Albion Rovers manager Steven Saunders has admitted his half-time adjustments sparked a dramatic late comeback to earn a 2-2 draw against Johnstone Burgh in the Lowland League West.
The big-spending Renfrewshire side led 2-0 at the break after Max Kerr's double inside the first 16 minutes at Keanie Park, and could have been three ahead had Grant Tanosevicius not made a superb save to deny Thomas Orr from the penalty spot after half an hour.
Half-time changes prove decisive
Saunders introduced new signings Alex Eguagie and Leo Clark at the interval and later brought on Devan McColl, changes that turned the game. Rovers pulled one back through Barry Duncan after an hour, and McColl then fired home an unstoppable 25-yard strike in the 83rd minute to earn Rovers their first point of the campaign.
Speaking to Lanarkshire Live Sport, Saunders said: "It was a dramatic finish. The second half was much better from us. We tweaked a few things at half-time and got our rewards for that, being on top for the majority of the second half.
Saunders: Players responded positively
"We made a couple of changes, bringing on our two new signings Alex and Leo on the right hand side. We changed the way we were pressing and it seemed to work, making Burgh a bit more direct than what they were in the first half.
"That allowed us to squeeze the gaps between defence and midfield and it gave our goalkeeper a better chance of having a better starting position, while we recycled the ball a bit better.
"It was a great goal from Dev. He was a bit disappointed not to be starting but he was one of the guys who was struggling with injury last week. But that is the kind of response I want from players. Apart from his goal, I was really pleased with the 20 minutes he played, being really positive and working well defensively.
"We gave Johnstone Burgh too much respect in the first half with the players they have in their squad. But in the second half when they realised it is just 11v11, we had a bit of a go and got our rewards.
"We did score a goal that was ruled out for a foul but I don't think there was a foul when Adam McMillan scores his header. But this gives us a springboard to go to Caley Braves this weekend and go for those first three points."
Underdogs tag and new signings
The result leaves Rovers in 13th place in the Lowland West table, and they will be underdogs again when they face joint-second Caledonian Braves at Cliftonhill this Saturday.
Saunders added: "We will be underdogs in the majority of games this season. But I am actually expecting a really good tactical match with Braves. They are really good at their rotations and they get bodies forward.
"They have players like Ross McNeil up front, who understand this level really well and can take half a chance. For us, we are a really young squad and these are the games we should go in excited about.
"We shouldn't go in nervous. The underdogs tag should make you want to prove yourself and show we can compete with the better squads in the league."
Eguagie, 18, has joined Rovers on loan from Queen's Park, and the striker arrived last week alongside 17-year-old defender Liam Dolan, who joins on loan from Partick Thistle until January. Saunders expects more movement in and out of Cliftonhill in the coming weeks.
He added: "There will probably be more changes over the next couple of weeks. There has been a few trialists in again this week for us to look at, but we need to make sure they are the right sort of people for the dressing room as well. We don't want someone who might drag down the dressing room when things have been quite positive over the last couple of weeks."
