Arbroath player-manager Paul Sheerin was delighted to see young guns Dayle Robertson,18, and Chris Scott, 17, grab the vital goals that gave the Red Lichties their first win since mid-October when coming from behind to defeat Stenhousemuir.
The result ended Arbroath’s 12-match run without a victory and the rousing reception the fans gave the Gayfield side at the end of the match was as much an expression of sheer relief as it was of unbridled joy.
Sheerin said: “Sometimes you throw the youngsters in and they play without fear. I’m absolutely delighted for the pair of them because we have been needing goals from somewhere.
“Overall, I am delighted and extremely relieved but we still have a lot of work to do. At least this result gets the monkey off our backs and hopefully we can build on it.”
The teenagers were the heroes but they will undoubtedly acknowledge the contribution played by experienced playmaker Bobby Linn, who was the architect of both goals, while the team as a whole showed the grit and determination which will be needed in the weeks ahead.
The Lichties made a positive start and, with the wind and rain at their backs, pegged Stenny back, with the visiting defenders finding it hard to cope with the pace of Linn and Alan Cook.
The Warriors stunned the hosts, however, by taking the lead with their first attack in the 12th minute when Darren Smith was allowed a clear run on goal and had the simple task of slotting the ball beyond Scott Morrison.
It took Arbroath just six minutes to get level, Linn breaking clear on the left and delivering a dangerous cross into the box, which youngster Chris Scott bulleted home from close range to claim his first senior goal.
Shortly afterwards Linn created another opportunity, this time for Ross Chisholm, but the midfielder clipped his shot into the hands of Chris Smith.
Sheerin then came within inches of giving the home side the lead with a ferocious 30 yarder, which crashed off the Stenny crossbar.
There was little to choose between the sides in the second period and the game looked destined to end in stalemate until Linn again did well to open up the Stenny defence and feed the ball to Robertson.
The teenager, who had only been on the field for five minutes after replacing Cook, turned brilliantly and fired powerfully beyond Smith to secure the points.