Peebles Rovers 2

Ormiston 1

Neil Hobson at Whitestone Park

540 MINUTES - that’s how long it took for Peebles Rovers to clinch a second win in the East of Scotland this season.

But at long last, when it finally came against a crestfallen Ormiston team, it would have left Gerry Rossi and his backroom team with a grin as wide as the Tweed.

A brief glance at the league table would have induced even the most curiously optimistic of Rovers fan into paroxysms of mental anguish; one win and an almost sickening level of games gone astray. But, it would appear, that Rossi’s Rovers have finally shaken this particularly vexatious monkey off their back.

Two strikes, courtesy of Lee Zavaroni and Donovan Ndiweni, saw the Whitestone side pick up their first win since a comfortable victory over a lowly Burntisland team at Recreation Park in September. In all honesty, Peebles had largely played aesthetically pleasing and adventurous football, but, a deeply mystifying inability to put the ball in the back of the net was undoubtedly hurting Rossi’s team.

But, you wouldn’t have thought it from the first few breathless minutes of this match, as David Lindsay keenly demonstrated.

Barely five minutes had registered before the midfielder rampaged up the park and blasted a bone-breaking shot into the gloves of Daryl Johnstone. It was a clear signal of intent, but Ormiston didn’t care and quickly raced into the lead, arguably against the run of play, on ten minutes following an Alasdair Simpson header from a Nicky Cairns corner.

Undoubtedly, this was a setback. But a show of superb character, or perhaps sheer mental toughness considering the frequency of these sorts of setbacks, from the Rovers saw them respond in typically aggressive style as they launched into a merciless counter-attack.

Schulz-Keith, last week’s goal-scoring hero at Eyemouth, led the vanguard as he stormed down the right flank and, more often than not, usually sent crosses raining down upon the heads of Zavaroni and Inglis.

The assault continued as James Runciman played a sublime ball to Zavaroni, which then saw the skipper scarper away down the right. He whipped in a gift-wrapped ball, which very nearly ended on the end of strike partner Scott Inglis’ boot. However, the former Ams man missed getting his foot too it by a mere whisker.

Persistent Peebles eventually broke through the ice on 41 minutes, as the irrepressible Zavaroni galloped off on another devastating run that carved the back four open. He crashed into the box and tried his luck from close range; Johnstone dived to the rescue but inexplicably decided to push the ball away rather than grab hold of it. It was a decision that proved to be a killer blow; as the Peebles captain pounced and coolly tucked it away, much to the delight of a relieved crowd.

The second-half, although lacking the fierce and combative nature of its predecessor, was an equally enthralling bout. Ormiston retaliated through the fast-feet of striker, Yusif Bernawi. The quick forward certainly gave a scare to the centre-back pairing of Brown and Robertson, but the composed presence of Darren Walker between the sticks undoubtedly aided the two as they grew into a highly-effective shield.

Walker, dragged out of the retirement home again by Peebles to cover for the injured Ben McGinley, marked his return in red and white with another sensational performance that kept the East Lothian side at bay.

But, the introduction of Ndiweni from the bench on 67 minutes ultimately marked the turning point in the match for Ger Rossi’s team.

Although adding his trademark pace and attacking menace from the wide area, it was Zavaroni that was once again the architect of victory as he galloped down the left and cut into the box the way a knife cuts through cake.

His shot didn’t find the back of the net, but it did find Ndiweni; who opportunistically lurked nearby. Johnston parried Zavaroni’s shot, and Ndiweni gobbled it up before firing it home to hand the Rovers their second three points of the season.

A delighted Rossi said: “The boys really deserved this win, the football we played was magnificent at times and hopefully we can take that into the Lothian game next week.”