Albion Rovers boss apologises to fans after Scottish Cup exit to Auchinleck Talbot

Albion Rovers boss Sandy Clark admits his side owe fans an apology after crashing out of the Scottish Cup first round against Auchinleck Talbot at Cliftonhill.

West of Scotland Premier League side Talbot ran out 2-1 winners in Coatbridge, with goals in each half from Alex Nimmo and Connor Boyd putting them 2-0 up, before Adam Fernie pulled one back with four minutes left.

Clark says the club will be hit financially due to the cup exit, and his side didn’t deserve anything from the game.

Fans made their thoughts known with chants after the game, and Clark said: “I think our supporters probably deserve an apology for the fact that we’ve gone out of the cup early.

“Auchinleck are a big, strong team and you have no divine right to win any game, but we didn’t have enough fight in us to get across the line with it, and they did. We can’t complain.

“But it’s disappointing from the football point of view, and the financial benefit of getting through as well – it has cost us a bit of money, so there aren’t a lot of positives, that’s for sure.

“We tried to do the right things, but it didn’t quite happen. I think Talbot had a bit more experience than we did in their team, and that showed when they went in front.

“We lost the first goal from a corner, which is something we’ve been working on to try and prevent, but you’ve just got to be a wee bit more determined than that in both boxes, and that gave them a huge lift. The second goal was just a mess from us and that gave us a mountain to climb.

“We got back into the game, but were short of time with five minutes to go, and it didn’t give us the opportunity.”

Rovers were due to host Civil Service Strollers in the Lowland League last night (Tuesday) before travelling to Cumbernauld