The Rothesay men made light of a depleted squad, with late call-offs, injuries and suspensions reducing the travelling party to just 12 players, and moved level on points with league leaders Cambusbarron Rovers thanks to a penalty from captain Neil Whitelaw and a late clincher by Stuart Brady.

The visitors started this crucial game on a very soft pitch and in the teeth of a gusting wind which reached gale force at times, and in the knowledge that Gartcosh, Scottish Amateur Cup finalists in 2005, would try to make use of the breeze with high balls into the Rothesay penalty area at every opportunity.

But with James Dunn rock solid in goal and the back four more than holding their own against the big Gartcosh strikers, the Danes soon settled and began to make inroads into the home defence by keeping the ball on the ground.

Seven minutes in a good free kick from Stuart McKechnie found Brady, who was unlucky to see his header go just the wrong side of the upright, and Brady came close again five minutes later with a shot which was punched clear by the Gartcosh keeper; from the half-cleared rebound Troy McKerrell fired just over the bar from 25 yards out with the keeper beaten.

Despite seeing more of the ball the Rothesay men had to be careful not to give away possession, knowing that every loose ball would be hoisted straight towards their goal, and Dunn brought off good saves to thwart two rare Gartcosh attacks.

The visitors thought they'd scored on 20 minutes when the ball was hammered into the Gartcosh net, only for referee Park to disallow the goal for offside, but the Danes' pressure was rewarded in 29 minutes when Whitelaw was bundled off the ball inside the box as he tried to get on the end of a McKerrell throw, and the skipper dusted himself down and made no mistake with the resulting penalty.

The Danes were having so much of the game that they were able to play three men up front, with Wes Pattison and McKerrell making good runs down the wings and Brady in the centre giving the Gartcosh number five all sorts of problems with his quick movement off the ball.

When the hosts did gain possession they stuck to their tactic of firing high balls into the visitors' penalty area, but Dunn was collecting everything he came for, and with Gary McGregor winning the aerial duel against the big Gartcosh striker Justin Tait and Joe McMillan were able to break forward, with Alan Poole staying back in support.

In the midfield Iain Livingstone and McKechnie stayed solid, giving nothing away and allowing Whitelaw up in support of the front-runners, and right on half time the Danes came agonisingly close to a second when McKerrell spotted McKechnie in space just outside the Gartcosh penalty area and only a brilliant save by the home keeper denied the midfielder.

The wind died down as the second half began and Gartcosh tried to take the game to Rothesay, enjoying their best spell of the game in the first 15 minutes of the second period and refusing to allow the visitors time to settle.

But the Danes survived unscathed and by the hour mark were beginning to see more of the ball, McKerrell floating a nice ball into the Gartcosh defence for Pattison to head just wide of the mark.

A rare Gartcosh threat saw a free kick 35 yards out swung high into the Danes' box, but Dunn took no chances and punched the ball clear for Poole to set up McKerrell for a quick counter-attack; the Danes forward was hauled down 20 yards from goal and McKechnie brought another good save out of the on-form Gartcosh keeper from the free kick.

Both teams began to feel the effects of the heavy surface as the game entered the final quarter, but the visitors had a narrow escape when a quick Gartcosh break upfield set up a shot from the edge of the area which just clipped the crossbar on its way over.

McKerrell's ever-present threat saw him pulled down for the fifth or sixth time in the game some 35 yards from goal, and McKechnie was again denied by another excellent save by the Gartcosh keeper from the free kick.

Assistant manager Ian McMillan sent on the Danes' one and only substitute, Thomas McCready, for Justin Tait on 78 minutes, but the change didn't interrupt the visitors' rhythm, and just four minutes later they got the second goal their performance so richly deserved when a fine team move, beginning in their own penalty area and featuring Livingstone, McKerrell and Pattison in turn, set up Stuart Brady who hammered the ball home from the edge of the area to tie up the points.

This was unquestionably a great result for a depleted Brandanes team who never gave up and ran themselves into the ground in pursuit of the points. Credit to Gartcosh also for making it a good advert for the amateur game, particularly in view of the poor underfoot conditions which made tackling awkward.

Referee Derek Park had a good match and showed a rare expertise of the advantage rule, making it a good game to watch as well as a vital three points for the Rothesay side.

Team: Dunn, Tait (McCready), J. McMillan, McGregor, Poole, Livingstone, N. Whitelaw, McKechnie, McKerrell, Brady, Pattison.

Saturday's victory was made doubly sweet for the Brandanes when news filtered through afterwards that league leaders Cambusbarron had dropped points in a 1-1 draw away to Weir Recreation.

The two teams are now tied at the top of the table on 22 points, and though the Stirling outfit have a better goal difference they have also played one game more than their Rothesay rivals.

The major threat to both sides, though, still looks likely to come from third placed Westerlands, who were inactive once again on Saturday and now find themselves six points adrift of the top two, but with five games in hand on Rothesay and six on Cambusbarron.

The Brandanes' promotion bid continues this Saturday, April 5, with the team's penultimate home match of the season against Muirend Amateurs. Kick-off at the stadium in High Street is at 2.30pm.