SELKIRK 1

GRETNA 5

PERHAPS a win would have been too much to ask for to end a turbulent week at Yarrow Park.

The sudden exit of manager Steve Forrest and, the just as sudden, appointment of Garry O’Connor in a caretaker capacity should have been enough to unsettle the already unpredictable squad of players.

Bizarrely this Selkirk team produced some of the best football they’ve managed this season with a refreshing amount of vigour and appetite.

Ultimately, the much more common defensive mishaps were to cost O’Connor on his first game in charge – as he was quick to point out at the final whistle.

He told the Border Telegraph: “I’ve just told the boys that their commitment was fantastic and we got the reaction today that I was looking for.

“I need to get rid of those individual errors. It was 5-1 but if we’d taken our chances we would have won that game today.

“We brought the ball down and played in the right manner which pleased me.”

Selkirk could easily have been three up inside the opening six minutes.

Phil Addison, who looked back to his best, was denied in the first minute by the legs of keeper Vinnie Parker.

Just two minutes later, Jack Hay’s diving header was deflected round the post.

And Ross Gray was wrongly waved offside as he raced in on goal just moments later.

Addison was chopped down inside the area in the fifth minute, but the same player directed his penalty round the wrong wide of the bar-post junction.

It was to prove costly as a Conan McDiarmid back header on 13 minutes fell short, allowing Scott Milligan to nip and round Jamie Newman to score.

Dean Smith should have doubled the visitors’ lead moments later but shot over.

Selkirk responded well with a Murray Christie low cross being deflected away from the foot of Hay in front of goal.

Addison forced a good save from Parker with a 30-yard screamer, and the former Hibs player also drilled a low shot inches past the far post.

Connor Handren should have equalised just five minutes before the break after being threaded through by Addison but he shot tamely at the keeper from 12 yards.

Gretna were gifted their second on 48 minutes as Scott Ritchie’s back pass went straight to Iain Anderson who rounded Newman for a tap in.

Hay was red carded four minutes later for reacting with a kick after being fouled.

And Anderson immediately made it three after finding space in the box to score from close range.

Selkirk continued to push forward with Gray bursting from his own half at every opportunity.

And the arrival of O’Connor did lead to a handful of half-chances for the home team.

But they were caught again at the back on 75 minutes as Danny Graham’s speculative shot from 25 yards deflected beyond Newman.

There was further misery in the 89th minute as James Harley stabbed the ball past his own keeper.

O’Connor's late consolation did little to lift he mood.

Garry added: “I’m deflated with the scoreline and it’s not the start I was hoping for, but I still believe I can do something here.”

Selkirk. J Newman, M Christie, J Pyper, C McDiarmid, C Handren (R Scott 77), J Harley, M Collin (K Reynolds 58 (G O’Connor 64)), R Gray, S Ritchie, J Hay & P Addison.