Generally, unless Motherwell have needed to train up a youth GK, the group stages of the SESL cup have been comfortable enough over the years to where not much is neesed from the last matchup. This year, with the splitting of the third and fourth fixture, we have a chance to reasses after 3 matches as well.

With 9 points from 3, Motherwell have officially qualified, given that the bottom two in the group have 1 and 0 points. This is great news for gaining some EL back for the league matches ahead. If the Motherwell manager had one gripe, it would be that we have failed to get a captain's bonus in any of the three matches, failing to find a third goal in either of the two matches where our captain played and we were up 2-0, and then winning big while our captain rode the bench. Alas.

EDI are resigned to relegation and an early exit from the SESL Cup.

Having said that....the management are upbeat regarding the future. A return to Division 2 is inevitable at this stage but an early return(1 or 2 seasons) is the aim and hopefully EDI will be in much better shape to progress through the ranks at that time.

As a consequence...the manager has made 4 much valued CPs available for trade and is looking for  a minimum of 3 TPs + some cash in return.

Allowing for the recent rise in inflation of the cost of TPs(?)....any offers will be interesting.

A nice 2-0 win over Montrose means we've almost qualified for the knockout stages of the SESL Cup. For once we didn't play Ball Control but I was fairly confident our 60 minutes normal would be enough. And who needs wingers in the squad anyway.

Montrose and Hamilton can overtake us though if Montrose are to qualify they need to beat Hamilton and Dunfermline (not impossible) and possibly end up in a 3 or 4 way tie on 6 points for 3rd and 4th.

Hamilton have a better chance to beat us as we have low EL and can't compete in both our last two games and it might only need a loss at Hamilton in the last game on Wednesday for us to be knocked out.

All for the chance to play a team from the Group of Death.

Falkirk's away form is terrible. An away game at Cove Rangers and two fairly even teams. The match didn't pan out that we and Cove ran out easy five one winners. Our home form though is much better. The second league game last weekend was against Elgin City at home. We didn't exactly dominate but we did get all three points in an one nil victory. The SESL group games started with matches with Forfar Athletic and Cowdenbeath. Both finished all square, two apiece and three apiece. Three games left and all to play for. 

Coming into SESL Cup break QP's league form was that of a typical mid table side like we should be right now. Home wins versus Dundee United (1-0) and Queen of the South (2-0) and away losses to Kilmarnock (0-4) and Brechin City (0-3). It's really all we could have asked for at that point with a small squad and trying to bank as many points as possible before MSA. At this halfway point in the league season we are in 8th with 26 points but trail that all important 4th spot by only 3 points but our terrible -11 GD will definitely act against us if we are still close at the end of the season.

In the SESL cup we really wanted to get off to a good start since our first two group games were against the only other non-D1 teams in the group. However we were very low on EL with our top lineup but still tried to go for it. In our first game we played Queen of the South for the fifth time this season! We had a stronger lineup but couldn't get the shots away and were outshot 4-2. But both top goalkeepers were on their game so this ended up a 0-0 draw that didn't really do either of us any favors. Next we had Nairn County who brought their top players and took advantage of our patched together lineup to walk away 2-0 winners. All is not lost though as Albion and Queen of the South also only got 1 point in the session so that 4th spot is still up for grabs.

And before we end this week, we say goodbye to veteran GK Alan Parry. Alan joined us midseason last year from CLY and was a good veteran presence as our young #1 Cal Raleigh continued developing. Alan is using those mentorship skills now as he begins working with our youth teams as a goalkeeper coach.

A bit of a mixed bag of results for the first two SESL Cup games.

We were low on EL for the game against the strongest team in the group so it was our usual (near) 50% stall with 11 passive players. And the 0-2 loss has to be considered a bonus considering their SL 30 and 34 forwards.

Then we played one of the two weakest teams in the group and hoped for a big win. We were the stronger side but unfortunately could only manage a 2-1 win. 

Next up it's the other weaker team and once again EL is low but I feel it's a must win. Six points could be enough to qualify for the knockout stage.

We started our Saturday with a key match when we travelled to third-placed Brechinders.  Maybe Fran Morillo decided that this was not one to contest – certainly his line-up looked a little under par and we had the better of things throughout.  We went into the lead after a quarter of an hour and added another in the second half to emerge comfortable winners, 0-2.   

Into the second half of the season and we were at home to Dundee United, who had won their our first encounter.  This time the Tangerine Arabs had no such ambition, their intentions clear from their 5-4-1 Stall formation.  Our star forward, Scott Shepherd half-volleyed us in front midway through the first half and assisted in the second just after half time.  Two more goals quickly followed and we notched up a comfortable win, 4-0.

We made an addition to our squad this week with the addition of Elie Youan in a part exchange deal with Edinburgh City.  He has a lot of experience and will help to bolster our attack in the second half of the season.

,
We turned our attention away from the league to compete in the SESL Cup.  Our first group game was against East Stirlingshire.  There didn't seem to be a lot to choose between the teams but we had our reserve keeper between the sticks and that made a huge difference.  Things started well enough when our new signing (above) headed us into the lead on eleven minutes but after that we started leaking goals in an alarming way - four in all in this disappointing loss.

We did rather better against Cove Rangers, dominating throughout, and scoring a goal in each half to open our account in the cup.  A win and a loss is, we hope a start good enough to get is through the group stages.

Rob, you DO know that you are confusing the SFLSL Cup with the one the rest of us are playing for -the SESL Cup. Could happen to anyone I guess 😂😂🤔🤔

We opened our cup campaign with a game against Matthew's St Mirren, we opted for  a 5-2-3 normal as they opted for a 4-3-3 normal, both sides started well and enjoyed lots of possession and they opened the scoring on 37 minutes when McNeil slotted home 0-1,we hit back on 41 minutes when Sims powered home his header 1-1,half time came and subs on ,we pushed on and on 54 minutes a slick ball through saw Loturi fire home his 1st goal for the club 2-1,from then on defences ruled as we edged the shot count 7 to 1,well played Matthew. 

Next we were up against Bill's Celtic, a really classy side ,we were struggling on how to set up against them but we decided on a 5-2-3 normal as they went for a 4-3-3 opportunistic, game on and nothing to choose between the sides in the 1st half hour,but on 36 minutes the game changing moment when Oluwayemi saw red for a dangerous tackle and Celtic down to 10 men,half time came and subs on ,still nothing to choose between the sides up until 66 minutes when Brophy fired home 0-1,defences then took control and closed the game out as we just edged the shot count 2 to 0 and held out for the win ,well played Bill. 

So 2 games played and 6 points a welcome start.

EDI have stripped their squad down to the bare bones but the manager has stated that the current roster is now done and the rebuild has already started.

Relegation from Division 1 is assured as is SESL Cup elimination after the group stage. The remainder of the league campaign will be about coaching up the players that are left with a view to the next two seasons.

Hopefully EDI will be able to bounce back but there will be some pain along the way.

With us ensconced in mid table in the division - happy with that - we turn to the SESL Cup - a nice and timely diversion from league games - and which gives me a free Saturday from reviewing.

2 games against Elgin City (5-0) and Dundee United (4-2 and maybe a tad fortunate to score 4 although we created a few chances with just a winger and a forward). But it IS 6 points and I reckon a win will be enough for 3rd place and probably a draw will get us at least 4th place.

Qualifying gives Marinello an extra hand for Training as he reaches his 0,20 as my new Sweeper.

The hard truths about our beloved football squad (since 2024)

Quite surprisingly regular keeper Carson wasn't seen on the pitch this week. 
The coach apparently gave both young keepers some time to shine and show their skills - or the lack of.
The results couldn't be more obvious:

• Barrett: clean sheet, 100% save rate, just perfect
• Gadzhalov: five goals against, a single succesful save, just disgraceful

We are delighted that even coach Habermann seems to have come to his senses.
With numbers like these, Barrett shines as a beacon of hope - in most dire times. The other guy might be used as groundsman, maybe.

Still ...

Sack this guy!

A very indifferent weekend where we travelled to Dundee, not expecting much as they have proved to be a bit of a bogey team to us (in a nice way...) So we were pleasantly surprised to come away with a 1-1 draw. 

So we then hosted Hamilton Accioes, who at the time of the start to Saturday's games were top, and agnst whom we decided to field a less than full team, so as to be ready for the SESL Cup ties. Also as we knew a win would propel us into a promotion race.  As it came out we were upset at going down to a side we should have beaten (1-2). The good news we are where we expected to be - between 7th and 10th place to avoid playoffs at either end of the division - out turn will come next season when the lads will be able to mount a challenge.

We now go to prepare for the SESL Cup matches - a welcome break from the league. 

I guess this is the break we were looking for last week. A small intrlude from the relentless tough games of division 2. A chance to take stock on our league performances and regroup. Not a rest from SESL completely of couse and we wouldnt want that. SESL cup kicks off this week and our first 2 lineups are in already. We definitely want to progress to the knockout, so striking the right lineups is going to be difficult as its a very tough group. The group of death as its been referred to already is a fair an accurate description. Some big hitters to deal with. 

The pause on league play comes at a good time though to be fair after a brilliant weekend for STE. We've edged back to the top of the pile in division 2 thanks to a 6 point session. Beating HAM was clearly a must-do task if we were going to continue fighting amongst the top few, we couldnt afford to let them forge out a gap at the top. But there's still just one win between the top 4 clubs. No one can take a breath. Division 2 has had the fewest goals of all 3 divisions so far. A stat you ma associate with being less exciting, but it isnt. All games seem to be well fought out. Everyone knows they've got a chance. 

Personally im delighted with our performance in the league so far. We havent lost in the last 15 games. Thats right back to the first game of the season where we lost to Stranraer. We've barely conseded any goals and we have navigated through a few absences (injuries and suspensions). 

MSA has given us the same headaches as everyone else we now try to understand the best way to rotate our lower SL squad going forward. 

Another tough weekend for Ross as we had 2 away games.

We started at Arnold's Queen of the South ,who were struggling in the lower levels of the table ,but they have a good squad and just need a few things to go their way ,they opted for a 5-2-3 counter attack as we went for a 4-2-4 early ball, both sides started well and enjoyed lots of possession but we struck 1st on 15 minutes when Law fired home 0-1,defences then took control and closed the attacks down up till half time,2nd half and we started quickly as Brophy drilled home on 49 minutes 0-2 and we controlled the game from there on and Brophy fired home his 2nd on 89 minutes to seal the game 0-3 ,as we outplayed them for periods and outshot them 12 to 4,well played Arnold.

Next we travelled to Roy's Stirling, always a tough place to get a result at,they are a quality side who seem to save their best for us,they opted for a 4-5-1 ball control as we went for a 4-2-4 longball, both sides started well and enjoyed lots of possession albeit we were defending more than attacking, but on 33 minutes Sims fired home 0-1,game changing moment on 44 minutes when Cash had a straight red card, Stirling down to 10 men,half time came and subs on,we started well in the 2nd half and on 56 minutes Salah powered home his header 0-2 and we sealed the game on 72 minutes when Brophy fired home 0-3,we were outplayed for periods and outshot 10 to 6 ,but Laidlaw in our goal was in outstanding form with 8 saves which kept us in the game,well played Roy.

So a 6 point weekend and we rise to the dizzy heights of 4th place.

Another six-pointerand some luck (not witht eh results as they were deserved).

In the Fraserburgh game I got a little confused with marking and substitutions. I had some big players on less than 6 EL but wanted to win this game. I swapped lineups a few times and lost count of howe many players were where. This could have been a disaster as my marking orders were for Durnam and Graham to mark Kounde. But I changed the lineup and didn't change marking. Looking at the orders I have no idea what my intentions were exactly. But as it happened Alon surprised me with a 4-4-2 rather than go big for the win. The change to stall when we went 1-0 up just made it easier. I had a nervous last 15 minutes with two midfielders going below 0 EL.

I knew I was going to be able to submit orders after the game (the wife has gone away for the weekend). I still had players on low EL so three defenders played passive risking the last 18 minutes. Two EL 3 players played 45 minutes each and three other EL 4 players played less than 90 minutes as well. Forturnately Arbroath don't have a great keeper set up so despite only being a little stronger for 60 minutes I was confident of the win. Arbroath were unlucky to only have one chance after 60 minutes when they had a 7.7% shot chance (2.33 chances expected)  and that was offside. In fact 5 of the 11 chances were offside.

A 5th Captain's bonus for Craig Howie is very useful. We're a crazy 6th in T11 (started 12th=) but still only 13th in T17 (started 16th). I'm not sure what MSA will do to that, especially T17, as two of those are being sold. We,ve moved up to 8th in the Division, five points clear of the play-offs.

Next up Clydebank in the SESL Cup and "Mike". We're low on EL but will be able to put out 10 players on 6 or more and their number one keeper is out with concussion. A little unlucky to get a -12 injury on 90 minutes but that's the risk you take playing 90 minutes starting on EL 4. Easily the strongest team in the group, I'm glad we're playing them first to get them out the way.

Falkirk started last weekend's matches with a trip to promotion chasing Cowdenbeath. We got batted. We started with stall due to our low skill levels and players available after the cup run and found ourselves three nil down at halftime. It got a bit better second half but we finally lost four goals to nil. The second game was at home with Annan Athletic who had also went out of the Cecil cup at the semifinal stage. We got off to a flyer, going two up by the nine minute mark. We then struggled to create chances and finally conceded on 72 minutes but held out for a two one win. Our keeper McGregor was man of the match, saving six of their seven chances. Whilst we scored with our two that were on target. Very fortunate.

The hard truths about our beloved football squad (since 2024)

We have already said enough about our stupid new keeper signing.
No we haven't!

Match 1: Barrett starting, supremely confident and skilled, leading his squad to a 7-1 victory. The only goal against even came after he was finally swapped for Carson.
Match 2: Gadzhalov, nervous, clumsy, incompetent - and not saving a single shot, losing 0-2.

Any more questions?
Sack this guy!

Our charge for the Division 3 title faltered last weekend, when we gathered just a single point from our two matches.  Having said that, we still had a healthy seven point lead and hoped to extend that against Montrose. We 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.  We seem to concede too many early goals but worked hard to make the most of our possession and steadily took control, with Scott Shepherd scoring a first half hat-trick give us a 3-1 half time lead.  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 we scored again.  Even then, Montrose weren’t finished.  With ten minutes to go they made it 5-4, and I was mightily relieved when the final whistle went with that the final score.

We were blessed with a second home fixture, this time welcoming Berwick to Bayview Stadium.  Our line-up was the stronger but once again we went behind to an early goal, D_Blanket putting the visitors in front after eight minutes.  We are used to this now, and weren’t knocked out of our stride for long - three goals in eleven minutes put us well in control of the match with 28 minutes gone.  Derek Purvis switched Berwick to Counter Attack at half time, but it made little impression on us as we glided home, 3-1.

Tomorrow we've got a big match, a visit to Brechin who are lying third.  Fingers crossed for that one....

Motherwell earned their first ever 'big' trophy this week, securing the CECIL cup with a 3-0 victory over local Lanarkshire rivals Airdrieonians. After five straight 2nd places (2nd in Div 1, 2nd in CECIL cup, 2nd in Div 1, 2nd in Div 2, 2nd in CECIL cup), Motherwell finally ended top of the pile in a competition.

The match looked a well-balanced affair at the start. Both sides came playing their best 11, and the match was likely a coin flip if you asked the neutral. The first opportunities fell to AI, but midfielder Steve Davis failed to take advantage and had both of his shots saved by the MOT GK. However, the match would take a big turn when Motherwell got their first chance in the 13th minute. Progressing the ball from the back, Sula was able to find start striker OHannigain, who left no doubt and made it 1-0. His composure to turn a defender and lob the goalkeeper was extraordinary on such a big stage! AI really needed to regain their wits and create more chances, as the match was far from over. However, they seemed to be a bit shell-shocked, and not a minute later it was OHannigain again at it. A solo effort this time, he was able to use the defender as a shield and get his brace, with just 60 seconds separating the two goals. Again, still plenty of time for the comeback, but AI really needed to keep their composure. Instead, it was their star striker who just couldn't keep himself under control. A yellow in the 19th minute followed by a second for barking at the ref in the 43rd, and now AI really had it all to do. AI would need a quick one in the second half to find themselves on the right path back here. But, in the 59th, continued pressure forced AI DF Fellows into a bad tackle in the box and it was a penalty for Motherwell. OHannigain would take it to complete the hat-trick, and score it he did. A cup final hat-trick! That's how the scoreline would finish, MotM Sean OHannigain scoring all 3 - the cup coming to Motherwell for the first time!

As a real tactical analysis, this one was a close one if you look at how the sides lined up. AI started with the slightly higher shot %, but left themselves open to a higher chance of red cards and PKs by running 10 'd' players compared to MOT's 6. I may have also gone for 'a' if I were running AI, as I tend to go for 'd' when I have the stronger bench and 'a' when I have the weaker bench.
As I calculated it while setting my lineups, 10 'd' players would put you at a 42% chance of conceding one or more penalties in a match. 6 gets you around 28%. I wasn't too comfortable with the higher odds of giving away a free goal. As a secondary consideration, I don't love throwing 'a' or 'd' on my defenders unless they are a high level DM. Seems like that just will increase both penalty/red card odds and the odds that your shot chances fall to your defenders instead of your high SL FWs, WGs, and MFs. Obviously MOT got the extreme luck with this - 3 out of 4 non-penalty shots fell to our star FW. That's well above what you would expect even with a set up that tries to get him more shots.

Once we had the lead, our orders really took over to seal this one down. Players moving from 'd' to 'n' in order to reduce penalty chances. WGs moving to DF for the 30-minute stall at the end. It was going to be very hard for AI to come back in this one at that point, even if they had not had their star striker sent off.

In total, I think Motherwell got the luck of every 50/50 chance falling our way in this one. Low shot counts early, MOT's shots falling to the right player, and discipline being only a problem for AI. We took good advantage of that luck with our orders being well set up to protect a lead, but I think if you run these same orders from both sides 100 times, AI probably wins 40-something of them. Was a really well-balanced cup final despite the end outcome. Congrats to Kev on a very impressive run to the final - I hope this runners up medal is the lead up to you winning the cup next season, just as it was for me last season.

It has been very interesting to view the opinions of some of my fellow SESL managers in regard to my decision to partially rebuild EDI. But the fact remains that i have now accepted that relegation from Division 1 is inevitable despite those words of support and advice.

As previously stated,  EDI players that are currently A3 or older are now available for trade but due to my team only having a small squad, any transfers will have to involve a player coming to EDI in return + TPs/CPs/cash, i am happy to accept older and lower level players as part of any deal.

At the time of writing, GK Banks, DF Dailly, MA Cole & FW Youan are the only likely players to leave should suitable offers appear.

We started the weekend with an away game at Mark's Dundee United, a really tough side to play against, they opted for a 4-2-4 normal as we went for a 5-3-2 normal, hoping to pinch a cheeky point with a more defensive set up,game on and both sides enjoying lots of possession but defences on top and all attacks were broken down before they could develop, half time soon came and subs on,2nd half and much the same ,we were outplayed for periods and outshot 3 to 0 ,but Ross in our goal made 2 outstanding saves  to keep us in the match and a well earned point as it ended goalless 0-0,points shared,well played Mark. 

Next we were at home to David's Kilmarnock, another tough side to work out and play against, we opted for a 4-2-4 early ball tactics as they went for a 4-3-3 normal, we started quickly and opened the scoring in the 1st minute when Law powered home his header 1-0,31 minutes and Salah cut in from the wing and rifled home from an acute angle 2-0,half time came and subs on ,we pushed on and on 50 minutes Law fired home his 2nd 3-0 and on 82 minutes he completed his hat trick 4-0 as we outplayed them for periods and outshot them 9 to 5,well played David.

With this 4 point weekend we now sit 8th.

Motherwell have at times this season struggled to produce chances and struggled to finish them once they do. However, the semifinals of the CECIL cup seem to be where those problems came to die. After an away leg where Motherwell were lucky to find the net on 3 of their 4 chances (hero Jerry Jeff Walker scoring the 3 biggest goals of his young career), Motherwell decided to turn up the chance creation to 11 at home. 19 shots is always going to be impossible to deal with even for the best of goalkeepers, and Motherwell were able to finish 5 of those chances in the 5-1 victory. Jerry Jeff Walker again tried to be the big hero with 6 shots, but this time was only able to find the net once. Surely he will be hungry to continue building his cup legacy in the final!

The league weekend was the least excitiing for Motherwell in many seasons. With this season being billed as a rebuild, nobody would have been too surprised to see MOT lower in the table. However, the surprise cup run in the CECIL cup has pushed a lot of supporter energy that direction, and so the league results are the last thing on their minds. A very welcome (and not completely deserved) away win to EDI  gave MOT a valuable MVP after the cup success. However, a letdown at home to INV brought us back down to earth. That match was especially frustrating, as down by one at the half, MOT brought on some of their stars and had a large stats advantage over the visitors for the second half. However, things continued to get worse from there, with  INV scoring three more and coming away 0-4 winners. The match should have been closer, but MOT definitely shot themselves in the foot resting up for the big cup final.

Rising goal machine Xian Carbon promised to bang in a few more against high flying Stenhousemuir on Saturday. The young striker hit a mere FIVE goals last weekend and will prove to be a handful at Ochilview this coming weekend. Holland, the Stenny wonder keeper will have to be on his best form if he is to keep a cleansheet. SRA will be looking to close the gap on the promotion seeking Hawthorn. Indeed, SRA are the only team to have beaten STE in the league this season and will be looking for the full six points beofre the mid-season break.