Arbroath fought back to secure all 3 points over a stubborn Montrose side in horrendous conditions this afternoon at Links Park.
The Lichties were dealt a blow minutes before kick off when Ricky Little was overcome with illness and had to withdraw from the starting line up giving young on-loan Dundee defender, Matty Smyth a full debut as he partnered Colin Hamilton in the centre of defence.
Montrose took the lead in the 26th minute and it was probably deserved on the balance of play but came from an Arbroath error. A clearance fell to the feet of Matty Smith at the edge of the box and the young on-loan Dundee United striker took a touch before curling the ball into the far corner of the net out of the reach of Ricky Gomes.
However the introduction of Ryan McCord and Bryan Prunty at half time made a big difference as Arbroath scored 3 second half goals.
Arbroath’s first corner of the second half resulted in the comeback. Ryan McCord whipped the ball into the box and Matty Smyth rose up to bullet a header down on the the surface before bouncing into the back of the net in the 58th minute as he made a dream debut.
A foul on Bryan Prunty just outside the Montrose box by Greg Pascazio allowed Ryan McCord to step up and curl a free kick into the bottom corner past Jordan Millar to give the Lichties the lead in the 70th minute.
As the seconds ticked down, Arbroath tried to hold up the ball near the corner flag but after a passing movement Kader was allowed to run into the box before he tried to tee up McCord, as McCord’s shot was blocked the ball fell back to the feet of Kader who smashed in a left foot shot to secure all 3 points.
