Draw ends Elgin promotion hopes
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ELGIN City's play-off hopes are over for the season, manager Gavin Price conceded after the 1-1 draw against Edinburgh.
City's home slip-up, combined with a last-minute winner for Stenhousemuir means the Black and Whites are three points below the top four having played two more games than Stenny.
Should the Warriors win at Berwick in midweek it will hammer the final nail in Elgin's promotion aspirations.
Elgin hit the woodwork three times and were denied by some great saves from the Edinburgh goalkeeper on Saturday.
In a late flurry sub Declan Byrne crashed a shot off the bar while Thomas Reilly's netbound drive was brilliantly turned on to the post by keeper Calum Antell.
“We could be sitting in here raving about a great strike from Declan or Thomas to put us 2-1 up,” Price said.
“That's how small the margins are in football.
“If we had scored one of those we would still be in touch with the play-offs but now I think it's too much.”
The Moray side got off to a great start with Shane Sutherland's superb volleyed goal from 20 yards with just three minutes on the clock.
Nathan Flanagan then hit a post and Darryl McHardy forced a good Antell save.
Edinburgh levelled with a free Gareth Rodger header from a corner on 50 minutes.
Elgin stepped up a gear in the later stages but Byrne was unlucky with a fierce drive off the bar just two minutes after coming on as sub.
Sutherland's overhead kick was clawed away by Antell, who then somehow got a hand to Reilly's last minute grounder to glance it on to the base of the post and wide.
Elgin's final two games could not be much harder, against the two teams pressing for the League 2 title.
They host second-placed Peterhead next Saturday, with the Blue Toon currently three points behind leaders Montrose, who host Elgin on the final day.
Elgin: Long, Eadie (Byrne 80), McDonald, McHardy, Bronsky, McGovern, Reilly, Cameron, McLeish, Sutherland, Flanagan. Subs: Ferguson, Smith, Whitehead, Scott, Thompson, Ross.
Att: 699
