Kane Hester notched Elgin City’s 1,000th goal in the Scottish league as the Black and Whites moved up to fourth in League Two with a 2-1 win at Albion Rovers.
All three goals came in a blistering first six minutes, though holding out in the freezing final minutes was just as important for Gavin Price’s team.
Elgin hit the front after only 70 seconds when Rabin Omar curled home from 20 yards after a Hester effort had been blocked, and the goalscorer said: “It was definitely one of my better goals.
“I caught it very cleanly and before I knew it the ball was in the back of the net.”
Elgin did not enjoy being ahead for long, as a minute later Thomas McHale flapped at a cross and Daniel Scally nodded in from six yards.
The visitors led again when Hester slammed in Brian Cameron’s cross via the bar to claim Elgin’s 1,000th goal since joining the Scottish League in 2000.
Omar added: “We came out the traps well as even the passage of play leading up to the goal was tidy and crisp.
“However, there is a saying in football about being at your most vulnerable when you have just scored. That proved to be the case.
“We were chasing the lead again and we got it in what was a hectic start.”
It could have been 2-2 on 10 minutes as Scally got behind the visiting defence only for the legs of McHale to come to Elgin’s rescue.
Cameron lobbed over on 17 minutes with the fans kept waiting a further 17 minutes before either goal was threatened again with McHale using his legs to deny Declan Byrne after he had broken clear.
Daniel McKay had the chance to extend Elgin’s lead with an hour gone when he burst through the Coatbridge defence only to send his 20-yard shot high over.
As snow fell, McHale was beaten with 10 minutes left when Ousman See shot past him from eight yards but the substitute’s shot hit the inside of the post and flashed across the face of goal.
In injury time it looked like Nicky Paterson’s fierce drive was going to deny Elgin the win but the effort struck team-mate Byrne and cleared the bar.
After seeing 11 points disappear in the closing minutes this season due to the loss of goals, Omar was glad to secure the win.
He said: “When teams are a goal down in this league they push you and put your backs against the wall.
“We have conceded late and that has cost us but this is the third game we have won by one goal recently.
“The manager had challenged us to show we could win by one goal and we are doing that now. We are back in the top four and we want to say there.”
Manager Gavin Price said: “It was disappointing to concede such a sloppy goal after scoring so early.
“The conditions made things difficult for defenders and it looked like it would be 9-8 after those first six minutes.
“We rode our luck when they hit the post but we are due that break. We had not won by a single goal until we beat Stirling recently.
“We have now done that against Brechin and in this game, and to make the play-offs we need win games like this.”
