Brechin City had to show their character and determination once again yesterday afternoon as they came from behind with a numerical disadvantage to defeat Musselburgh Athletic 3-1 at the Carnegie Fuels Stadium at Glebe Park.

The victory makes it four consecutive league wins for Andy Kirk's side and moves City up to third place in the Lowland League East, with a game in hand over both Tranent and Broxburn Athletic above them.

It was a victory which once again highlighted the grit within this City squad. This was far from a straightforward afternoon with City falling behind in the first half and also being reduced to ten men shortly after the interval. Despite the setback, the players refused to let the game slip away and instead showed tremendous resilience to turn the match around and claim all three points.

With Darren Watson unavailable, Andy Kirk was forced into one change to the starting line-up with U20's player Alfie Joss coming into the side to make his first senior start for the club.

17-year old Alfie Joss made his first competitive start

Musselburgh started brightly and created the first opportunity after just four minutes. Nathan Evans managed to get a run in behind the City defence and found himself with an opening but his eventual strike was straight at Kyle Gourlay who saved comfortably.

City responded four minutes later when Greig Young intercepted a loose ball inside the Musselburgh half. Young moved forward before dinking a clever ball into the path of Cormac Christie but the resulting effort from the on-loan Rangers youngster lacked power and was comfortably dealt with by Musselburgh goalkeeper Daniel Laing.

The visitors would take the lead on 19 minutes. A corner floated in from the right-hand side wasn't dealt with by the City defence and the ball remained dangerous inside the penalty area. NATHAN EVANS reacted quickest to force the ball home from close range and put Musselburgh ahead.

City were determined to respond and began to create a number of openings as they looked for a way back into the game. Ryan Blair was the first to come close when he picked up possession around 20 yards from goal and unleashed a powerful strike which flashed narrowly wide.

Mitch Taylor then went close on the half-hour mark after collecting a pass from Fraser Macleod inside the Musselburgh box - he managed to create space for himself but dragged his effort wide of the near post.

On 34 minutes Dale Hilson slipped an excellent ball in behind the Musselburgh defence for Cormac Christie who directed a low strike towards the far corner, but the effort narrowly missed the post.

Four minutes before the break. Christie did brilliantly down the left-hand side before playing the ball inside for the advancing Greig Young. Young got his shot away, but the Musselburgh goalkeeper reacted quickly to deny him with his feet at the near post.

The equaliser finally arrived two minutes later. Ross Milne delivered an inviting cross into the penalty area which was palmed away by Laing but the ball rebounded off MITCH TAYLOR and into the back of the net. There was certainly an element of fortune about the goal, but City deserved to go into the interval level.

Mitch Taylor is congratulated by Dale Hilson following the equaliser

The second half began with City looking to build on the momentum they had created before the break. On 55 minutes, Mitch Taylor was fouled around 20 yards from goal and dusted himself down to take the resulting free-kick but his effort sailed just over the crossbar.

A minute later, however, the game took a dramatic turn. Musselburgh were awarded a penalty following a tussle inside the City box and in the aftermath of the incident, Brad McKay was shown a straight red card for retaliation. Suddenly, City were facing the prospect of going behind and playing the majority of the second half with ten men.

Craig Stevenson stepped forward to take the penalty but thankfully for City, Stevenson blasted his spot-kick over the crossbar. It was a huge let-off for the home side and one which would ultimately prove to be a major turning point in the contest.

Craig Stevenson blazes his penalty over the bar

Despite being reduced to ten men, City refused to retreat into their shell. The players continued to work tirelessly and Dale Hilson was the next to threaten on 65 minutes when he connected with a volley, but his effort was well over.

Five minutes later, City again threatened from a set piece. Ryan Blair delivered a dangerous corner which was flicked on by Hilson into a threatening area but the Musselburgh defence managed to clear before City could get a decisive touch on the ball.

City had introduced Euan Hamilton to the action as he replaced Cormac Christie and on 72 minutes, Hamilton produced a superb lung-busting run down the right-hand side, driving forward before cutting inside and forcing Laing into a save at his near post.

A minute later, Greig Young connected with a volley inside the Musselburgh penalty area but the effort took a deflection and looped over the crossbar as City continued to threaten despite their numerical disadvantage.

With 79 minutes on the click, City got their noses in front. Once again there was an element of fortune about the goal but MITCH TAYLOR deserved the reward for his tireless work throughout the afternoon. Taylor relentlessly closed down the Musselburgh goalkeeper as he attempted to clear the ball and the clearance cannoned back off the City winger and into the empty net.

Musselburgh pushed forward during the closing stages in search of an equaliser and almost found one on 88 minutes. Goalscorer Nathan Evans found space just inside the City penalty area and sent a low strike towards the bottom corner but thankfully for City the effort went narrowly wide.

The visitors continued to commit players forward, leaving spaces for City to exploit and as the game approached stoppage time the home side were awarded a penalty of their own. Fraser Macleod was brought down inside the box by Zacharry Khan and referee Robert Bowie pointed to the spot.

DALE HILSON stepped up with the opportunity to put the result beyond doubt and made absolutely no mistake, blasting the penalty high into the corner of the net to seal the 3 points for City.

Dale Hilson celebrates sealing the win for City

This perhaps wasn't a vintage performance in terms of the quality of football, but ultimately the most important thing was the three points and there can be no questioning the effort and determination shown by the players.

Next weekend brings a free Saturday which will also provide some of City's injured players with further valuable time to recover and hopefully move closer to a return to first-team action.

City's next fixture will see them travel to Dundee to take on Lochee United in a fortnights time.