Albion Rovers' 120-year stay in the senior ranks is over after Lowland League champions Spartans took their place in League Two for next season.
The sides were tied at 1-1 after a tense first leg of the pyramid-playoff final, but Dougie Samuel's Spartans put 10-man Wee Rovers to the sword in today's second leg, courtesy of Blair Henderson's controversial first half penalty.
Kyle Fleming was judged to have knocked Jordan Tapping to the ground in the box and with nobody in the visitors' ranks claiming for a penalty, referee Matthew MacDermid pointed to the spot and former Annan strike Henderson sent the Edinburgh side into the SPFL for the first time in their 72-year history.
Rovers' misery was compounded 13 minutes from time when Blair Malcolm saw red for catching Spartans' Rhys Armstrong.
Spartans, who have won the Lowland League on three occasions, can now look forward to SPFL football at Ainslie Park after becoming the fifth team to win promotion through the pyramid play-offs, following Edinburgh City, Cove Rangers, Kelty Hearts and Bonnyrigg Rose.
For Rovers, they follow East Stirlingshire, Berwick Rangers, Cowdenbeath and Brechin City in falling through the trap door since it came into force in 2014.
It was a sell-out clash at Cliftonhill and plenty punters opted to climb the walls and fencing of the old stadium to catch a glimpse of a vital clash in both teams' history.
Rovers made one change from last week's first leg draw as Dundee loanee Euan Mutalke was ruled out through injury and Scott Roberts came into the starting 11. Spartans also made a single alteration as Kieran Watson replaced Harvey Swann in defence.
The first chance of the game fell to Rovers in nine minutes when Adam Fernie's long-throw fell perfectly for Charlie Reilly inside the box. He caught the ball cleanly on the volley but his effort was straight at Blair Carsewell and Spartans breathed a sigh of relief.
With 16 minutes on the clock, Spartans took the lead. A corner kick caused problems for Rovers in the box and when Spartans' Jordan Tapping went down under Fleming's challenge, referee Matthew MacDermid showed no hesitation in pointing to the spot, when nobody was really looking for a penalty.
Blair Henderson stepped up and the ex-Annan striker coolly sent Jack Leighfield the wrong way, stroking the ball into the far corner to give Rovers an uphill battle.
Rovers went looking for an equaliser and Joe Bevan cut into the box and fired at goal, only for his effort to deflect over the bar for a corner, which came to nothing.
Spartans were content to sit in and try and catch Rovers on the counter and Cammy Russell might have done better two minutes later when he got in behind and hit a tame effort straight at Leighfield.
The visitors' advantage silenced the home support and frustration was setting in amongst the players on the pitch as passes went astray. Star men Charlie Reilly and Joe Bevan couldn't work their way into the game and Spartans went into the interval looking comfortable.
In the second half, Rovers continued to go long and Spartans continued to mop things up.
And Spartans should have sealed the tie in 61 minutes when a great move down the left from the visitors cut Rovers open. Rhys Armstrong latched on to a backheel and he put the ball on a plate for Henderson 10 yards out, but he blazed his strike over the top and onto Coatbridge Main Street.
Rovers were looking for a penalty of their own in 69 minutes when Bevan got in front of the ball inside the box and went down under pressure, but their claims were waved away.
In 73 minutes Bevan looked to curl a strike into the top corner from 20 yards and Carswell made a fine save to turn the ball behind.
Rovers' hopes of pulling off a comeback were made even tougher in 77 minutes when Blair Malcolm saw red following a clash with Spartans' Armsytrong. The defender appeared to catch the Spartans man as he lay on the turf and he was sent for an early bath.
Within moments, though, Rovers had a huge opportunity to equalise when Bevan honed in on goal and saw his initial effort saved by Carswell and then fired the rebound inches over the crossbar from a tight angle.
But that was their last chance and it is Spartans who are celebrating going into the summer as Rovers face up to life in the fifth tier.
ALBION ROVERS: Leighfield, Fernie, Graham, Sonkur, Wilson, Leslie, Fleming (Dolan 63), Malcolm, Bevan, Roberts (Paton 57), Reilly.
Scorers:
Bookings: Fernie, Leslie
Sent off: Malcolm
Subs not used: McColl, Smith, Wright, McCulloch.
SPARTANS: Carswell, Allan (Swann 72), Waugh, Tapping, Watson, Dishington, Whyte, Jones (Herd 80), Russell, Armstrong (Morrison 78), Henderson.
Scorers: Henderson 16
Bookings:
Subs not used: Pinker, McFarland, Brown, Woods, A Brown, Meek.
HT: 0-1
Ref: Matthew MacDermid
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