal scorer as he pokes the ball past the helpless keeper into the bottom corner. His 9th goal of the season so far. After a handful of half chances and many fouls for either side, the home side go into the break 1-0 up thanks to their leading goal scorer. Not long into the second half Bonnyrigg Rose number 10 Lee Currie was caught too complacent on the ball deep in his own half and Mikey Anderson dispossesses him and sets up a great chance for Matty Yates who had time and space in the box but rushes the opportunity, hitting it first time just wide of the left-hand post. Stenhousemuir really began to dominate the second half and Bonnyrigg Rose chances were very few and far between. However, Stenhousemuir could not produce enough to beat Paddy Martin a second time. Following a foul by Bonnyrigg Rose on the halfway line in the 76th minute, striker Kieran McGachie was booked for questioning the referee. Adam Brown was also given his second yellow card of the afternoon moments later as he appeared to pass comment to referee Colin Whyte as he jogged by. Stenhousemuir were now down to 10 men and their previous completely shifted against them following the incident. A resilient and brave defensive display from Stenhousemuir was enough to retain the clean sheet and claim all three points. Not without difficulty as McGachie dribbled into the box and went down looking for a penalty in the dying moments of added time. Referee Colin Whyte deemed it a dive and produced McGauchie's second yellow card of the afternoon and gave him his marching orders, eliminating Stenhousemuir's handicap for the last few seconds of the match. A loud roar was heard from the home supporters as the final whistle went and Stenhousemuir were on the winning side of this slugfest of an encounter. The hard-fought victory sees them stay top of the table, 3 points above Peterhead who still have a game in hand. That is 5 wins on the bounce now for Stenhousemuir who will be looking to get back into League 1 for the first time in five years. The loss for Bonnyrigg Rose means they were unable to overtake the Spartans and get into those play off places on this occasion.

Hopefully Morton and Bonnyrigg away.