On paper this was a certain away win with St Andrews armed with a few first team players in the squad having to win to maintain their title push and Town sitting in 7th with not much to play for but Town took motivation from the fact they had a big say on where the title was going.
The game began with Town making the early running although it was apparent both sides were here to play passing football. It was a midfield battle with not many clear cut chances but there were 2 efforts off target from Silk and Danny Smith. Town forced 4 corners in the first half but didn’t get on the end of any of them. The closest Town came was when the ball dropped to Pullen 20 yards out and his half volley flew inches wide of the right hand post. Jelly then had the ball in the net after Silk played him through but was adjudged to be offside. It was Town creating the chances without Andrews really testing Smith in goal but then the sucker punch as a strike came in from distance that Smith did well to parry but the ball fell straight to the unmarked left winger to tap into the empty net. It was harsh on Town but again they had been punished for not taking chances. Andrews had another chance shortly after when a header from close range went narrowly over the bar but Town went in at half time 1 down after being the better side. HT LTFC 0-1 SA.
The second half began with Town picking up where they had left off in complete control and were quickly back on level terms when Danny Smith broke down the right flank, cut the ball back inside for Cossu to strike on goal and his effort was parried across goal for Frost to poke home. The game flowed from end to end with both sides looking for a winner. Both Preston and the Andrews striker were booked for persistent infringements in what had been a great tussle all game although the striker was extremely lucky to get just a booking for a clear elbow. Hardy replaced D.Smith on the after the hour mark and his pace and direct running caused problems for the defence. With 15 minutes remaining the game was summed up with an unbelievable passage of play. First Hardy ran clean through on the left hand side but slotted the ball past the keeper and wide of the far post. Andrews broke up the other end and earned a corner where a header was missed from 2 yards out. Hardy then broke again down the right side and his effort was parried across goal for Jelly to tap into the empty net but he for some reason hammered his effort high and wide. Again Andrews broke up the other end and the striker slotted the ball past Smith in goal only for Worrad to superbly clear off the line. Town broke again and when Cossu took a throw-in to Hardy just inside the right hand side of the area, there looked nothing on until he tried the overhead kick that dipped over the keeper and underneath the crossbar for a spectacular winner. Andrews pushed hard in the last 10 minutes for an equaliser but Town stood strong for a massive win and a real confidence booster going into the final 3 games of the season.
