Arbroath and Ross County played out a goalless draw at Gayfield on Saturday, a result that saw two Ross County players sent off and lifted the visitors off the bottom of the Championship table.
The point took Ross County off the foot of the table, while Arbroath remained seven points clear of fourth place. Falkirk manager John McGlynn, whose side has likely secured a top six spot and a Scottish Cup date at Hampden, watched the match from the hospitality suite.
McGlynn led Falkirk to two successive promotions, a feat Arbroath are seeking to repeat after winning League One last season and now sitting fourth in the Championship. Arbroath are co-managed by Colin Hamilton and David Gold.
The match produced two red cards for Ross County and an accusation of punching against an unnamed Arbroath player, made by County manager Stuart Kettlewell. There was no clearly crafted goalscoring chance in the game.
Fans make the trip to Gayfield
The lack of goals did not dampen the crowd's enthusiasm on a sunny Saturday at the ground. Among them were Keith Whitton, 65, who travels from his home in Carstairs, and Paddy Evans, 71, who takes the bus from Aberdeen. Both men have caravans on a site near the ground and make regular trips to matches.
Whitton said he was introduced to Arbroath by his father as a boy and loved the club. He said the team had gelled this season and that anything was possible.
Evans, once an Aberdeen fan, said he had a disabled daughter and that the town had lifted her after her accident. He said the place and the club were in his heart.
A club at the heart of the community
Tammy Stuart, community health and well-being co-ordinator at the club, said she first came to Gayfield at age 12 in 1988, from a low-income family with nowhere else to go. She said the players must have thought her annoying because she was always around, but that it was somewhere she felt at home.
Stuart said it was not until she got older that she realised how important that had been for her and how it had given her a sense of belonging. She said it was good to be able to come back and give back. Her work now includes organising men's and women's support groups, a women's recreational team, a drop-in cafe in the town and after-school clubs for children.
Dave Durno, a trustee of the Arbroath Community Trust and a former player who made his debut for the club in 1979, said the club was doing well on the field but also working hard off it. Durno, 64 and retired from full-time employment, said he wanted to spend much of his time helping at the club he came through as a boy.
Club's progress no fluke, says CEO
Paul Reid, chief executive officer of Arbroath and a former youth-level player at the club, said the progress on the field had not been down to fluke. Reid previously worked in the commercial department at Dundee United before returning to Gayfield as commercial manager and later becoming CEO.
Reid said the club had worked hard and brought in a good blend of players, with a brilliant dressing room and two managers doing more than was asked of them. He said the club had targeted a play-off spot last season and won the title instead, and had exceeded expectations again this season, having beaten every team in the Championship.
Reid said the club pulled in one direction, from players and managers to directors and fans, and that the next milestone was to secure a play-off spot. He said a place in the Premiership was still a long way off, adding that the club came close under Dick Campbell a couple of years ago, but that the approach remained one game at a time.
Managers react to the draw
Arbroath co-manager Colin Hamilton said the game had been there to be won and that his side had not done enough, calling it a disappointment. He said the club was absolutely ecstatic about how the season had gone, adding that Arbroath deserved their league position and that the players deserved credit when looking at the overall picture.
Hamilton said everybody at the club was working together and that they all gathered around each other. Ross County stayed organised and committed despite the red cards to hold Arbroath to the draw.
Scott Strachan, who tended to hospitality guests after the match, became known three years ago when his commentary reaction to an errant free-kick, "jeezy peeps," went viral. Strachan said the team was punching above its weight, that he would have taken survival at the start of the season, and that the managers had made great signings within a good club structure. He said he thought St Johnstone would win the league but that he believed a play-off place was realistic for Arbroath.
