Elgin City manager Allan Hale pays tribute to team’s character to snatch victory from jaws of defeat against Bonnyrigg Rose
Elgin City manager Allan Hale praised his team’s character in snatching victory from the jaws of defeat against Bonnyrigg Rose.
The Black and Whites trailed 1-0 with two minutes to go but sub Olly McDonald’s equaliser and Russell Dingwall’s dramatic free kick winner in the sixth minute of time added on secured a vital three points.
City, with Kilmarnock loan keeper Aidan Glavin making his debut, had to dig deep and pull off their great escape at the death.
Hale praised his team’s character and determination to play right to the death and gain the victory.
Unbeaten in their first four league games of the season, City looked destined to trip up at the fifth hurdle but produced a memorable turnaround.
“You could feel the nervousness around the ground but once we got the equaliser, the place just lit up,” said Hale.
“The crowd finally got behind the team and you could see the lift that gives the players.
“The one thing this group of players has is that they will fight to the very end. With that desire and attitude to keep going, that’s got us the win today and you’ve got to give the players credit for that.”
Elgin handed a debut to Kilmarnock loan keeper Aidan Glavin, with a second recruit from Rugby Park, forward Kian Leslie on the bench.
Referee Alex Shepherd set his intentions out from the very start, producing a yellow card to Elgin’s Mark Gallagher for the first foul of the game.
It took 18 minutes to see an effort on target with Russell Dingwall’s diving header for the home side comfortably saved by Elgin boy Tom Ritchie in the Bonnyrigg goal.
City did more of the first half attacking with Dajon Golding firing just over and Gallagher seeing a goalbound effort cleared by a diving header.
Ross Draper and Jake Dolzanski both had headed efforts from Dingwall setpiece kicks fly narrowly off target, while Dingwall was denied by a good Ritchie parry a minute before the break.
New boy Leslie came on as sub midway through the second half but City conceded the opening goal against the run of play to a fine volleyed finish by Kallum Higginbotham on 70 minutes.
A triple substitution on 80 minutes saw Brian Cameron, Olly McDonald and Ryan MacLeman enter the fray and it was McDonald who came up with the equalising goal two minutes from the end of normal time.
Leslie was the architect on the right, his cross breaking into McDonald’s path to lash home.
Then deep into stoppages, a foul near the edge of the Bonnyrigg box gave Elgin one last scoring chance and Dingwall’s low strike made its way through the packed area and past keeper Tom Ritchie to spark big celebrations inside Borough Briggs.
Elgin: Glavin, Draper, Dolzanski (Leslie 63), Murray, Girvan, Dingwall, Gallagher (Cameron 80), Hyde (MacLeman 80), Booth, Golding (Sargent 63), Gavin (McDonald 80).
Subs: Cairns, Allen, Fraser, Taylor
Bonnyrigg: Ritchie, Mailer, Young, Trialist, Scarborough, Connolly, Murphy, Arnott (Lorimer 90), Watson (Ross 67), Higginbotham, Barrett (McGachie 90).
Subs: Gardiner, Andrews.
Ref: Alex Shepherd
Att: 688