 Div 1
League Match
Reviews
by Steve (COV)
Headlines
68 goals scored, down on the last couple of weeks, but still more than divisions 2 or 3. Six points each for St.Johnstone, Aberdeen, Inverness, Albion Rovers and Livingston.
Match 23
Aberdeen 3 Fraserburgh 0
These two team started the day in fourth and fifth respectively. Aberdeen had a stronger line-up, with no player below level 20, whereas Fraserburgh had five teen-levelled players. The only real surprise is that Aberdeen were only one up at half time, thanks to a Jamie McGrath goal. When the second half started, Fraserburgh brought on a sixth teen-levelled player, plus two who didn’t even make double figures. Five minutes later they were three goals down, Jamie McGrath scoring his second, and Shaun Batty getting the third. Aberdeen go back into second place.
Clyde FC 2 Hearts 7
Both teams fielded one player with single-digit SL, for Hearts it was their goalkeeper. Happily they got twice as many shots as Clyde, so reached the interval with the score at two-all, at which point Zander Clark came on to keep goal in place of twice-beaten Craig Gordon. The second half was all one-way traffic, five more goals for Hearts, while at the other end, Clark wasn’t even called upon to make a save.
Arbroath 2 Livingston 6
Arbroath were another team fielding a goalkeeper with single-digit SL. Angus Gunn was soon beaten by Joel Nouble as Livingston took an early lead. Then Graeme Souness took over the goal-scoring, his hat-trick took the score to four-nil before Ryan Dow pulled one back for Arbroath. No Salad scored Livingston’s fifth goal, Pat McClements scored a second for Arbroath, the final say went to Nouble with his second goal, and Hearts’ sixth.
Albion Rovers 4 Rangers 0
Rangers attempted to cover for the fact that they were at less than full strength by bringing some aggression to this match. Despite that Devante Adams escaped the attention of the visiting defenders to score the opening goal for Albion Rovers, and Jim Jeffries added a second before the interval. Rangers’ style of play came back to bite them when Borna Barisic was injured. Second-half goals from Hunter Renfrow and Devante Adams (again) took the score to four-nil. Albion overtake Rangers in the league.
Alloa Athletic 0 St.Johnstone 4
This was pretty much Alloa’s reserve team playing here. Their passive stall tactics kept St. Johnstone out for all of 120 seconds, before Steve Wilson’s superb solo effort gave the visitors the lead in the third minute. Surprisingly, that was the only shot the visitors had until Ally McCoist came on at half time in place of Milo. McCoist made an immediate impact with the second goal, Maksym Kucheryavyi and Tonton Zola Moukoko taking the total to four before the second half was ten minutes old. St.Johnstone increase their lead at the top to six points.
Celtic 0 Raith Rovers 0
Celtic will be delighted at securing a draw while giving experience to youngsters Kuhn and Idah, although a single point does nothing for their league position. Raith Rovers will not be at all happy with a single point, it means they lose second place in the league, they really would have expected to do better here.
Edinburgh 1 Motherwell 2
The goals came from Alan Forrest (Motherwell), Elie Youan (Edinburgh), and Evan Washington’s winner for Motherwell. The no-nonsense referee handed out four yellow cards, three of them to Edinburgh players. Far worse news for them is the serious injury to goalkeeper Peter Shilton. Although it came too late in the game to make a difference to this result, it means their physios will be working overtime, as will Gordon Banks, until Shilton is fit again.
Greenock 0 Inverness 1
Tapani Olkku responded to last week’s criticism, and abandoned Greenock’s customary stall tactics this week. He was unlucky here as the result could have gone either way. Greenock had the balance of the play in the first half, Inverness in the second half, and it was substitute Scott Allardyce for the visitors who struck an almost unstoppable shot for the only goal of the game.
Match 24
Clyde FC 1 Aberdeen 3
Aberdeen’s gamble of playing second-choice Petri Kolari in goal paid off, as Clyde could only manage a single shot on goal all game, compared to seven for their opponents. Alexis Sanchez easily beat Kolari with Clyde’s only chance, but before that, Euan Cameron had given Aberdeen a two-goal cushion. The disparity in scoring opportunities is more surprising considering that Aberdeen’s shot% only exceeded Clyde’s for the last two minutes of the game, after they were forced to bring on Martin Stephenson in place of Bojan Movski. Joe Miller sealed the match with Aberdeen’s third goal.
Fraserburgh 4 Arbroath 6
Fraserburgh can consider themselves unlucky here. They were far from outclassed and contributed to an exciting game, yet after 35 minutes they found themselves five-three down. Then they lost Cancelo to an injury, and he was replaced by the barely-fit Inaki Pena. With the enforced substitution, they never looked like recovering the deficit. Another goal for each team took the final score to four-six.
Hearts 1 Albion Rovers 2
Josh Jacobs gave Albion Rovers an early lead, but Hearts didn’t have to wait long for Jorge Grant’s equaliser. When Craig Gordon was beaten a second time, this time by Devante Adams, Hearts could wait no longer before replacing him with Zander Clark. Simultaneously they took off defender Dave McPherson in favour of winger Hector Gorgie to give their attack more bite. Albion’s half-time substitutions only served to increase their opponents’ advantage still further. But despite a frenetic work-rate by the home side in the second half, they could not find a way back into the game.
Livingston 2 Alloa Athletic 0
There’s no doubt who was the happier of the two manager’s after this game. Two wins today for Livingston when they had managed only two wins from the previous twelve games will delight John McCarthy. They’re still in the relegation zone, but are in a much better situation than at the start of the day. Alloa’s Steve Turner expressed his disappointment in the post-match interview: an early injury, two yellow cards, and no goals despite almost matching Livingston shot for shot.
Rangers 4 Celtic 2
Todd Cantwell scored an early goal for Rangers. Hyeongyu Oh’s equaliser for Celtic came against the run of play, then Cyriel Dessers re-established Rangers’ lead shortly before being substituted. Borna Borisic wasn’t the best choice as one of Rangers’ substitutes as he had suffered an injury in the 3pm match. Potential disaster for the home side came when Connor Goldson was injured and, having already used all three subs, they were down to ten men. Hyeongyu Oh took advantage a few minutes later with his second equaliser. Celtic were close to matching their opponents in strength now, but Rangers finally got the luck that had eluded them earlier in the match. Two Danilo goals made the score four-two, and gave them all three points.
St.Johnstone 2 Edinburgh 0
With only three shots, this was not the most exciting game by St.Johnstone’s recent standards, but once Franz Beckenbauer had opened the scoring, the result was hardly in doubt. Even against Elliot Parish in the home goal, Edinburgh never looked like scoring. Tonton Zola Moukoko scored the second goal as St.Johnstone secure their eleventh win of the year.
Raith Rovers 5 Greenock Morton 0
Antti Niemi had another nightmare here, unable to stop a single shot. Luther Blissett scored twice in the opening ten minutes. When Rhys Healey scored a third goal for Raith, Greenock switched to stall, but nonetheless Joseph Hungbo scored Raith’s fourth, and Blissett got his third goal of the game to take the score to five-nil. At that point the game was less than half an hour old, but to Niemi’s great relief the shots stopped coming.
Motherwell 0 Inverness 4
Motherwell’s manager showed great restraint by keeping his mouth shut after this game, as it left him with plenty to complain about. Starting with the poor back-pass that gave the ball to Roddy McGregor who happily scored the first goal for Inverness. Then the assistant referee failed to flag an obvious offside as Austin Samuels scored their second. A goalkeeping error by David Noonan let Shane Sutherland in for the third, and an incomplete clearance by Preston Caulfield gave the ball to Ally McCoist for the fourth and final goal.
 | |  Div 2
League Match
Reviews
by David (HIB)
Match 23
HEADLINES: Accies still motoring on, and Ayr surprise Stennie!!
Game of the Session!!
Ayr United 1-1 Stenhousemuir
Ayr still look for their 1st win in the league but they came close here against 2nd top Stenhousemuir. They restricted their visitors to one shot on target in the whole game, whilst creating 3 of their own. However with 14 minutes to play it looked like another no scoring draw, but at that point Souttar lost the ball to Brazil who lobbed the ball over for Mooy to head home and give the away side an undeserved lead. However justice was served with 3 minutes left on the clock when Sludden took off from the half way line and didn’t stop till he had tucked the ball beyond Norway in the Stennie goal. For that moment of brilliance he earned the MOM award.
Clydebank 0-0 Hibernian
A dull static game where both teams cancelled each other out. Probably a better result for the visitors, but as both teams only created a shot each, both capably saved by Moore and Farm respectively, a draw was the correct result.
Cowdenbeath 4-0 Falkirk
4th played 7th here and after this convincing home win, the positions are 3rd against 7th. With the Bairns going for a full game stall there was only going to be one winner – Beath are a free scoring side even when facing opposition who turn up to compete. A brace from Brown and a single from Woods gave the home supporters a half time with a 3 goal lead. Woods opened in the 7th minute only for Brown to add the 2nd two minutes later. Brown gained his second on 20 minutes and the only 2nd half goal arrived from Woods 3 minutes after the restart. Gunn in the Falkirk goals saved 4 shots but couldn’t stop the flood.
Elgin City 0-5 Hamilton Accies
Another one sided game where a stalling Elgin side met a top of the table Accies side who played for the first 30 minutes on Press. This tactic played out very well for them as they grabbed a 3 goal lead through a brace from Brodkin (4 & 5) and Hamilton (25). Hamilton then was red carded with 10 minutes of the half to go for an illegal hand ball. However this didn’t stop the one way procession towards the City goals, and second half strikes from Latona (48) and Stephenson (72) cemented the Accies at the top of the division and the team to beat.
Airdrieonians 0-3 Dumbarton
The home side, after their heroics midweek in the CECIL Cup and reaching the Final, decided to stall in this one. The Sons took full advantage and created all the on target shots (7 of them). Johnson in the home goals saved 4 of them but couldn’t keep out the other 3 with the 2nd string defence in front of him. However the scoreline remained at 0-0 till the 56th minute when Crowley scored the first of his 2 goals. Watson added the 2nd 4 minutes later and Crowley completed the total in the final minute. An easy win for Dumbarton who continue to climb into the promotion race.
Cove Rangers 1-4 Stranraer
Rivers in the Stranraer goals would normally have picked up the MOM award with his 5 saves, but on this occasion he was usurped by Carbon who netted a hat trick – a result which keeps Cove in the relegation zone and moves the Stair park side up a notch. Spare a thought for the wee Rangers as they actually outshot their opponents but found Rivers on top form. By the time he was beaten, by Milnes in the 68th minute, the score was already 0-3, and Carbon 2 minutes later headed in a cross to finish the scoring, restore the 3 goal lead, and pick up the MOM award. Carbon’s 38th minute strike was the only goal before the interval, and Duff (51) and Carbon (54) made it 3 before the 2 later goals.
Dundee 7-1 Nairn County
18 on target shots here in this high scoring battle. County played their part in the festivities, forcing Carson in the home goal to make 5 saves. But DEE were on a scoring mood and created 12-6 shots, and despite MacLean saving 5 of these shots, the remaining 7 shot past him at regular intervals. Nairn actually opened the scoring on 4 minutes when Armstrong finished off a Young header, but that lead lasted only 2 minutes before Borucz headed in the equaliser. The home side were ruthless after that and a 5 goal burst from Boateng (18), Robertson (24 & 37), Adam (32) and Camperdown (36) put the game to bed by the half time whistle. Mulligan’s 55th minute counter proved to be the second half’s only goal. Both teams move one place but although DEE move up to 9th, Nairn drop to 4th.
Annan Athletic 0-0 St Mirren
Side (Annan) gained yet another MOM award for his 3 saves as a stalling home side gave the park over to a Saints side keen to move up the division. At half time both sides made substitutions that lowered their attacking chances, as though both settled in for a point, rather than go for all 3.
Session 24
HEADLINES: Accies lose a thriller at Nairn!!
Game of the Day!!
Nairn County 3-1 Hamilton Accies
Nairn bounced back from a 7-1 hammering at Dundee to give league leaders Hamilton a loss today. To be fair Accies did enough and created enough shots to get at least a point, but the difference lay in the keepers. Munro in the home goal saved 2 of the 3 shots he faced whilst rookie keeper Smith in the away goals played 45 minutes and shipped in 2 goals. 19 minutes in and a cross from the left was nodded home by Robeston in the 6 yard box - then some wing wizardry from Wright allowed him space to cross for Rice (MOM) to sweep the ball home. Accies swopped keepers at the break and within 5 minutes were back in the game through a lovely strike from Stephenson. However just after the hour mark Kiwior did the spadework to allow Rice to claim his 2nd and the game settler. Accies are still top but only by 2 points over Stenhousemuir, Nairn stay 4th but very much in contention at the top.
Stenhousemuir 2-0 Dundee
2nd placed Stennie opened with a cagey 532O but very quickly discovered DEE had started with a rookie in goal, Gadhzalov. Mooy (10) and Brazil (25) popped in goals at which point DEE withdrew their 2 forwards to bolster up the defence. This had the effect of stifling Stennie’s attack, but did little to give themselves a chance of a point. The home team pull up on Hamilton with the win – DEE drop 2 places to 10th.
Cowdenbeath 5-0 Airdrieonians
Airdrieonians stalled for the 2nd match in a row and suffered another loss. Understandable as they prepare for the CECIL Cup Final on Wednesday, but the 2 losses have put them in touch with the relegation zone teams. Beath had an easy time again today and racked up 5 without loss. Moltisanti got them off to a great start with a double in the 23rd and 27th minutes, and Montgomerie added a 3rd in the 31st minute. There was no let up in the 2nd half and Brown (54) and Woods (90) put a better look on the scoreboard as befits the shots created. Beath stay 3rd but 3 points closer to Hamilton at the top, and Airdrie are 13th.
Hibernian 2-1 Ayr United
A real scare for the Easter Road men as Ayr continue to seek out their first win in the league. No score at the break, the Honest men took the lead through Brydon 10 minutes after the restart, and had a penalty 4 minutes later after Milloy fouled Willock in the box. He was promptly send off but Wollacott kept the home team in the game by saving Willock’s kick. This gave the home side some impetus and on 68 minutes Doidge (MOM award) headed in a Preston cross. 4 minutes later James headed home the winner from a Bagan cross. There was time for rookie sweeper Marinello to put in a last gasp tackle to deny Willock a late chance of an equaliser.
Stranraer 3-1 Elgin City
Carbon earned his 2nd MOM award of the day by scoring 2 of the home team’s 3 goals in a convincing win against relegation threatened Elgin. The away side were not helped by a couple of last minute replacements for injured players, but in truth, they were never in the races for a point here. Hoban in the visitors goal saved 7 shots but still allowed 3 goals. Only 1-0 at the interval, a 13th minute Carbon shot into the bottom left hand corner of the net, that same man hit a 20 yarder in the 57th minute to double the home side’s lead. Just after the hour mark Cairns shot home a ball which had been deflected out by keeper Cleftjaw, and Elgin were briefly in the game. However with 8 minutes left Ghertry headed in the clincher for Stranraer.
St Mirren 0-1 Cove Rangers
14th played 15th and frankly looking at the initial OFF/DEF stats at the start I find it incredible only 1 shot was had in the whole game that tested a keeper. As it turned out, it fell to Naismith of Cove who in the 39th minute found the space and time to shoot past an unsighted Rimmer in the home goal. Lots of action but no more direct on target shots. Cove move up to 12th and drop their opponents to 15th.
Dumbarton 2-1 Clydebank
3rd played 4th here and the Sons showed a determination to move up a division with a full 6 points today. They completely outshot their visitors – indeed it was Moore inn the Bankies goal who gained the MOM award for his 8 saves, albeit he still couldn’t save his team. Crowley was the only scorer in the 1st half with his 24th minute strike before Bowen made it 2-0 just before the hour mark. The Bankies never gave up, and with Moore keeping them in the game they always looked like they could gain at least a consolation. This they did in the 83rd minute when Allen pulled one back, and they had 2 further attacks before the final whistle, but that was how it finished.
Falkirk 2-1 Annan Athletic
A funny game football. The scoreline says a comfortable 2 goal home win, but the shots created say daylight robbery. Annan’s had 7 shots, 6 of which were saved by MOM award winner home keeper McGregor, whilst the Bairns engineered only 2 shots, but both counted. If you arrived late you missed the home highlights. Falkirk started with 4 lads on “d” – they meant business, and Allegria had them ahead in the very first minute, and he earned his corn by slotting home his 2nd only eight minutes later. Cook caught out McGregor with his strike with 18 minutes left, but the Borderers couldn’t fashion out a leveller..
25 goals here – 27 in the previous session 😊
Summary: 6 points today for Cowdenbeath, Dumbarton, Stranraer - Zero points for Elgin City, Airdrieonians.
Hat trick for Carbon (Stranraer)
RED Card went to Milloy (Hibernian)
Top Scorer so far: Woods (Cowdenbeath) 11, Allen (Elgin City) 10
| |  Div 3
League Match
Reviews
by Paul (EF)
Match 23
By a strange chance of the fixture list, all the teams in the top eight were playing a team in the bottom eight, so I’ll just start at the top and work down…
East Fife faltered last weekend, gathering a single point from their two matches, but they still had a seven point lead and were hoping to extend that against Montrose. The Fifers started with a big advantage in shot chance, which was increased when Danilo limped off just eight minutes into the match. But it was Montrose who took the lead through Matthew Wright after 11 minutes. East Fife worked hard to make the most of their possession and steadily took control, with Scott Shepherd scoring a first half hat-trick to take the teams to half time at 3-1. Shepherd soon added his fourth goal but despite the mountain they had to climb, Montrose never game up, pulling it back to 4-3 before East Fife scored again. Even then, the MON weren’t finished. With ten minutes to go they made it 5-4, and Paul Cockayne was mightily relieved when the final whistle went with that the final score.
Deveronvale’s form has been poor of late so they will have been nervous ahead of Stirling’s visit to Princess Royal Park. They adopted their usual Early Cross tactics while Stirling persisted in experimenting with Ball Control, their five-man defence hoping to cut off supply to the Vale’s wingers. They were largely successful in this, restricting the home side to three goal attempts in the match, while they managed to create five themselves. The only goal of the match came early on – in the twelfth minute – a Humphrey Goodman header netting all three points for Stirling, 0-1
Glebe Park was the setting as Brechin City welcomed Queens Park to their East Coast paradise. The visitors were in a dour mood, Stalling from the kick-off in an attempt to protect their weak back two. Such tactics rarely seem to work and they didn’t work for the Queens11 today. Two first half goals from Ewan Loudon put the BRE on their way and they added another in the second half to cruise to a 3-1 victory and move up to second place.
Bottom-placed Kilmarnock hosted Peterhead at Rugby Park. They anticipated the visitors’ Early Cross tactics and attempted to barricade their way to a draw, Stalling with a six man defence. Or perhaps I should say “five man defence” because after only three minutes JR Smith received a red card for a very hard tackle. I would say that he went for an early bath but after only three minutes he didn’t need a bath and instead went for an early pint. Despite this, Killie held it at 0-0 going into half time, but two second half goals brought Peterhead the victory they deserved, 0-2.
Forfar Athletic are on a god run of late and visitied Berwick hoping for another three points. They got off to a great start with goals in the 16th and 17th minutes. Berwick pulled on back but Rory McLeod’s second gave The FOR a 1-3 half time lead. A shrewd tactic switch from Derek Purvis changed the momentum of the game after the break. Their Counterattacking approach brought them a goal soon after the restart and then the equaliser six minutes from the final whistle. It was a highly entertaining match, honours even at 3-3.
Queen of the South could really do with a win but a visit to East Stirlingshire was never going to be easy. They decided to go for Opportunistic tactics, while their hosts went for unsubtle but often effective Long Ball tactics. The result was rather a one-sided match with the Shire taking the lead in the tenth minute and adding a second before the interval. Somewhat unexpectedly, the Doonhammers pulled one back with ten minutes to go and even threated an equaliser, but it was not to be and Tyron Barnard’s men took the three points, 2-1.
Dunfermline Athletic were three points ahead of Partick Thistle before their meeting at East End Park. Both managers went for 4-3-3 formations with Normal tactics but a couple of veterans in the Pars defence yielded the advantage to their visitors. The Jags took time to assert themselves, however, their opening goal coming late in the first half. In the second they looked increasingly dominant, soon increasing their lead to 0-2. Thistle soon pulled one back but the evergreen Fu Ji made sure of things with an assist after 76 minutes and a cake-icer on the final whistle, 1-4 to Partick Thistle.
Dundee United and Ross County met at Tannadice in a disappointing match for the home fans. The Tangerine Arabs looked much the better side but were unable to create more than a few chances – none of which threated County’s goal. Rob Lye will count himself luck to have earned a point from this 0-0 draw
Match 24
Back to winning ways, East Fife were blessed with a second home fixture, this time welcoming Berwick to Bayview Stadium. Their line-up was the stronger but once again they went behind to an early goal, D_Blanket putting the visitors in front after eight minutes. The Fifers weren’t knocked out of their stride for long, and three goals in eleven minutes put them in control of the match with 28 minutes gone. Derek Purvis switched to Counter Attack at half time, a stratagem that had worked nicely in match 23, but this time it made little impression on a solid Fifers team, who glided home, 3-1.
Second-placed Brechin City travelled to Montrose, who played Early Cross tactics to compensate for a very weak midfield. The sides largely cancelled each other out, scoring a goal each towards the end of the first half in a match that will not long linger in the memory.
Peterhead had the chance to move up to second if they could beat Queen of the South, languishing in 15thplace in the table. The Doonhammers didn’t particularly fancy their chances, adopting Opportunistic tactics in the hope of snatching a goal on the break. Unfortunately they didn’t really get a look in against a solid Peterhead line-up. It was hard-fought in midfield but Stephen Williams’ team won most of the battles and scored the only goal of the game ten minutes before half time, 0-1 to the PET.
East Stirlingshire have pushed up to fourth place but faced a tough match away to Stirling, themselves sitting in 6th place. The hosts are now employing Ball Control tactics on a regular basis and this provides an interesting imbalance against the teams using Early Cross or Long Ball, as Tyron Barnard chose today. On this occasion, the Shire found their midfield overrun and the Binos took advantage in the first half to reach half time 2-0 ahead. In the second half, Roy Rolsten tried some different tactics which reduced their attacking potential. East Stirlingshire did pull one goal back but weren’t able to find a second and Stirling took the points, 2-1, to leapfrog their rivals in the table.
After a great start to the season, Deveronvale have been slipping down the table and badly needed a good result from their visit to Firhill to face Partick Thistle. They had their two best wingers in their starting line-up and went for their favoured Early Cross tactics which led to an open game against the Jags’ 4-3-3 Normal. The Vale were first to strike, eleven minutes in, and they never looked back. By half time it was 0-3 and at the final whistle they had made it 1-5. Strangely, Thistle had outshot them 10-8, but their SL27 keeper had a dreadful day, making only three saves while conceding five. A disappointing day for Marc Legowski, while Leon Permentier will be hoping that this is the springboard his team need to move back up the table.
Two Athletics, Forfar and Dunfermline, met at Station Park, just one point between them in the table. Willy Krosnyak decided to go for Early Cross tactics while Daniel Roseblade opted for Normal. It was an entertaining, open match with plenty of chances for each side but Forfar had an SL36 keeper while the Pars’ was SL22. That pretty much tells the story. The shots piled in from each side but the keepers lived up (or down) to their ratings. It was 2-0 to the FOR at half time and soon after the restart it was 4-0. After that the teams traded goals and Forfar came our ahead with a very welcome 6-2 victory.
Kilmarnock are finding this season a real struggle and their visit to Ross County promised to be a difficult one. The hosts were the stronger team on paper and created more chances, nine to Killie’s five in the match. Added to that, the home side had an SL33 keeper between the sticks, so were very much the favourites. It all went with form on this occasion, two goals in each half for Rob Lye’s team and a comfortable 4-0 win for them.
Finally for this week, it’s Queens Park v. Dundee United. The visitors decided to Stall here and held their hosts to 0-0 after a dreary first half. The second was no more interesting but at least the Queens11 managed to break the deadlock after 66 minutes and take three very welcome points, 1-0.
Summary
East Fife continue to set the pace with an eight point lead over the chasers. Peterhead lead the chasers, with six points covering the next eleven teams. At the bottom, Berwick are dropping off the pace but Queen of the South and Kilmarnock continue to bring up the rear.
Next Saturday, it’s first against second, Brechin City v East Fife. A big one to take us up to MSA!
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