Only a minor miracle of mathematics now stands between the Rothesay men and their place in the top two of the Caledonian League second division after a tumultuous afternoon which saw the hosts secure the win they needed from their final fixture - despite being forced to play the last 20 minutes without a recognised goalkeeper, and the final ten with only eight outfield players on the park.

The only team with a remote, outside chance of standing between the Brandanes and promotion is Stirling University, but the students must win all three of their games in hand to even equal the Danes' points total - and since two of those are against in-form Westerlands, who moved to the top of the table this week with a pair of comfortable away wins, the Glasgow club, having lost just once all season, must be huge favourites to finally seal the Danes' promotion place.

A good crowd turned out at the High Street stadium for a match which was to all intents and purposes a cup final, with promotion the prize for the winner - and once again the Rothesay players' superior fitness and footballing skills triumphed on a dramatic 90 minutes which featured three red cards, frayed tempers, plenty of scoring opportunities and lots more action besides.

Playing up the slope in the first half, it was the Danes who carved out the first chance of the day, Harper heading over a McKechnie cross in the tenth minute, while at the other end home keeper James Dunn held on to a good strike from the Cambusbarron number ten as both sides began in positive mood.

A lack of power prevented Stuart Brady troubling the Rovers keeper after good work by Neil Whitelaw in the 20th minute, but Cambusbarron were determined to impose themselves on the hosts, and Dunn received a kick on the leg from the visitors' number nine as he went up for a corner kick.

But the Danes defence soon got to grips with their opponents, with Gary McGregor winning everything against the burly number nine and John Morrison calming things down and allowing Joe McMillan and David Whitelaw to push up in support of the midfield.

And with Pattison and Troy McKerrell having the edge on their markers out on the flanks, gaps began to appear in the middle of the Rovers defence, and Neil Whitelaw saw a shot well held by the visitors' keeper before younger brother David got in a great shot which just touched the bar on the way over.

The visitors' defence wasn't afraid to give away a few free kicks, and though most were too far from goal to cause any serious bother, McKechnie twice forced the Rovers keeper into action with accurate strikes from distance as half time approached.

At the other end Cambusbarron finished the half with a little flurry, though Dunn was handling everything that came his way with total confidence, despite struggling to shake off the leg knock he had picked up earlier in the game.

Neither team was able to break the deadlock before the break, but with the hosts looking forward to playing down the slope after the break and a few Cambusbarron defenders apparently struggling to cope with the pace of the game, the home support remained optimistic as the second half began.

And that optimism turned to outright celebration just five minutes after the break when a fine move from the back saw the ball played to Harper in space, and the Danes striker needed no second invitation to turn and hammer the ball past the Rovers keeper and into the net.

The loss of a goal seemed to shock the visitors into action, but rather than try to play their way back into the game Rovers instead went for the physical approach. Tackles aplenty were soon flying in - many were over the top and should have been penalised, but referee Martin, whose lenient approach had so aggravated the locals in their home win over Muirend three weeks before, again seemed reluctant to nip the problem in the bud.

McKechnie came agonisingly close to adding a second for Danes with a free kick on 55 minutes which beat the Rovers keeper all ends up but again glanced off the top of the crossbar and went out for a goal kick.

Cambusbarron were nonetheless capable of playing football, with the visitors' number six at the heart of everything for his team, but all they had to show for their efforts in the early stages of the half was a couple of corner kicks, both well cleared by a confident Danes defence.

Another free kick on 65 minutes saw the ball played to McMillan, who shot only inches past the visitors' upright; by now Rothesay players were being chopped down left, right and centre, and the prospect of someone suffering a serious injury became ever greater.

But the hosts' worried frowns turned once again to smiles on 70 minutes when McKerrell was pulled down for the second time in two minutes, and though McKechnie's first effort was cleared, with his second attempt he thumped a cracking drive into the corner of the net for the Danes' second goal.

Two minutes later, though, came the first sign that all might not be plain sailing for the hosts when a ball broke loose inside the Rothesay area and Cambusbarron's number nine got a foot to the ball to prod it over the line; Dunn went to retrieve the ball from the net, but as he did so the goalscorer thumped him, and the Danes keeper responded, resulting in both players being shown the red card.

With no substitute keeper on the bench, David Whitelaw took over between the sticks for the last 20 minutes - and though Rovers, as expected, began firing high balls into the hosts' penalty area at every opportunity, a confident-looking Whitelaw held on to everything that came his way.

But things threatened to turn very sour with 11 minutes left when Brady became the second Brandanes player to be sent off for squaring up to a Cambusbarron defender in sheer frustration after being chopped down for the umpteenth time in the game.

At that moment things could easily have got completely out of hand, with players, officials and even spectators all threatening to get involved in the rammy which followed the red card - though it was hard to escape the conclusion that it could all have been avoided by a less lenient approach from the referee throughout the game.

With order finally restored, it looked like the closing stages would be a backs-against-the-wall affair for the Brandanes, with a defender in goal and only eight outfield players in front of him against a Cambusbarron side which knew a draw would be enough to steal the promotion spot away from the Rothesay side.

But what a performance the nine remaining Danes players put in - Livingstone came on to give the team some fresh legs, and the short-handed team more than held their own against the Cambusbarron onslaught.

With the possibility of four or five minutes of injury time, there were fingernails being bitten down to the quick all around the ground until, deep into stoppage time, the hosts capped a great day when a superb passing move involving half the team set up Wes Pattison, who kept his head and put the ball away in clinical style to seal the win, and the points, and almost certainly promotion, and to spark wild celebrations among his team-mates and the large and loud home support.

Team: Dunn, J. McMillan, Morrison, McGregor, D. Whitelaw, Harper, N. Whitelaw, McKechnie, McKerrell, Brady, Pattison. Substitutes - Livingstone, McCready, Tait, Guy, Poole.

All the Brandanes' results for the season are documented at the team's website - www.webteams.co.uk/brandanes - where details of all the season's remaining fixtures can also be found.

The arithmetic confirming the Brandanes' promotion beyond all statistical doubt could fall into place as early as this Wednesday evening, when Stirling University take on Rhu Amateurs.

As stated above, the Stirling students must win all three of their games in hand to even tie with the Brandanes, and they'll have to win them by a combined margin of at least 12 goals to boot. Results and fixtures at www.scottishamateurfa.co.uk.