Second Division Albion Rovers played down their impressive 4-0 home win over Arbroath last weekend with Manager Todd Lumsden out to ensure that not too much is said until his side can achieve such results on a consistent basis. However, it looks like their striker David Crawford is shouting out that he has arrived as a player on the SFL stage.
The 20-year-old started his career off at SPL Hibernian and has played for both Ayr United and Brechin City in Scotland’s third tier on loan, scoring once for those three clubs however, after finding the net five times in his last four games, Crawford is showing the riches that a consistent run of games can bring.
Last month the attacker grabbed a double in the 4-4 draw with Stenhousemuir before netting a penalty in a 4-2 defeat by Forfar Athletic before grabbing the brace in Saturday’s success over the Red Lichties.
“You could certainly say my move to Albion Rovers has gone well,” said Crawford before adding, “It is great that I have managed to grab some goals and the team has grabbed some decent results. Five goals in four games is pretty good going especially as I thought I had been playing well. It is certainly good to add goals to my game.
“My only other goal came when I was on loan at Ayr, ironically against Brechin back in April, 2011 however, this is my first serious run in a senior team and the confidence I am getting from that is helping me score the goals I have.”
Crawford talked through the steps in his career saying: “I started off at Hibs as a 15-year-old after being spotted playing locally in Airdrie. I had a loan spell at Ayr to get a taste of first team experience and helped them get into the Play-Offs in May, 2011 and they were promoted by beating Forfar and Brechin at the end of my spell there.
“I started off last season in amongst the Hibs first team when Colin Calderwood was the Manager and he gave me three first team outings. I made my Hibs debut against Celtic at Easter Road and then also played against Inverness Caledonian Thistle and Berwick Rangers. I did not feature much after that so I went out to Brechin on loan.”
The now 20-year-old ended up staying at Brechin for longer than he had anticipated as he explained: “I went there on loan but not long after that, Pat Fenlon came in to replace Colin and decided that I was no longer needed at Hibs so I was free to leave in the January.
“Due to the Rules about only playing for two clubs in the one season, the only way I could get to play football was to join Brechin on a permanent basis and that is what I did. It was actually a disappointing move as I did not feature much and I never got on the scoresheet for them and the majority of my appearances were as a substitute."
Crawford left Glebe Park in the summer and Lumsden convinced him that coming to Coatbridge would be a good move as he explained: “I had been in at a couple of clubs on trial but not a lot was being said about signing. Todd phoned me and told me that he wanted me at the Rovers so I agreed to join them. After a period of uncertainty, it was good to hear that I was wanted there.
“I knew a wee bit about them and I was aware that they have achieved a lot due to the fantastic spirit that they have. There were a few changes during the summer but that spirit is still there and the boys are very much together as a group. There is some great banter amongst everyone but there are good players here and when everyone comes together, we are a good team.”
It would be fair to say that everyone came together last Saturday as the Red Lichties were seen off 4-0 with Crawford saying: “It was a really good display against Arbroath and I probably could have scored three or four times rather than just the twice. To beat a team that was nine points ahead of us 4-0 says a lot about the quality of the performance.
“I opened the scoring in the first half when I cut in from the right wing and got past a couple of defenders and my second was a tap-in right at the end of the game.”
Steven Howarth added a second for the Rovers with 18 minutes left and when just five minutes later referee Barry Cook pointed to the spot, Crawford was first to grab hold of the ball to take the penalty.
Team-mate Tony Stevenson always wanted to take it and Manager Lumsden had to intervene with Crawford saying: “I wanted to take the penalty but Tony was having none of it. I had scored one at Forfar a few weeks ago but Tony is usually the penalty taker and the Manager told me to give the ball to him. It was fair to say that I was far from pleased.
Crawford then joked: "In fact, I probably would not have spoken to them after the game had I not scored our fourth goal but I did and we all remained pals!”
With three points in the bag and everyone on speaking terms, Crawford was happy to discuss what his targets were for the season as he said: “First of all, I want to keep playing regularly as that has undoubtedly helped me to play well. I have scored five goals now so I am half way towards the target I set myself at the start of the season of ten. Hopefully, I will be able to increase that target if I keep this good run going.
“The Manager has not set us any specific targets for the season as he tends to break everything down into three game sequences. He will say that we are targeting six points or seven points from a set of games and then we will work towards doing that. The Second Division is very tight so it is perhaps best not to think too far ahead.”
This weekend it is a trip to Alloa and a chance for the Rovers to show their improvement this season as the last meeting between the sides saw The Wasps canter to a 3-0 win at Cliftonhill.
Crawford said: “That was one of my first games for Rovers and it was a disappointing one. I was only a substitute in that game as I had only just joined so playing Alloa again is a good one for both the team and I to show the progress we have made this season.”
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