So we went into 2 league games (19 & 20) home to Dunfermline and then away to Montrose last weekend. 

First up was a the home tie at Somerset Park and we knew it would be tough as our apprentice GK Max Thompson was between the sticks. The team did well hold the Pars to 1-0 at half time with a goal after 25mins from Otoo. But the floodgates opened in the 2nd half with goals after 50/52/63/76 to score 5. We managed a couple of counters after 51 and 53 to round out the scoring and we lost 5-2. 

The fact that there were goals on 50/51/52/53 is quick something. 2 goals apiece in that 4 min spell. Trent Crimm with 3 goals from 3 shots got MOTM for Dunfermline.

Cutis Main was a culprit for use with 4 shots and no goals. 

Next up was a trip to the north east v Montrose. 

A tight game with no goals in the 1st half. We took the lead through CUrtis Main (he had practised his shooting from the previous game) in the 65th min. Then despite trying to hold out montrose equalised with 2 mins remaining. Our GK Josh Clark got MOTM with 8 saves from 9 on target. Montrose with a massive 214.52 of OFF after playing Early Cross with 2 wingers. I hate that tactic :)

So despite us having the lowest T11 and 17 we sit in 11th position of out 16. We are the only team after 12 league games who have not scored double digits of goals in the league with a tally of 9 for and 12 against. So our saving grace is we don't concede too many. That GF would have been better is the apprentice GK was not in v Dunfermline. 

In somewhat surpring news, especially considering it being so early in the season, DF Laim Brady, WG Nicolas Kuhn and FW Connor Young all asked to be put on the transfer list. The manager was surprised to say the least but agreed to all three players wishes.

In an ideal world the manager would prefer to sell any 1, 2 and/or 3 players for TPs as an apprentice would need to step into the void created but he finally accepted that EDI may have to consider and maybe accept CASH offers instead.

The manager was reported as saying that he is not keen to sell any of the three but if any suitable offers were proposed then he would have to give said offers serious consideration as he has no desire to keep players that are no longer committed to the club.

Just when the fans thought the team appeared settled.............

We dropped points this week, but we arent complaining - the boys continue to put in 100% effort and grind out some great results in a run (the entire season right?) of tough games! 

In reality we probably should have done better against ELG, the numbers were in our favour. But given some of the results we have had recently, ill take it - we slipped behind early, but quickly replie to level the score. Surprisingly it stayed like that then through to the end of the game - a draw and one point. 

Andrew has 2 convincing wins this week - 9 goals without reply and 6 points, so it wa simportant we got a win in the second game. But we knew we would be up against a very strong team in ARB, so we put out a T11, HB and the numbers were in our favour - the game was finished at half time, which allowed us to rest some players later in the game. Crucial as part of our season long rotation policy. 

We continue to push our sponsor effort very tight - we will need to increase goals scored at some point to secure the payout. But at the other end we are the only team to have conceded single digit goals and we continue to improve our defensive line week on week.  

There are rumours that GK Norway will be shortly heading to an intensive coaching camp aimed at older players with the aim of giving him the rest of this season at the top of his game and hopefully allowing him to play on in some form next season too! 

Other than that, given we are top of Division 1 currently, the individual performances still arent really shining for us - not on Golden Gloves chart, a distance off the Golden boot, but Render might have a shot at the MoMs chart?

Falkirk made it to the semifinals of the Cecil Cup after hanging on to  first leg lead. The second leg tie away to Arbroath started off well with a goalless first half and then an early second half lead though Ferguson. After 78 minutes the game was three one to Arbroath. With three minutes left keeper Brown was injured and youth keeper  Platt but we managed to hang on. A five four aggregate victory. Yesterday we had to rest a few of our best players who had low energy levels but it didn't effect our home performance against Raith Rovers. Four second half goals in a four one victory with man of the match McTominay with a brace. It did effect our second match away at Kilmarnock. Even playing stall we conceded four first half goals and ended up losing five nil. We now go into the semifinal tie with odds on favourite Motherwell tomorrow. Fingers and toes crossed 🤞 

Nice to report good news (for us) for a change. 2 games and 6 points, with 3 goals scored and none conceded.

Home to Peterhead and most managers predicting a home win we set out for the 3 points. Our new apprentice Mulligan chipped over a ball in the 19th minute to Boyle to open for us, and 15 minutes later Boyle returned the favour by lobbing in a nice ball for Levitt to double the lead. It finished t way.

Again at home, this time to 3rd place Airdrieonians we played it a bit tighter, gone was the gung ho EC with 2 WGs. And tight it proved and we turned round 0-0 at the break. Think we would have taken that against a team who subbed Henderson for Thomas and gained a +22SL boost. But it was our last weekend signing, midfielder Pat Quinn who shot home to give us a slim advantage. In fact we had quite a few chances but held on for another 3 points. 

We move into 5th place - got to watch - we might turn out to have a good chance of an automatic promotion...

What was pleasing was Peterhead's keeper Svedberg got the MOM in the 1st game with 6 saves, and Brotto in the Diamonds goals gained it with 7 saves in the 2nd game. Really wanted one of our lads to get the MOM award but you can't have everything.

This is long overdue.

After a terrible start to the season, losing their first four league games,  Alloa have managed to crawl out of the bottom 6 with five wins and three losses. The losses were all thrown games but the wins with 32 goals scored in those five games - only two teams in the whole league have scored more goals that us. And we've needed it with Morrison past his best and a weakish defense that has let in 15 goals in those five wins.

The latest league session began well for EDI with a dominant 6-1 home victory over SM highlighted by FW Clyde Best scoring four goals. The following game saw EDI visit STJ but we came away empty handed after suffering a hard fought 2-1 loss.

The three points were very welcome but still leave EDI in the relegation zone and more is needed in the coming weeks league games if EDI hope to survive.

We started the weekend with an away game at Bill's league leaders Celtic, never an easy place to pick up points ,but in our recent run of form and the team gelling together we were hopeful of a good performance, they opted for a 5-4-1 stall,which we found a bit unusual as they were a free scoring side as we went for a 5-3-2 normal, both sides started well and enjoyed lots of possession but on 43 minutes we broke the deadlock when Fraser fired home 0-1,half time soon came and subs on, 2nd half and much the same as both defences stood firm as we edged the shot count 4 to 0 and held on for a very valuable 3 points,well played Bill.

Next we were at home to Daniel's Annan Athletic, another tricky side who we always seem to struggle against, we opted for a 5-3-2 normal as they went for a 5-4-1 stall ,game on and we started the quicker and opened the scoring on 11 minutes when a deep cross saw Fraser power home his header 1-0,12 minutes and 2-0 as Wright rose highest at the back post and powered home his header, 28 minutes and Allardice finished a slick move and fired home 3-0 and Henderson drilled home from range on 31 minutes 4-0 in a fantastic 1st half for us,2nd half subs on and it was a tale of defences as both stood firm as we outplayed them for periods and outshot them 6 to 0,well played Daniel.

So a 6 point weekend sees us sit 2nd.

So the last couple of league games ended up with a 4 point haul and with both games away from home that is not a bad return.

First up was a trip to Annan and came away with a 2-0 win. Up against the back Annan GK  gave us an advantage but i take nothing for granted in SESL. Main opened the scoring on 6 mins and the scoring was wrapped up in the 28th min with a Dalglish goal from a Main assist. There was nothing else of note in the game. Our DF Kevin Holt (AYR) got the MOTM

Our second game was away to Clydebank who started with a strong lineup. We went behind in 24 mins with a Kevin Bridges goal and we went in at half time and the manager told some home truths. It seemed to work as we kept a second half clean sheet and we equalised with Curtis Main again the man scoring the equaliser in the 82nd min. An excallent point considering the massive gulf in stats between the 2 teams.  Our FW Curtus Main (AYR) got the MOTM. 

This coming weekend we are at home to Dumfermline. This should be a spanking with our new young GK Max Thompson between the sticks and then a long away trip to Montrose. 

Stats Update

Our Team Stats still show that our T11 is bottom of the 16 teams with a lowly 23.5 compared to Celtic at the top of the T11 rankings on 28.1.

Our T17 is also bottom of the bottom on 19.3 with Cove on top with 22.8. 

Bearing those stats in mind it is a miracle that we are 11th in the league, 3 points off 6th but only 7 points ahead of bottom. 

The worst fears were confirmed last weekend, and BRE dropped out of the promotion zone, finding themselves in mid-table, closer to relegation than promotion.

The manager defends himself by saying he needs to give young players opportunities to rejuvenate an aging squad, but the truth is that the BRE board is worried about what could be the first relegation of the manager's career.
Forward Lewis Raeside is confident in the quality of his teammates: "This squad has the quality to get promoted. We're sure we can turn this situation around and get back on track."

But can they do it this weekend? Another home defeat could ignite the anger of the BRE supporters.

Two very big games coming up this weekend for EDI when we host SM and then travel to STJ. Both league games and all 3 clubs involved currently sit in the bottom 3 so its the same importance for all and the games are sure to be hard fought.

In other news......The EDI board today released a statement that the retained total confidence in the manager and that vote of confidence means that the manager stays in the driving seat for the foreseeable future, The statement also stated that the board expects significent improvement in results and players and staff alike are all expected to pull their weight now and in the future.

It had all been going rather smoothly for Cowdenbeath. A strong run, decent amount of goals, clean sheets stacking up — the sort of form that has you keeping a closer eye on SESL than usual.

Then came a trip to Hamilton Accies… and a 2–1 defeat to interrupt the rhythm.

On the face of it, it wasn’t a bad performance. In fact, the match was pretty even:

• Shots: 7–6 to Hamilton

• Shots on target: 5–5

• Saves: 4–3

No domination, no collapse — just a tight game decided by small moments.

What makes it slightly frustrating is what sat underneath it. The underlying ratings suggested Cowdenbeath carried the stronger attacking threat, particularly as the game progressed. In most cases, that kind of edge leads to at least a point.

But this time, Hamilton were just that bit sharper. Same number of shots on target, different outcome — and that’s often all it takes.

Still, the key thing is perspective. One result doesn’t define a run — and this one sits alongside a much more convincing performance just days earlier.

A 4–1 win over Deveronvale showed Cowdenbeath at their best. Goals came, control was maintained, and the game never really looked in doubt. It was the kind of result that reinforces confidence rather than tests it.

Put the two together and the picture is clear:

• When chances go in, Cowdenbeath look very strong

• When they don’t, games stay tight

And over time, you’d back the balance to fall in your favour. Numbers don't lie over time.

The table certainly suggests things are on track:

Top of Division 2
8 wins from 11
21 goal difference

Not a bad place to be.

So while Hamilton might go down as a missed opportunity, it feels more like a reminder than a concern.

We started the weekend with an away game at Arnold's Queen of the South, another really tricky place to play at and come away with anything, they opted for a 5-3-2 opportunistic as we went for a 5-3-2 normal, which I think is our best set up and utilizes the whole squad,game on and a really close tough 1st half as both defences stood firm and closed down all attacks before they could develop, 2nd half subs on and we started the quicker as Grieves powered home his header on 49 minutes 0-1,66 minutes and a quick break and some slick passing saw Chilvers fire home 0-2,QOS slowly played themselves back into the game and pulled one back on 68 minutes when Flannigan headed home 1-2,defences then shut up shop as we just edged the shot count 7 to 4 and held out for the win,well played Arnold. 

Next we were at home to Tyron's East Stirling, a side who we always struggled against, perhaps its because both sides are so evenly matched, we opted for a 5-3-2 normal as they went for a 4-2-4 longball, game on and it was a tale of defences as both stood firm and closed down all attacks before they could develop, we were edged out in the shot count 3 to 2 but our defence stood firm as it ended goalless 0-0,points shared, well played Tyron.

So a 4 point weekend sees us sit 2nd and now we are getting dizzy,2 injuries to major players make next weekend hard and we will see how we cope as we host league leaders Celtic. 

Another happy weekend in STE camp and another happy Press Officer punching out his thoughts this week. 

After what was a difficult start to the season (1 win from the first 4 matches - all comps), we have now 7 straight league wins (8 in all comps) with 5 of the 7 securing clean sheets. The defensive line is doing its duty - holding its part of the bargain and actually the team coaches have furthe rplans to strengthen that area across the remainder of the season. Goals scored has started toi improve as well and with it we are just about back on track for sponsor payout - but theres a long way to go and it is having an impact on some of our tactics. Sponsor payout this year is a big potential income and its budgeted for so we need to score the goals required, but it can create risk in our squad rotation strategy. 

This weekend we cruised past a very strong Stranraer squad which appeared to rest a few players and accept a defeat as part of a bigger, broader plan. But Motherwell was always going to be a hugely difficult game and we were delighted to leave with 3 points after a narrow, hard fought victory. Somehow we find ourselves top and 4 points clear after 10 games played. But we will have to go much harder to retain that spot and still feel like likely also-rans this season. Each game as it comes though!!

The first third of the league campaign has been very much a full squad effort. Everyone has had playing time and no real stand out individuals in the Stats / Awards. Happy with that though as we will need everyone to keep performing to keep the pressure on in the league

We were fortunate to pick up Pat Quinn - a short lad poor at headers but great at threading balls through to the forwards. We have enough TPs now for our apprentices although after MSA we could do with a few CPs - might have to sell to get them.

Pat comes in as a MA 1/15 so should be around 1/24 by the season end.

Falkirk went into their last 16 Cecil cup game at home against Kilmarnock with a goal advantage from the first leg. The teams ended up cancelling each other out and the match finished goalless which was enough to put Falkirk though to the quarterfinals where they will face Arbroath. This weekend's league games started with a home match with Hamilton Accies. We started well and scored early on 8 minutes though Gilmour. We went two up just after halftime when Hickey scored. Even though well on top we conceded with nine minutes left but did hold out for a two one victory. The second game away at Nairn County was a bit of a disaster. Youth keeper Platt conceded four times in the first half from all four chances that Nairn created and that's the way it ended. 

Shambles.

First up - Cecil Cup. Nothing to read here - 16 teams are now 8, but we were not involved in last midweek's games. Now the last 8 have 2 matches up quickly - Monday and Wednesday.

Right, on to today's activities. We hosted Inverness - on paper a slim home win was expected. We are trying hard to win home games even if we slip up away. We rested our new lad Josh Mulligan to pack in a better SL player. We opened early but then had captain Lekburn sent off. However we coped with the 10 men and just as it seemed a single goal would be enough, Inverness lost their best forward and had no subs to replace him. Within a minute late on we scored a 2nd to ice the game 2-0.

Away at Queens Park we slipped in Mulligan and reserve keeper Bursik - the latter for just 30 minutes to get him off for Slater. But inside these 30 minutes the Spiders scored the only goal of the game and we could not get it back, despite having enough chances. So, a win and a loss - enough to keep us sitting just inside a playoff spot - happy enough for now.

The season seems to be taking a turn for the worse for BRE. After a promising start to the league, in which the team advanced through the cup rounds while simultaneously securing a direct promotion spot, BRE is now on the verge of missing the playoffs. One more poor result could end Sergei's hopes of achieving two promotions in two years to reach the top division.
With the team out of the cup, the MSA is just around the corner, and it will affect several key positions, including that of a captain who has yet to lead his team to a major victory.
This weekend's matches against ALB and DEV, both away from home, could provide a much-needed boost or result in a drop from the top spots, further exacerbating the crisis.

For first time in histroy SRA top the T11 in SESL. This has been a remarkable achievement for one of the poorest teams in the league. For years they have been the kicking stools of some of the 'big teams'. No longer. With a T11 of 29.5 they lead the pack. Will this convert into points and trophies though? Boss McCumiskey is now under-pressure to deliver having spent years getting to this lofty position. "Its no good toppping the stats and getting relegated" commented one disgrunted fan. With only 18 players to choose from it will be a difficult balancing act. More players and depth are needed to secure some silverware. Yes, they can beat anyone on their day, but if that day is once in a Blue Moon then it is not much use (there are two Full moons in May - Ed). Next up leaders Stenny. They have no chance.....

Not a good last weeke for the Honest Men. Games 12 and 13 prodiced a solitary point. 

Game 12 away to EST. This is a point stolen by AYR. EST started LB and had a mighty OFF of 166. We had a lowly 108 that reduced at half time to 95. We were outshot 4-0 but our GK had a decent match and got MOTM and we escaped with a 0-0. 

Game 13 at home to CEL. a 2-0 home loss but should have been much much more. We played with our apprentice 0/6 Gk in and both CEL's first half shots on target went in past him. No more shots on target for CEL after that meant it stayed at 2-0 for the CEL team. We outshot CEL 6-2 in total and we had 4 on target with 4 going to Dalglish but all saved by Sinisalo. So the ex celtic Dalglish not scoring against the ex Ayr player. 

I think shenanigans going on there :)

Our next 2 games are away from home to Annan and Clydebank and should see some more game time to GK Thompson to get his SL up. 

With EDI trailing by 4 goals from the home leg the manager has decided it would be a sensible move to rest a few key players with a view to the upcomning league fixtures as it is abundantly clear that EDI will not be able to pull back the deficit in the 2nd leg at MOT and their are bigger games to come in the near future.

Back to the day to day goings on at the club.....Finances are currently in a good place, player suspensions and injuries are currently manageable and coaching/training is also on schedule. The manager also reports that morale around the club is healthy despite our current league position.

There are wins… and then there are weeks like this.

First up was Dumbarton — and just to keep things interesting, the Mad Cows showed they can win ugly when required. A 1–0 away win, tight, scrappy, but absolutely controlled. One goal, three points, and a quiet journey home. The sort of result that doesn’t make headlines but wins leagues. (It also helped that I spotted the possibility that an NMR was goign to happen! Not that is was a weak side that went out!)

Then came Albion Rovers… and Cowdenbeath turned on the style.

A 4–0 win that felt like everything clicked. Chances flowed, goals followed, and the Blue Brazil looked like they were enjoying themselves out there. When it’s going like that, football’s a simple game — get it wide, get it forward, and watch it hit the net.

Put the two together and you’ve got the perfect mix: grit first, flair second.

And the table? Not a bad reading.

Top of Division 2.
7 wins from 9.
23 scored, 4 conceded = +19 goal difference.

Not bad at all.

There’s a real feel-good factor building. The defence is stubborn, the attack is lively, and when the moment comes to make something happen, someone usually does.

Of course, nobody’s getting carried away — it’s still early days — but if you’re going to be top, you may as well enjoy it.

Right now, Cowdenbeath are doing exactly that.

Motherwell aimed to keep their 8 match winning streak alive with a visit from last season's most frequent opponent, Dundee FC. MOT played a counterattack to DEE's normal tactics, and this meant both sides had very high shot %s - Motherwell with 19.2% over DEE's 10.5%. This immediately led to chances for both sides - Billy Bland scored in the 1st and 5th minute, while DEE had a shot saved in the 3rd and scored their first also in the busy 5th minute. The action would not stop from there: home supporters already had their money's worth by the time Jimmie Vaughan scored MOT's third in the 11th minute and Billy Bland completed his hat-trick in the 14th. 14 minute hat-trick! Talk about the striker of the moment! If Bland doesn't get the SESL player of the month after his 4 goals to start the month and his hat-trick here, I don't know what a player has to do to win the award!
Jerry Jeff Walker got in on the fun, scoring in the 25th minute, before this one would get a little back and forth with little change in the outcome. DEE pulled one back before halftime, but Ray Wylie Hubbard brought the lead back to 4. DEE would get their 3rd late before Jerry Jeff Walker quickly brought it up to 7 for the home side. 7-3 the final to Motherwell, in what is probably not too common of a scoreline. Motherwell stay top on goal difference, and Billy Bland moves within two of the golden boot lead.

A trip to Fraserburgh was next - a fixture that is always a tricky one unless you get lucky with injuries, EL, or suspension. FRA always have giant WGs and FWs, and HB can always cover for a slightly weaker defense.As expected, MOT got nearly the T-11 of FRA and a HB22, so this would be a tricky one to turn into points. MOT tried to mitigate the key threats - markings on the two giant wingers of FRA would help reduce shot % as best as we could. This made shot %s 15.3 to 11.5%, which was about as good as we could do. We would have to get some luck on our side to pull this one off.  Alas, it didn't really go that way: FRA rushed to a first half lead of 3-0 thanks to shots falling to their star players: 2 goals from their SL38 FW and 1 from their third best finisher. Motherwell simply couldn't get the goals they needed to keep apace in that half. Shots fell either offside or to our worst finishers, and we had no luck being greatly outshot in the half. FRA decided to move into a stall for the second half to save ELs, and that almost gave us a route back. But, again, our shots were falling to our defenders. It wasn't until the 72nd minute that we started to test their goalkeeper, and despite two goals in the last 8 minutes it was just too little too late. Motherwell fall to their second loss of the season, 3-2, and fall a point behind leaders STE in the title race. 

Stop it right there! - This migth be as good as it gets. Last week was a good week, this week was even better. 

6 Straight wins now and this week 5 goals with no reply. Two home games which helped, but great results for us 3-0 vs Partick Thistle and 2-0 vs Alloa Athletic. Its pushed us to the top of the league - Won 6, Drawn, Lost 1 - 19 points. 

Positives so far - Only conceded 5 league goals. Early coaching has gone well, back to having a super star GK, DF and FW. Squad rotation has gone well so far, injuries an suspensions OK for now. 4th T11 and 3rd T17 and a currently maxed out Morale bonus 

Not without its challenges though - We arent scoring enough - 14 goals so far and we arent on track for sponsor payout. Knocked out of the cup early is costing us revenue. End of season awards look unlikely given we have no one challenging in any category, albeit early in the season. Bank Balance - what bank balance!!

It's a long season yet to go, but it would be nice if it could stop here for us - a tough week coming up with league games away against long-term rivals Stranraer and then at home to Andrews bookies-favourties Motherwell. 

Falkirk had a great week, winning two and drawing the other match. We started with the Cecil cup last 16 game away to Kilmarnock in the first leg. We started strongly going into a two goal lead with goals from Ferguson and Gilmour. We did concede but held on to win two one and with the home leg to come we have a great chance to make the quarterfinals. In the league yesterday we kicked off with a home match against struggling Albion Rovers. It was a close affair and was decided early with a Gilmour goal for an one nil victory. The second game was a trip to play Deveronvale. Both teams played their youth goalkeepers and this proved useful for the opposition with each team only having one chance at goal but both teams converting in an one all draw. The point leaves the Bairns in ninth place.

Motherwell traveled to Meadowbank to face Edinburgh City, and the two sides looked rather evenly matched from the start. The big difference in the sides could be the gulf in GK SL - with the home side fielding Felix at SL28 against MOT's Budinauckas at SL34. EDI did have the best striker in the match, Clyde Best, but MOT perhaps had a wider array of striking options.

The first 20 minutes were fairly back-and-forth. Both sides getting shots, but some missed shots and fine saves from each GK kept it level. However, the visitors struck first shortly after. Ray Wylie Hubbard, the most experienced of MOT's striking corps, heading home in the 26th minute. RWH would be the most experienced member of the starting squad today, as the only two remaining CECIL Cup winners in the squad (GK Haggard and WG Jerry Jeff Walker) were only on the bench. Hubbard would make it a brance on the volley not long after, setting up the visitors for a 2-0 lead at the half. That would be his day, as he was subbed for Billy Bland at half-time. But what a half he played.

The home side would keep getting their chances, however, but MOT GK Budinauckas was up to the challenge today. By the end of the match he would have 6 saves to his name, earning a MotM award for his efforts. On the other end, however, Felix was having a tougher day. Forced to contend with 9 shots on target, he let in the two in the first half as well as two in the second: Al Bondigas got back to his goalscoring ways from midfield after a couple big seasons for MOT. The visitors kept pushing until the end trying to end the tie now, too. Bill Bland got on the scoresheet in the 83rd minute with his first shot of the game. 0-4 the final score, and Motherwell have one foot into the quarterfinals with this performance.

This match, however, exaggerated MOT's advantage. Maybe a fair score should have been a 1-2 goal win for the visitors, like a 2-3 or 1-3 scoreline. But, 0-4 is how OLMEC shook this one out, and Motherwell will take the luck. It always takes some luck to win a cup, so we'll hope fortune remains on our side.

Hopefully the reverse fixture at Fir Park is a bit of a formality after this match. Motherwell haven't lost many at home over recent years, much less by 4+ goals. We'll hope that trend continues next weekend when EDI come into town for the two sides' 3rd meeting in 5 matches.

Oh well -2 games on and only 2 points to show for it.

At home to Brechin we had a fair bit of play and could have nipped all 3 points but had to settle for one in a 1-1 draw. A better point for them I feel.

But nobody told me I'd travel up to Dundee to play a stalling United side currently sitting in 2nd place. 
We putting our 2nd string keeper Bursik, but he might as well stayed on the bus. He wasn't called on once as we controlled the whole game but couldn't get any of our on target shots past the home keeper. Frustrating 0-0 draw -positives are we have half seasons Josh Mulligan, our new apprentice, gained ELs for our main keeper, Slater, and remain in a middle of the table position- our happy place. Bad news is we could have gained more points. 

We started the weekend with a home game against Willy's Forfar Athletic, always a tough side to play against, we opted for a 5-3-2 normal  as they went for a 4-2-4 early ball, we started the quicker and opened the scoring in the 1st minute on our 1st attack when McTominay drilled home 1-0,Forfar slowly played themselves back into the game and levelled things up on 19 minutes when Ardilles slotted home 1-1,defences then took control till half time, 2nd half subs on and we again started the quicker and Fraser fired home on 46 minutes 2-1,settled play then ensued,65 minutes and Forfar changed tact to longball hoping to get back into the game but a quick break on 77 minutes saw Fraser fire home his 2nd 3-1 and Henderson fired home on 82 minutes 4-1,Forfar changed tact again to press but all in vain as we outplayed them for periods and outshot them 12 to 2,well played Willy.

Next we were at home to Ross's Aberdeen, another tough side to play against ,but the Staggies home crowd were in full voice creating a cauldron of noise and were full of hope after our last few games,we opted for a 5-3-2 normal as they went for a 4-3-3 normal, we started slowly and were caught out on 5 minutes when McGhee fired home 0-1,we slowly played ourselves back into the game but could not create any goalscoring chances, half time soon came and subs on ,we seemed to up the tempo and the passing became slicker and on 63 minutes Chilvers slipped through and slotted home 1-1,we slowly became dominant in midfield and were controlling the game but the chances still didnt come until on 85 minutes Wright popped up and fired home 2-1,we again outplayed them for periods and outshot them 5 to 1 for a hard earned 3 points,well played Ross.

So a 6 point weekend sees us climb up to the dizzy heights of 3rd in the table.

With EDI already lodged in the Division 1 relegation zone and having been firmly put in our place by MOT in the latest round of the Cecil Cup...The manager has turned his beyes and the efforts of the team towards 'Survival' in the league.

Finances are in a very good position at the moment for EDI and all attention has now been directed to the clubs dire situation in Division 1. With two apprentices who need training up it will prove to be a challenge for the manager but all efforts are now pointing in that sole direction.

We went into games 9 and 10 with hope in our hearts. But then it ended with a 1-0 loss away to Ross County with twinner scored in the 54th min. It was a debut for our apprentice GK Max Thompson. He managed to save 3 shots from 4 on target. It looks like we were lucky that all 4 shots for FOR went to their DF'ers. 

Game 10 saw us at home to QOTS, one of our 3 chosen rivals. New apprentice GK Thompson was rested after his exertions v Ross County and back in came Josh Clarke. He made 4 saves from 5 shots on target. The one that got past him was the 1st goal of the game in the 53rd min. We amanaged to get an equaliser from Curtis Main in the 70th mins. QOTH edging shots on target 5 to 3. 

I think we need to shore up around the 53/54  mins with us losing a goal in each of those games in that 2 mins spell. 

What started as a hopeful home fixture for Queen of the South ended in disaster.  Elgin City dominated from the start and crushed QOS with a 5-0 win, leaving the team shocked and coach Arnold Yzermans frustrated on the sidelines.

Elgin took control early. Miko Virtanen scored after just three minutes, and soon after, Kane Hester and Olly McDonald added more goals. By the 39th minute, Elgin led 5-0, with Hester scoring twice and Virtanen adding two more. Robby McCrorie had a terrible day in goal and was replaced at halftime by Angus Gunn, but the damage was already done.

QOS never recovered. The midfield was overwhelmed, the defense struggled, and the attack never threatened. Elgin’s pressure and sharp finishing exposed all of QOS’s weaknesses. The second half was quieter, but QOS still couldn’t create any real chances. Stephen McKenna and Archie Gemmill made some important blocks, but it wasn’t enough.

Kane Hester was the best player on the pitch, scoring twice and never stopping. Elgin’s wingers, Virtanen and McDonald, caused problems the whole match, while QOS could only hope to avoid an even bigger defeat.

Final score: QOS 0 - Elgin City 5. A harsh lesson for Queen of the South, who now need to fix their defense and tactics. 

The Fifers bid farewell to two players this week, but welcome a promising new youngster.

MIdfielder Jess Norey has only been at the club for a couple of seasons, having joined us as an auction purchase.  He has only played twenty matches for the club, scoring two goals.  I can't remember how much we paid for him but it was probably too much.

Defender Mamadou Bah (pictured, right) has been rather more significant for us, though he too has only played for two seasons.  Bah has made 47 appearances and has been a solid, reliable defender.  His physical presence has made him a hard man to beat and he has become a favourite with the fans who call him "The Sheep" and produce baaing noises whenever he's on the ball.

Kobie Thompson (pictured, left) joins us as a rookie goalkeeper and is likely to be seen in 45 minute bursts in various matches this season.  Kobie is a family bull with a heart even biggger than his massive head.  He has a tendency towards being very tidy and, when left alone, loves nothing more than dusting around the house in his brightly-coloured pants.  He has an insatiable appetite, but is quite a health-conscious soul who has made a habit of reading the nutritional information on all the food in the supernarket.  Endlessly well-intentioned, but occasionally blinded by hunger, he has been known (more than once) to land himself short of a sandwich and white-knuckle-grasping the wrong end of the stick.  We expect great things from you, Kobie!

After last week’s positive update around the club, Cowdenbeath returned to league action with the Blue Brazil showing that the early momentum in Division 2 was no fluke.

The first stop was a trip north to face Peterhead, and the Mad Cows delivered one of their most clinical performances of the season so far. A commanding 4–0 victory saw Cowdenbeath in complete control from start to finish. The defence remained rock solid while the attack made the most of the chances created, with Connor Syme earning Man of the Match honours after another assured performance between the posts.

Confidence was clearly high heading into the next fixture, as Cowdenbeath hosted Hibernian. If Peterhead had been convincing, the performance against Hibs was even more emphatic. The Blue Brazil once again ran out 4–0 winners, dominating proceedings across the pitch. Jon Rahm produced an outstanding display at the back to collect the Man of the Match award, while the attack continued to fire with impressive efficiency.

Those two victories add another six points to the tally and keep Cowdenbeath firmly at the summit of Division 2. After six matches the Blue Brazil sit top of the table with 15 points, boasting an impressive 18 goals scored and only 4 conceded. Our defence remain solid, whilst our forwards continue to produce goals at a steady rate.

The chasing pack remains close, with Deveronvale, Dundee United and Brechin City all keeping pressure near the top, but for now Cowdenbeath hold the advantage both in points and goal difference.

With the squad refreshed following the earlier cup rotation and morale high, the Mad Cows will be hoping this strong start is only the beginning of a sustained push at the top of Division 2.

Right, busy weekend where we retired 3 of our stalwarts. o'Riurke, Marinello and Dennis all departed and we brought in a new lad in midfield. He can be trained up when we operate a 2 wingers or a long ball tactic.

on the playing front we lost 4-0 at 1st division bound Cowdenbeath but that was okay as our first match was at home to our conquerors in the Cecil Cup, Falkirk.

We were just pleased to win, but we won well, by 5-1, despite having a sending off. Worked it out off we trade a win and a loss each week we will stay midstream whilst looking to build the squad up to compete in the "top" division. 
Idle midweek but ready for the weekend games - soon be the SESL Cup...👍👍

Team age structure has changed for teams trying to maintain stability at the top in SESL. What has caused this shift? The mid-season staff buying option D) Senior Citizen. The rest of this probably isn't true for teams going through rebuilds, as that math may still be similar to how it was before staff purchases were added, but I think it is a worthwhile discussion for teams maintaining an already strong side.

Previously, a top team would need 1-2 age 5s in their rotation. A good captain + someone you can move the captain to if you max out PU near midseason. The former obviously more important than the latter, as not too many squads need a captain change and if they do, you can usually still move to last season's captain (now an age 6) as a fallback.

Top teams are unlikely to be buying too many of the other staff options. OTF upgrades and morale improvements are unlikely. Changing position might be needed on ocassion, but 300k on top of a player cost is only typically worth it if you get a great deal on an 0/10 SW or something of the sort. Physio probably only comes up if you got unlucky with a giant -99 EL injury.

Why is senior citizen so good? Look at MOT's non-captain age 5: 5/28 WG Maswanhise. Senior citizen will make him a 5/38 for two games and after MSA he will be a 5/32. Next season he will be a 6/24. Without the staff addition, he would be a 5/23 and then 6/17. That is a huge boost to your T/11 and T/17 for 250k for at least a full season.

So, now a squad trying to maintain stability towards the top will need an extra age 5 to dump 10 PU onto for 250k. 2 to 3 good age 5 players is a big shift! But it is worth doing, so how do we get there:

• Some seasons will be like this current one for Motherwell. We entered with only one strong age 5: our 5/24 FW. Here we needed to add one through an auction or trade, and we were fortunate enough to buy one in Auction 1. Had that not happened we would be looking to the future auctions or trades. If we need to switch captains at some point, we will likely move it to an age 6 (SW, backup GK, or WG, depending on what other youth players we bring in)
• Some seasons will be like next season: We will have probably 2-3 age 4s coming through as a high SL age 5 next season. This certainly increases our urgency to spend CP this season on our 4/25 MF and DM where we might not have otherwise. The threshold for spending CP on older players has certainly changed for me.

How does it change my team structure for youth players? It means I probably have to be more cognizant of keeping at least two youth for each age cohort. Unlikely I want to have many seasons where I have 3 age 0s and 1 age 1, for example. If that is the case, I may way to consider adding another age 1 as that will save me some struggle to add a high SL player for a premium later on. TBD on how it shakes out, but that is my thinking for now.

(one last note, I don't really consider DF, SW, or SD to count for these key cohort players. I pretty much don't ever find it worth it to add CP to age 4 DF/SW/SDs, so these positions only end up being captains/senior citizens for me if they are purchased as age 5s. This logic would probably change at some point if I ever was left without a good GK, but having a good GK is probably a prerequisite to staying at the top of SESL)

If anyone disagrees with my logic above I would love to hear your thoughts. Or, keep it to yourself and let me suffer going down the wrong path!

In the latest military press meeting SRA Manager gave the following statement.

"Our will is endless, but ultimately the Chairman gets to determine the end state of those objectives," McCumiskey says.

He adds that it's up to the SRA Chariman to decide how long the cup run goes on for, as he was the one elected into office.

McCumiskey was asked what his message is for SRA Fans who are not in favour of the Cup and on the decision to strike EF on Wednesday.

He says that SRA has stayed focused on its own objective to destroy EF in less than 90 minutes, but it could possibly take a few weeks. In any case we are definitely winning.

"The chairman is leading and determining where we want to go," he says and adds that they are not being pulled in any direction.

It’s been a busy week behind the scenes at Cowdenbeath, with a mix of new beginnings, fond farewells, and a little financial good news for the Blue Brazil.

First up is the arrival of a new face at Central Park. The club have invested 300k to bring in apprentice Calum Hill, a 0/5 midfielder who will begin his development within the Cowdenbeath system. While still very much a long-term project, the hope is that Hill can grow into a useful option in the middle of the park over the coming seasons. The Blue Brazil have never been shy about investing in youth, and Hill now gets the opportunity to prove he can follow that path.

There were also a couple of departures as two long-serving squad members called time on their careers. Paul Elliott (5/3 DF) hangs up his boots after several seasons with the Mad Cows, providing depth and reliability at the back whenever called upon. Alongside him, Bobby Baccalieri (6/7 GK) also retires, bringing to a close his time guarding the Cowdenbeath goal. Both players leave with the thanks of the club for their service and professionalism.

Off the pitch there was also a welcome bit of good news for the club finances. The club paid £166k as part of a sponsorship clause tied to individual performances, with the agreement set to award £400k if a player reaches the success criteria of four Man of the Match awards. If achieved, it would provide a tidy boost that will no doubt help with future squad planning.

All in all, a week that reflects the natural cycle of a football club — new talent arriving, experienced players moving on, and the occasional financial bonus helping keep things ticking along nicely at Cowdenbeath.

After a shaky start, it was great to see us hit some form this weekend. 

Last week we came out of the league games with a win in match 7 and followed it up with a cup win mid-week - it wasnt enough sadly, as we crashed out early on away goals - we will miss the gate receipts this season. This wekend we built up that into 4 wins in a row. There really are no easy games in Division 1 this season. Every team seems capable of putting out a winning lineup, so its very difficult to be confident of a win in anay game! Its going to be an interesting season.  

Its always an exciting game againset DEE - but we had the strength at the back for this game and actually the result never looked in doubt, comfortable at half time and finishing it off in the second and we managed to rest a couple of players in the second half. 

The game away at Fraerburgh however never looked comfortable. Again we had the advantage at the back, but the FRA attacking line is lethal! and how we kept them from scoring im not sure! 6 shots, 4 on target and no goals. With both our GKs playing and keeping a clean sheet was surprising! 

After the bumpy start we are now only 2 points off top, although in 5th. Everyone is beatable, having already lost a agme (apart from ELG - but theyve drawn 5/6 games! 

We started the weekend with a home game against Paul's Ayr United, a quality side who are always hard to play against, we opted for a 5-3-2 normal as they went for a 4-4-2 normal, both sides started well and enjoyed lots of possession but defences on top for the 1st half,2nd half subs on and defences still earning their money but on 54 minutes we got the breakthrough when after a set piece Lopata was still upfront and a loose came to him and he rifled it home like a striker not a strapping central defender 1-0,from then on the defensive unit were on top and closed down all attacks before they could develop as we outplayed them for periods and outshot them 4 to 2 for 3 very hard earned points,well played Paul.

Next we travelled to Marc's Clyde ,a place we have always struggled to get results,both sides opted for a 5-3-2 normal, both sides started well and enjoyed lots of possession and they opened the scoring on 10 minutes when Niang fired home 1-0,we slowly played ourselves back into the game and levelled things up on 25 minutes when Fraser slipped through and slotted home 1-1 and he fired home his 2nd on 43 minutes 1-2,half time came and subs on ,both sides still enjoying lots of possession looking for that elusive opening but defences were up for it and closed all attacks before they could develop and we sealed the game on 88 minutes when Fraser fired home to complete his hat trick 1-3 as we just edged the shot count 4 to 3 ,well played Marc,cracking game as usual. 

So a 6 point weekend sees us rise to 5th.

The Bairns had a good week starting with the home Cecil cup match against Hibernian. Trailing two one from the away leg we got off to a flyer on 9 minutes when Gilmour scored thunderbolt. The game was then nip and tuck until Speedie scored the second on 71 minutes to see us though to the last 16 to face Kilmarnock. Hibernian did get their revenge straight away when we traveled to play them in the league yesterday. Our reserve keeper Gunn conceding five from seven shots seeing us go five nil behind until Speedie got a consolation goal late on. We did bounce back the next game away at Dumbarton. A Gilmour goal in the opening minute got us off to an excellent start. Gilmour scored again 6 minutes later and six minutes before halftime Gilmour completed his hat trick. Ferguson made it four on 52 minutes before Dumbarton scored late on. We currently sit eleventh but our focus is on the cup. 

The week started well with EDI winning their 2nd leg of the Cecil Cup tie at home to DUM with a strong 4-0 victory. Back to the struggles in Division 1 and a road trip to SRA saw EDI come away with all 3 points and a 0-2 victory to give EDI their first win of the season in the league. Next up was a home game versus MOT and EDI lost with MOT scoring the only goal of the game on 60 minutes.

With EDI now in the 3rd round of the Cecil Cup hopes were high among EDI fans until the draw paired us with MOT which looks to be a very difficult tie and maybe just beyond EDI this season but if we fail then it won't be for the lack of trying.

This weekend also saw three players retire from the squad but that was off-set by the promotion of exciting young WG Charlie Cooke from the youth team to the full squad. Much is expected from Charlie in future seasons and all at the club wish him well.

Just like real life Motherwell, MOT have been on a winning run lately. Unlike real life Motherwell, that run didn't end today.

Motherwell came into this weekend having kicked their season into gear. A 6-point second weekend of the season had moved them up to 3rd place in the league - their 9 points just being a point behind 1st and 2nd. The CECIL Cup had also gone well, dispatching a stubborn ANN side that was unlucky to lose 4-1 on aggregate. Three of our first five wins had come by margins to give us a captain's bonus, meaning even our backup FW should be fairly lethal in front of net.

A strong and rested HEA side was up next. Either side had plenty of firepower to win this thing, but Motherwell did have Fir Park behind them. This was a rare occasion where HB was used, here to the tune of 20k for an attempt at an extra shot or two that could be the difference. Motherwell would, as a result, start with the statistical advantage, but both sides would have their chances. Over the first 30 minutes, both sides did have chances - only a couple smart saves and a couple offsides flags going both directions kept this at 0-0. However, the home side were able to find the opener in the 34th minute. New signing Maswanhise combined well with Billy Bland to set the Englishman through, and Bland got his 3rd league goal of the season. This match would stay tense until the 73rd minute while the home side were trying to finish this one off at 1-0. Billy Bland was again set loose, and he made no mistake for his brace. His day was not done, however, as he completed the hat-trick just 6 minutes later. This match was over, the visitors' heads were down, and it gave Billy Bland a chance for the cherry on top - a 4th goal in the match in the 84th minute. Billy Bland has a day to remember, with three of his four goals coming in an 11 minute span late in the second half. 4-0 to the Well as they move into 2nd place. 

Finally it would be an away trip to EDI to finish off the week. Motherwell is scheduled to face Edinburgh City three times over the next week and a half: once in the league and twice in the CECIL cup. Two away trips in a row have management questioning whether they should just camp out on Arthur's Seat between the matches. This one looked ridiculously tight from the start: Both sides within a percent of each other on shot chance, but MOT perhaps with the advantage in the GK position. The visitors actually had the lion's share of the chances in the first half, but backup GK Parkes was up to the task for EDI, making a few fine saves. Both sides brought on subs at halftime to improve their lineups, and yet still the goalkeepers were coming out on top, each making a save. It was Guy Clark who broke the deadlock finally, right on the stroke of 60 minutes. Here, EDI decided to remove their best chance at scoring (Clyde Best), and Motherwell were able to stall out the match to protect their narrow lead. Motherwell win the first battle, as they move into 1st on goal difference and EDI fall into the relegation zone.

Big wins - the more points we can pick up on the road the better. Our schedule does not get much easier in the near future, so it is good that we haven't fallen behind in the title race already.

It has been a great week for the Fifers, as we notched up three wins and so made it through to the last 16 of the CECIL Cup.

We started with a visit to Alloa.  We were widely picked to lose this one, and didn’t really rate our chances.  But we took an early lead in a well-contested game.  Alloa fought back, bringing the score to 2-2 after 55 minutes but on the hour Jack Healey found an empty net in front of him, and with the ball appearing at his feet, made no mistake.

A home tie against Livingston followed.  On paper this looked as if it would be an even match but Matty Rollo (pictured) was in fine form in goal and we ran out winners by 5-2.  Two goals for Adam Lareef here.

Finally the CECIL Cup.  We’d won the away leg against Cowdenbeath 0-1 but not wishing to squash our laurels, put out a full strength team.   Cowdenbeath, on the other hand, didn’t.  But as in the first leg, we had trouble finding the net.  A goal just before half time and another just on the final whistle saw us through but really it should have been more comfortable.  Stranraer are our opponents in the last 16.  It’ll be tough…

Another week, another set of results that capture life managing Cowdenbeath in SESL: moments where everything clicks, and others where the long-term plan takes priority over short-term glory.

The run began with a 3–2 away win at Inverness, a lively contest where the Blue Brazil showed both attacking quality and a touch of resilience. Inverness made it a real game, but Cowdenbeath managed to edge the shootout and bring the three points back down the A9.

Confidence clearly travelled with the squad into the next fixture, as the Mad Cows followed it up with an emphatic 5–0 victory over Queen’s Park. Everything seemed to click in that one – chances created, chances taken, and a defence that made sure the clean sheet never really looked in danger. It was the kind of performance that reminds the rest of the division just how dangerous Cowdenbeath can be when it hits top gear.

The week ended with a trip to East Fife in the CECIL Cup, where the result was largely in line with the plan. With the league campaign clearly the priority, management rotated the squad and protected stamina, accepting the trade-off that comes with treating the cup as secondary. East Fife ran out 2–0 winners, but the real objective was ensuring the key players remain fresh for the league battles ahead.

Despite the cup exit, the league picture remains very healthy. Cowdenbeath sit top of Division 2 with 9 points from 4 matches, level with Brechin City and Dundee United but ahead on goal difference. With 10 goals scored and only 4 conceded, the early signs suggest the Blue Brazil have both the firepower and the structure to stay firmly in the promotion conversation.

It’s still early in the season, but for now supporters can enjoy an unfamiliar sight – Cowdenbeath sitting proudly at the summit of the table.

Ah well, we came, we saw, and we flopped. A few days off midweek now as we couldn't hold on to our single goal lead away to Falkirk in the CECIL Cup. Losing 2-0 (1-0 would have put us out too) was disappointing but life is like that at times - disappointing. So Falkirk march on and we look forward to the weekend games - first up - err is a home game v Falkirk.  :-)

So after posting we were the last team to have a clean sheet in league games, yes you've guessed it. That disappeared in a 1-0 loss to Clyde. We would just like to get some shots for our FW's. 1 each to a DF and MF in this game. Maybe i should just have no FW's :)

Our 4th league game we got back to winning ways with a 1-0 win v FOR at home. This time our FW's finally got some shot action. Albeit 1 shot between 2 FW's playing the whole game each out of a total 7. At least our MF got the othe 6 and Jay Henderson came to the rescue with a goal in 53 mins. Jamie Murphy got MOTM despite only playing 45 mins. But he got 4 shots. I think some shotting practive is needed for Jamie. 

We sit 6th in the league after the first 4 league games wiuth the upcoming games against Ross County (Away) and QOTS (Home)

After this weekend we will be saying goodby to some old stalwarts as they get retired for a new apprentice. 

Albinson - Musonda - Syla - Chalmers and Loudon be out on the scraphead after this weekends games. 

Falkirk had a difficult week losing twice and drawing the other game. We started in midweek with a Cecil cup first round match at Hibernian. We got outplayed and found ourselves two nil behind. Luck then kicked in and Smith got injured for Hibs and we then had our only chance of the match and Speedie converted it to give us a chance going into the 2nd leg only one goal behind. Yesterday's league games started away at Queens Park. Reserve keeper Gunn started in goal and conceded from their only chance of the match which proved crucial in the one nil defeat. The second match was at home against Peterhead. Our luck continued to be bad and we conceded after just two minutes. We then had several chances to win the game but only scored once on 43 minutes by Gilmour for an one all draw. We sit eleventh with just four points from the opening four matches. Hopefully our luck changes for the return match with Hibernian.

Maybe we should have actually. Press, that is. 

We went out in game 1 against a great Hearts team, with a great manager - but we played to win. Home bonus and stats in our favour. It just sidnt work ont he day. Not the end of the world in isolation, but this meant 3 games in a row without a win. Tough going and something we havent had to experience for a while. At the end of this one it felt like we were starting a disasterous season. 

But. Next game, another tough one against EDI - and a very hard fought win. Mixed but even stats, but this time a much needed 3 points. 

It actually leaves us 'mid table' afetr 4 games. Mixed resuls, but the lowes goals (scored and conceded combined) in the league. There has been a crazy amount of goasl across the division in the game so far (excluding ours!). But the good news is of course - its early days - and we are only 3 points from top. No 100% records remain already - suggesting its going to be a very competitive season. 

Bad weekend but we nip back down to mid table obsurity even if we hadn't planned for it. Away to Raith Rovers we slipped up badly and went down by 2-0. WE had a lot of play and could have gained a point but not to be. 

No problems with that except my Bosman, SW Jordan Smith received a bad injury in the 2-1 home win in the CECIL Cup midweek so had to play retiree Marinello at SW. Another mistake as he got himself sent off during the game. :-(

We played Marinello again at SW as Smith will be out for at least 6 games, and Marinello is due to sit out Wednesday's 2nd leg tie at Falkirk. He did fine, the whole team did fine and we battered our visitors Kilmarnock from the word go. Pity the Killie keeper decided to impress the Azerbaijan team manager (I don't know his country of origin and haven't looked but it sounded good) and he saved 9 shots he faced. So we had to settle for 1 point in a 0-0 draw. Wanted 4 on the weekend but got 1 and slip to around 7th.

Early days yet and the physio boost will help Smith come back that bit earlier before Marinello gets sold off...

A 3-2 away defeat at PT was followed by a 0-1 home loss versus STE which sees EDI with just a single point out of a possible twelve as the poor start to the season continues.

The manager remains upbeat though as he believes that the squad is good enough to turn the recent form around and EDI can rediscover some of the form that served them so well in the second half of last seasons impressive promotion run.

Up next is the 2nd leg of the Cecil Cup tie versus DUM in which EDI trail 2-3 but hopefully home advantage will help the EDI cause in the return leg and EDI can begin to show some improvement.

Cecil cup 2nd round came calling and we had drawn the Mighty Stranraer, Andrew's quality side who win for fun,we were not looking forward to this after our poor start to the league campaign, he opted for a 5-2-3 normal with a strong looking side as we went for a 5-3-2 normal, both sides started well and enjoyed lots of possession but on 25 minutes we opened the scoring when Grieves rifled home a long range effort 0-1,half time came and subs on ,2nd half went so quick as we defended deeply and kept their attacks to a minimum and outshot them 2 to 0,unbelievable Jeff,it may well be a different story in the return leg, well played Andrew ,not what we expected. 

Back to league action and home to Matthew's Cove Rangers,always a tough game here against them,we opted for a 5-3-2 normal as they went for a 4-3-3 normal, game on and both sides enjoying lots of possession but defences on top for the 1st half,2nd half subs on and we pushed on and got the breakthrough on 61 minutes when Fraser fired home 1-0,from then on we defended well and shut down all attacks before they could develop as we edged the shot count 3 to 1 ,and our 1st win in the league,well played Matthew. 

Next we travelled to Derek's Berwick, always a tricky place to get a result at,they opted for a 3-4-3 normal as we went for a 5-3-2 normal, game on and both sides enjoying lots of possession but we opened the scoring on 20 minutes when Chilvers fired home 0-1 and a slick move on 36 minutes saw Smith slot home 0-2,but Berwick slowly played themselves back into the game and pulled one back on 40 minutes when Wallace fired home 1-2,half time came and subs on ,all going well till 71 minutes when a quick attack and swift cross saw Doak power home his header 2-2,we pushed on but could not find another way through the stubborn defence as we outplayed them for periods and outshot them 10 to 3 but had to settle for a point,well played Derek. 

So a 4 point weekend sees us climb up to 12th.

Cove Rangers got there man Matt Cash in the auction to add to there defensive options and also free up there DM Arron Darge to take up a place in the midfield more often. The manager said that the club were looking to reinforce there team and Cash will help do that as well as give the team more options.

He did say this might not be the only player he will try and recruit early in  the season as the squad needs a little more back up. There is a good core to the team but when players are not available for any reason the squad lacks a little back up.

Well… that was a week of mixed emotions in Methil and beyond.

We kicked things off in the CECIL Cup with a hard-fought 1–1 draw away to East Stirlingshire. A solid draw on the road and a performance that suggested the lads had remembered which goal we were shooting at. Even better, we followed it up with a composed 2–0 win in the return fixture. Professional. Efficient. Almost suspiciously competent.

Then came Division 2 reality.

A narrow 2–1 defeat to Brechin City reminded us that football is has it's ups and downs. To their credit, the boys bounced back immediately with a 1–0 win over Dundee United. Not vintage COW, but gritty. The sort of win that wins leagues… or at least keeps us mid-table and dreaming.

Unfortunately, the cup giveth and the cup taketh away. A 1–0 loss to East Fife ended our recent momentum and proved that sometimes the football gods are just East Fife fans in disguise. Not that we epxected anyting from the tie, we were setup to not lose heavily and get some SL points dished out.

Summary:

• Cup form: Confident and in control, a managed exit on the cards.

• League form: Competitive.

• Clean sheets: Encouraging.

• Manager stress levels: Manageable… for now.

Plenty to build on. If we can combine our cup composure with our league resilience, the COW might yet charge.

Onward. 🐮

The Fifers just scraped a win against Cowdenbeath in the CECIL Cup on Wednesday. When the lineups were revealed, it looked as if it should be a comfortable victory for us.  Alan Bishop had fielded a weak team (no player above SL19) and decided to stall.  This yielded us a shot advantage of 8.5% to 1.9%.  Not decisive in itself but the Mad Cows had their apprentice keeper (SL5) between the sticks and surely he wouldn't stop much.  Sadly our shooting was woeful, and we didn;t manage a shot on target until the 81st minute - and that effort was a comfortable save.  But with two minutes left we finally broke through when a brilliant solo effort by Kallum Higginbotham (pictured) snatched us a 1-0 victory, our first win of the seson.

Phew!

So 4 games into the season and we are out of the CECIL Cup 1-3 on agg v Dunfermline. A draw 1-1 at home with a 2-0 reverse at EEP. We followed that up with a 1-0 league win v Berwick and a 0-0 draw v Aberdeen. So we are unbeaten at home in 3 matches and a 100% loss away from home (1 game) :)

We welcome into the squad some new blood. 

MF - Lars Holmgren joins from EDI so that we can train him up and have finally have some rotation in that area. 
GK - Max Thompson also joins as an apprentice. A check on the Transfers and players available and there were no GK's so we have to take the hit with a 0/5 GK and pray upon pray we don't get a team on form when he plays in his first 8 ish games. 

Upcoming games away to Clyde (2 wins from 2 in the league so far) and at Home to FOR (1 draw and 1 loss) this coming weekend. 

The league table shows us as 4th. Played 2 - 1 win and 1 draw and the only team in all the leagues after 2 games still not concede a goal :) But we are 1 goal for an 0 against. That will change quickly with this team.

1st leg Cecil Cup saw Falkirk come to call.

We tried EC followed by L and it was going so well with a 2 goal lead going into the last few minutes. At that point Bosman lad Jordan Smith went off with a bad injury (enough for at least 3 Physio Boosts) and with no subs left we gave up a goal to FAL's only shot on target.

So a difficult game to come next Wednesday but reserve SW Marinello, getting ready to retire after game 10, will be brought in for the next 4 games. The rest of the lads will need to step up. We still have started the season with 5 wins from 5 games but none has been an easy ride.

So, it’s a new season and the Fifers have scraped into Division 1.  Our first match was a home tie against Elgin City and this looked like one we could win, boasting a shot chance of 10.6% against 4.6% as well as a slightly better keeper.  But Elgin struck first with a 13th minute goal and we trailed until just before half time when defender Charlie Murray popped up in the box to fire home an equaliser.  And soon after half time we took the lead we deserved, a superb finish by new boy Malachy Cash (pictured).  The 2-1 lead only lasted two minutes before Charlie Murray blotted his copy book with a dreadful clearance which led to a 2-2 scoreline.  And that was the end of the scoring.  We got the shots we deserved but our keeper Matty Rollo had a poor afternoon, conceding two goals from five on-target shots.

On to match two and a trip to Arbroath who boast a slight shot advantage, 7.7% to our 6.0%, but once again we have a better keeper so a draw would seem to be a fair result.  Sadly, that didn’t happen, we were well beaten, 4-1.  Malachy Cash again got a goal here, and it looks as if he will be a great asset for the club.

A disappointing start in the league, we’ll hope to get our first win in the CECIL Cup

In what became the longest-ever address of its kind, Manager Andrew McCumiskey provided his update on SRA as part of his State of the Blues address, offering victorious - and sometimes combative - remarks, praising the work of fellow Blues and outlining his future agenda. 

The annual address by the Manager is made to members of the team, his players, members of the board - along with the manager's family and other guests. 

The speech came at a particularly pivotal time for the manager as tensions flare over STJ appointed Refs, and just days after his opening matches of season 61. 

There are also continued worries over affordability of his big spending policy - which is considered by pundits to be an issue that could cause McCumiskey to lose full control of SRA in mid-season elections later this year. 

Here are several key moments from his evening in the spotlight, speaking to a sharply divided audience and a global audience of tens of millions of SESLers.

1. Longest ever, clocking in at a record one hour and 47 minutes

2. McCumiskey comes face-to-face with Chairman who struck down his trades

3. Dissenting SRA Fans ejected from the room....again

4. Victorious curling stars introduced to chants of 'U-S-A, U-S-A'. (Shouldn't they be singing for Scotland? -Ed)

5. More honours given to record goal scorer Mondo Polestar (FW 4/32). Medal of Honour, Purple Heart and a McDonalds voucher.

More ranting and raving next week.......bet you cannot wait?!

We tried in the 1st auction but have a problem working out whethjer we actually wanted a player or better to save up the cash to have a shot at a more meaningful lad. So we sipped in the middle and came up with no-one. The team is okay for now - at least till the next auction.

This midweek we face Falkirk at home in the 1st leg 2nd round of the Cecil Cup - lads are looking forward to it, but the weekend league games are just as important. It has always been a juggling act.

Motherwell are happy to announce the signing of Tawanda Maswanhise as a veteran reinforcement on our wings. Not having a 3rd winger was a concern for MOT, and this move serves as a big boost to our attack. "This is the type of signing we need to challenge on all fronts this season," said manager Foss-Grant. "Tawanda will play a vital role from day one, and he will ease the strain on our midfield to cover minutes for our wingers. We expect he will serve a vital role on the wing over the next two seasons as we continue also refreshing several positions with youth talent."

Tawanda also marks a big shift in naming convention for MOT - given how well Motherwell are doing in the premiership, MOT will start trying to name signings of note after real Motherwell players as a point of honor. Let's hope they can continue their run of form and reel in a team or two above them in the final months of the season!

Motherwell open the season full of hope after a season of cup runs and excitement from SESL's 60th birthday. Second in T-11 and T-17, Motherwell would hope to make a real challenge at more silverware this year.

First up came a tricky opening fixture away at Livingston again. This fixture has not been a happy hunting grounds for Motherwell in recent memory. Last season saw MOT lose here on opening day, 7-4, and the reverse fixture was a disappointing 2-2 draw for the Well. This year, MOT entered the match with a slight advantage - better shot # and a higher average ShSL. Both sides fielded a SL26 goalkeeper, so it was game on with as close of a 50/50 odds as you typically get in this game. However, it was not to be a good day for the visitors - LIV were gifted a huge flurry of opportunities through some weak MOT defending, and they certainly made them count with both 11th and 12th minute goals. They made it 3 before the half, and there was no way back for the visitors. Motherwell put an embarrassing 2 shots on frame the whole match, and are outshot 8-5 in this one. Bad luck for the visitors, but also some bad play from the GK (1 save from 4) and bad shot distribution (no shots to any of our forwards, 2 shots of 5 on frame). Not the way you want to start your season! Fair play to John - the home side were set up well and were certainly good for their win.

No time to sulk over the result, Motherwell were now in a position where they absolutely needed a win from the home opener against Saint Mirren - the club where manager Foss-Grant got his introduction to SESL. Here, Motherwell were more of favorites for sure. A good gulf in stats and a better GK meant that MOT should likely come away with 3 points here. Again this match saw an early goal, but this time it was winger Jerry Jeff Walker who scored Motherwell's opening goal of the campaign. Motherwell would put many more shots in as the half went on, but the SM GK was playing well today and made a couple big saves. But, his resistance was finally broken again with a 31st minute goal from Townes Van Zandt, not the most likely of goalscorers. Some halftime subs reduced MOT's dominance, but they still seemed well in control of this one. The victory would be sealed in the 60th minute, as substitute Ray Wylie Hubbard would score his 106th goal of his career. This put him now on his own as the 2nd most goals scored for Motherwell, passing up Kris Kristofferson and closing in on Sean OHannigain. He will need 13 more on the season to tie OHannigain's record. His goal also sealed the captain's bonus for himself, as MOT win this one 3-0.

Not the ideal opening weekend, but not a huge disaster either. LIV are always a tough opponent, and if we are going to have a disappointing league run again this season it certainly won't be due to that result. 3 points in the bag, and now it's time to shift our focus to the cup

As reported in the most recent edition of the 'Edinburgh Evening Argus', EDI did indeed make their first significent signing of the season on Sunday evening. The signing saw DF Martin Buchan sign his first professional contract with EDI after joining via the 'Auction' where EDI managed to outbid all others and acquire a much sought after DF who the team consider to have a very bright future. We wish Martin every success in the seasons to come.

Elsewhere, the first Division 1 league session saw EDI lose by the odd goal in three at powerful DEE but gained the first point of the season with a 2-2 draw at home to a good FRA team. 

Quickly on to the 2nd round tie in the Cecil Cup on Wednesday and an away match versus DUM which promises to be a well contested first cup game of the season for EDI.

Not the start to the league we were looking for. 

We started with a home game against Roy's Stirling, a side we always seem to struggle against, we opted for a 5-3-2 normal as they went for a 4-5-1 ball control, both sides started well and enjoyed lots of possession but defences on top for the 1st half,2nd half subs on and we opened the scoring on 68 minutes when Grieves smashed home a loose ball 1-0,but on 76 minutes Stirling hit back as Doyle slotted home 1-1,and just when it looked like a draw was on the cards  Tango slipped through on 85 minutes and slotted home 1-2,we edged the shot count 4 to 3 but come away pointless, well played Roy.

Next we travelled to Tapani's Greenock Morton, a place we have never enjoyed travelling to, as we never get a result. 

They opted for a 4-3-3 normal as we went for a 5-3-2 normal, both sides started well and enjoyed lots of possession but they opened the scoring on 28 minutes when Brophy fired home 1-0,half time came and subs on ,56 minutes and Brophy headed home his 2nd 2-0 and on 59 minutes Marten rose highest and headed home 3-0 and Moffatt sealed the game on 77 minutes 4-0 as they outplayed us for periods and outshot us 6 to 4,well played Tapani. 

So a pointless weekend to our league start.

Falkirk went into the second leg Cecil cup match away at Celtic with a four one advantage from the first leg. After 59 minutes we found ourselves two nil behind and the game wasn't over. Seven minutes later Speedie scored for the Bairns and the tie was won five three on aggregate. We now face Hibernian in the next round. So yesterday the league campaign got underway with an away game at Dundee United. We lost one nil conceding on 29 minutes and couldn't find an equaliser. The second match at home against Inverness was much better. Two second half goals from Gilmour and Ferguson secured a two nil victory for our first three points. Just like this week I think the season will be up and down.

Game Week 1 for league play and we are off to an acceptable start. 

1 Win, 1 Draw. 6th in the table. But the concern is DEE got off to the perfect start and will be difficult for any team to keep up with. Our new players have settled well and hopefully we can build from here. I thought we ahd done a great job of tidying the squad up and getting it set for a strong season, but we have dropped down the T11 charts, so will need to rely on our coaching staff to get stuck in quick and we are still on the look out for a young keeper to build up for next season. Other than that we will have to settle for what we have as we have no available funds. Looking forward to the cup kick off mid week before 2 more tough league games. 

Auction bids are in, but not expecting to pick anything up this time round. We will be slow to build funds as we are using extra coaching slots. 

First league weekend and the team is doing fine - riding a bit good fortune in the opening 2 matches, but a 6 pointer nevertheless.

Away at Hamilton for the opener we were up a goal in the 1st minutre via winger Watson, but the Accies came back through Robinson 14 minutes later. It looked like that might end the scoring but firstly Kennedy with 17 minutes to go put us ahead and Bowie made it 3-1 with 5 minutes left to play.

They possessed a good attack - and will score goals, plenty of them.

Then Nairn came to visit us and on the 14th minute their sweeper Morrison crossed for defender Docherty to put them ahead. It took till a minute from the interval before we got level with Watson's 2nd goal in the league campaign. The winner came halfway through the 2nd half when Bowie connected with a Boyle cross.

Now it is back to Cup action with Falkirk visiting us on Wednesday - should be 2 good games - we are in the same division. 

We are pleased to welcome three new Fifers at the start of the season, one transfer, one Bosman and one apprentice.

Malachy Cash joins on a part-exchange deal with Peterhead, replacing aging superstar Kieran Millar in midfield.  Malachy Is a surfer.  In his VW camper he travels the East coast of Scotland chasing waves in all seasons.  A seaside lover who never got over the feel of sand and the taste of salt, he loves life in a wetsuit with no obligations to anyone else.   He takes his cream tea with the jam first and is mortally offended if it’s raspberry not strawberry.  He is a collector of shells and unusual stones and can always be caught on the beach with his arse in the air happily minding his own business.

Our Bosman signing this season is another midfielder, Lewis Latona.  Show off Lewis hasn’t stopped raving since he hit 16 and is never happier than when throwing shapes in the centre of a circle.  He has a cheeky grin and a fixed thousand-yard stare that is only broken in the frenzied ten minutes in which he needs to purchase next year’s Glastonbury ticket.  His wardrobe principally consists of a wide selection of neon bubble hats and flip-flops, which he supplements with various sweaty band t-shirts that he picks up on his travels.  That said, in his job as head gardener at a stately home he has won awards for his topiary maze design (and the plants don’t care what he wears).

Finally we welcome apprentice defender Joe Halsey.  Joe went on a gap year when he left school and has only recently come back after over three years.  In his travels around Europe he has become fluent in five languages and has never tired of eating dim sum for breakfast.  He still has no place to call his own but instead keeps moving around – his home is wherever he takes his trainers off.  He is a self-proclaimed artist who would maybe have something to show off , but he keeps losing track of his sketchbooks.  Perhaps one day he will finally “find himself” (and some drawings) in a bowl of soup and blow us all away with the talent he’s been assuring us he has.

Cecil cup time again and we drew Ross's Aberdeen .

Home in the 1st leg and both sides opted for a 4-3-3 normal, we started the quicker and opened the scoring on 4 minutes when Henderson powered home his header 1-0,but Aberdeen hit back and levelled things up on 10 minutes when Burke slotted home 1-1,20 minutes and we had our noses back in front when McTominay headed home 2-1 and right on the stroke of half time Chilvers raced through and slotted home 3-1,half time came and subs on we pushed on and sealed the win on 63 minutes when Grieves fired home 4-1 as we outplayed them for periods and outshot them 9 to 2,well played Ross.

Away leg and again both sides opting for normal 4-3-3 tactics, again we started the quicker and opened the scoring on 10 minutes when Chilvers fired home 0-1,17 minutes and he fired home his 2nd 0-2,23 minutes and McTominay drilled home 0-3,but on 24 minutes we were down to 10 men as McTominay saw red ,34 minutes and McLeish fired home 1-3,half time came and subs on ,we started quickly and Wright fired home 1-4 and Smith sealed the game on 89 minutes 1-5 as we outplayed them for periods and outshot them 7 to 2 ,well played Ross.

So into the 2nd round, 1st time for a few seasons. 

CECIL Cup - okay the 1st hurdle is over and now we sit in the draw along with the 1st division teams (guessing few of them would have wanted to go out to a shock result in a 1st round tie. I KNOW - it has been done to give the lower divisions 2 extra games for income and training, but when the 2nd round of the Cup comes we will hqave had 6 matches of ELs to consider, as against the 4 matches the top lot will have played.

(Nobody get excited about this Journal - I am just on for participation cash, and a bite!! :-))

2nd leg versus a Clyde side training up a couple of recruits went to plan, nearly. I put in a tactic to go S if I got 3 goals ahead (to avoid our visitiors the possibility of a blowout, BUT did not put in a tactic to up the game if we were 2 ahead - missed out on a 2nd Captains bonus in a 2-0 win. Still, we go on, and I see we are down to play Falkirk. Should be good games.    

Just a couple of days to go before the big KO for Division 1 teams to join in the action of season 61 and EDI have posted their starting line-ups for their first two games back in Division 1. The nervous excitement is building here in EDI ahead of those games but everyone here are very much looking forward to Saturday.

The manager is hopeful of making a new signing in the next few days but there is currently no news regarding at which position that signing may be at. Media and supporters alike are all playing the guessing game but the manager is certainly playing his cards close to his chest on this one and there are not even any hints or clues being leaked from the EDI hierarchy about this.....the manager has learned his lessons on this subject it would seem.

So Scott Brown went up against Neil Lennong at Somerset Park in the 1st leg of out CECIL Cup Match. The Ayr fans looking at our bench would have been praying for a miracle to get anything and hoping players remain healthy. 

Ayr started defensively with a back 5 and 2 in MF and hoping for a quick break for the 3 up top but a mistake by Sanders gifted the ball to Crimm and it was 0-1 after 19mins. 

9 mins later and we equalised when one of the 2 MF Marco Rus broke uplift and levelled. That was our only shot on target in the game with 2 off target. 

Dunfermline had 1 more on target was could not score so the game ended 1-1 with a 2nd leg to device on the who progresses to the next round. 

Good to see the season under way again. Pre-season planning completed by all clubs and sights set on glory. 

STE are just compiling lineups for week 1 league matches, on the expectation that pre-season trading is complete. Happy with where we have got to, but we need the coaches to get out early and start rebuilding some skill back in to these players, some of which celearly have eaten too much over the break! 

Still looking for long term GK options, but otherwise dont think we need anyone else in until mid-season, when we will need to refresh with a numbe rof older players still in the squad. 

Good luck to everyone - there's a lot of football to be played!

Falkirk had high hopes going into the new season and played their opening Cecil cup match at home against Celtic yesterday. We started off well going ahead early on 8 minutes though Gilmour but conceded an equaliser on 41 minutes. After this we didn't look back. We took the lead again just before halftime with a Durie goal and then scored twice more in the second half though McTominay and Rougvie. It gives us a great chance to qualify going into the away leg. 

Okay, we are off and running - well, for a few days perhaps. Cecil Cup put us up against Clyde and we arrived at Shawfield to find the home lads were blooding their new recruits. Having said that we reached half time with virtually all the action and no goals and this was perhaps my most attacking side I have put out in ages.

However once Boyle had scored for us on 74 minutes the floodgates opened and Bowie and a headed cross from Kennedy made it 3-0. It gained our sub defender Lekburn, skipper for this season, a good Captain's bonus and a healthy lead to trake to next midweek's 2nd leg. We also got training in for our Bosman, Sweeper Jordan Smith. A good day, but it won't always be like this.

On the eve of our season kicking off I find myself contemplating where Stirling Albion is as a team and where it can go from here. I found Ricky's review of Stenhousemuir's success a riveting read, That and other manager comments about youth training suggests 4 youths is not the way to go,

Picking one auction youth with great potential is a great but expensive option. Selling 10 TP would help. Although I think I tried that one season but no-one was buying.

Over in SFLSL with a max SL and three free players in the draft having a younger squad seems to be a better route to success. But here Stirling usually has one of the older squads in SESL. So I was surprised to fin we have the youngest squad in SESL at the start of the season.

This will be our 8th season in division 3 which is far too long. In that moment of contemplation I realised it's been 7 seasons since I raised the OTF to 10 and started using ball control. Could it be linked? I hope not but if we fail to make it into division 2 this time round I may have to don my thinking cap once again.

Again it is thanks to Mark for turning round the season fast. I know the elite don't kick off till a week tomorrow but the majority of us get to start in around 24 hours. 

Looking forward to it - at Easter Road we felt the training went well last season and although we don't have the plethora of SL30+ players the 1st division has, I am happy we have middle of the road lads who, if push comes to shove, have replacements in the squad ready to cover, and will provide a good game for the supporters.. 

I enjoy the matches but do suffer from EL problems on occasions (on occasions? - ed!!) but that is the way we play and after 30-40 seasons of play we won't be changing any time soon.

Aspirations? I think we could/should be pushing for promotion, and we will make the effort, but I would really like to make an impact in the Cups. I have never won a Cup in SESL - been in at least 2 finals but got smacked in both.

We are rated 4th in T11 but 1st in T17 so not anticipating arelegation. We will be retiring a few lads after match 10, including sweeper Marinello, who has been a tower at the back (and gouing forward), and our Bosman this season has been a replacement sweeper, who will be trained up in 10 games.

Welcome to the 11 new clubs who will be on our map for this season - told you the 2nd division is the division with the most changes each season - variety - something the other 2 divisions don't have. Think I might stay here... !!   :-)

With Division 1 teams having a BYE in the first round of the Cecil Cup, the league campaign for Division 1 teams is now only a little over a week away and the EDI squad is probably now going to be 'as is' going into the first few games at least.

The manager currently has no trades in the pipeline and is increasingly unlikely to change that stance unless a decent opportunity should arise to improve the current squad at any position but again, thats seems not to be an option at the present time as the trade board holds no interest at this time.

The latest financial report for EDI is said to be satisfactory and that allows the manager to spend if and when required without adversely effecting future coaching and training plans. At some point during the season the manager intends bringing through two youngsters from the youth academy but at which playing positions is still undecided. The first few league games will surely pinpoint where the roster may need some further depth.

The first press release of the new season and eyes frimly set on the future. It was nice to start the season and NOT have one of the worst T17's in the league for a change. This actually feels like a season where our starting squad might have a chance. BUT, oh there's a but? - we did start with the highest average age in SESL. Thats a problem - no matter what you've got, if its going to get torn to pieces by MSA then the squad cant go the distance. We managed full CP purchase and with our sponsor/awards payout we had a little left. So top priority was/is bringing down the average age so that we can survive MSA. 

We've started to reshape our squad and there have been a load of changes already. 

6/3MA Angels Share - Retired from football, couldnt find a club elsewhere. Thanked by the club for his services. 

7/2 MF Wire, 8/1MF Eavis both followed the next day. Hanging up their boots for the last time. But will always have their Champions medals to remember us by. 

9/0MF M.Hawthorn, also left the club, but somewhat reluctantly so. An absolute legend of the club, having served from child to man (to pensioner) - the 4th most minutes in STE history. 46 Goals and 9 MoM's. He also ended on 221 club appearances (the same as Manager Ricky when he played of rthe club seasons 25-23). He wanted to play on but his legs had nothing (literally) left and he was force-retired! 

1/8MF Mason has joined as a Bosman, but it is rumoured he may be looking for a player swap with another club. 

Other than these individual player changes the club has been busy in the Transfer Market and has sent £651k, 12TP, 5/7DF Jack Baldwin, 6/7MF Russell Latapy, 6/7DF Jack Robinson, 8/3FW Brazil & 5/5MF Average Joe out in return for 1/17DF Jamie Lindsay, 5/12DF Gareth Southgate, 5/13MF Davie Wavey & 4/19MF Kyle Turner

It leaves our scouts looking for a player swap deal for Mason and a  longer term ambition for a youth GK to join the club. 

Average age reduced to the middle of the pack - acceptable. 

Top 17 nudged up to 2nd and T11 3rd - acceptable! 

Bank Balance looks pretty empty though!!

With 'Post season ageing' and 'Per-season' now in the book...EDI are in a position to decide where and at what position that they need to either strengthen or bring in a couple of youngsters with an eye to the future.

First feelings are that another DF and maybe a WG are what is required to best help EDI but the manager is in no rush to make a move just yet as the trade board is now starting to show signs of life and it is possible that a suitable veteran may come along and change some of the thinking. The manager will as always decide what is best for the squad and the clubs future and also keep an eye on the clubs finances.

Matt, your POTS SLs and cash will be posted this weekend, after the LAST call for the stragglers who might still fancy not missing out on the benefits of the scheme.

You have just come in so you would have received the benefits anyway. It all helps...

Cove POTS is Dylan Lobban

With the manager being new at the team he asked the rest of the team to vote for there player of the season and the team voted for Dylan.

He had a steady season in a year which the team were relegated. He managed 7 goals from just 21 shots which is a good return for a midfielder and provide many more assists. 

Kwadwo Baah now 3/28.

Channelling Jamie Redknapp

Top player, exciting player, picks up the award for the second season in a row.  Top scorer, top top finisher.  Top Top Top dribbler and Top Top Top team mate to boot.

Rovers fans are hoping for a Top Top season next year with Kwadwo leading the charge and a return to the top table.  Coach Tucker is hoping that he can Top the Top Top achievement of Top Top bloke Ricky Hawthorn.

There can only be one choice for KIL Player of the Season. This years winner is Eddie Morrison.

Eddie scored 16 league goals in 21 appearances and secured the Young Golden Boot in the process. Eddie will likely become our top striker next season so hopes are high that he can hit well into double figures again in the season ahead. Well done Eddie. 

With 'Post season ageing' and 'Per-season' almost upon us, the manager has been giving serious consideration to making plans for the new season which will also see EDI return to Division 1. With one of the youngest average aged squads in SESL the manager is slightly optimistic that the team can progress and with the addition of a couple of apprentices promoted from the youth team plus perhaps a suitable veteran player if one can be found, then the roster should look fairly solid for the start of the new league campaign.

The manager was also keen to state that the clubs finances were in a healthy condition and that gives the manager plenty of room to manoeuvre when the Transfer market finally sees some interest and that EDI will certainly look to do some business if beneficial to EDI and the teams aims.

The celebrations have finally abated and some fans have even gone back to work, after the endless partying.

Players have returned to training, the manager is back at the tactics board. All attention is now firmly on required squad enhancements and the scouts are out doing their job early.

So, to close out this chapter is STE history the press offcie have captured the rebuild journey that got us here.

Phase 1 (Season 1 – 49)

The problem was that Stenhousemuir’s hisrtory has been one that’s not easily forgotten. Because no one ever remembered it in the first place! Season after season of battling hard, but achieving little.

Featuring in all 3 divisions, but never with any sense of consistency. Up, Down, Up, Down and Up and Down again.

It’s true, the Trophy Cabinet isnt completely bare. There were moments. Division 3 Winners 4 times (Seasons 28, 41, 47, 55) 4 x runners up across Division 2 & 3 and 1 SESL Cup sitting proudly at the top of that cabinet (Season 35). But STE were always stuck in 3-4 season cycles, managing to gather momentum, climb the divisions, showing some real potential, but ultimately running out of steam and having to crash for a season or 2 to rebuild. It always felt like were 1,000k per season from being able to fund a squad that could compete within a given season, without morgaging our future potential. Often stuck having to make choices between Cup games OR League games. Having to choose which games we needed to go for points in rarher than having the depth to challenge strongly in every game. A situation a number of clubs have experienced.

Phase 2 (Season 50)

It was clear when it started that we didn’t have enough to push for the Division 1 title, our squad tired from efforts to climb over the previous few seasons from division 3 and it was obvious in our 2nd season in Division 1 (of this ‘cycle’) that we were going to head towards the same old situation. This is when the manager snapped. Towards the end of this season we had to do something different. Success was never going to come from doing the same as we have done before. So we accepted our fate and planned a big rebuild.

Phase 3 (Season 51 – 53)

We stopped trying to ‘survive’, we stopped trying to scrape through season after season and looked to something different. Longer term planning and accepting that it would mean some short to medium term pain. We stopped worrying about results and worked on performances and building not just youth into the side (we had done that countless times before), but building financial stability into the team. No more trades aimed at quick wins. Only trade for future success.

We started slipping as expected through the leagues. Season 52 we were 16th in division 2 and Season 53 we were 16th in division 3. That’s it. Cant take that back – officially the Wooden Spoon for the first time in our history. But while the fans were struggling, fuming with the direction of the clubm for the manager it felt almost cathartic. We had to hit rock bottom, it was actually a sign that maybe this could work.

Phase 4 (Season 54 – 59)

With a much better foundation and a team, but not yet a squad, that could compete Stenhousemuir started to climb the leagues again. Season 54 – 11th in Division 3. Season 55 was make or break, no excuses left, we had to go for the title. We did and we won it. The following season we should have won the 2nd division, but we missed out and ended up second. But it was enout to complete our return to Division 1. But of course it wouldn’t be no different to every other Yo-Yo cycle we have had before, if we didn’t manage to make it a ‘stay’ in the top flight. We had to turn out some consistency.  Season 57 – 4th in division 1. Season 58 – 5th in division 1. Season 59 – 4th in division 1. And that confirmed our most successful period in SESL the highest place finsihes and securing the longest term in the top flight.

Phase 5 (Season 60)

Boom!

You know how this plays out. And the rest is history.

We are proud to announce Victor Campenaerts as the QP POTS for this season. Victor may be young but he didn't let that stop him as the age 1 forward led the team in goals with 15 (14 in the league) and 3 MOTM awards. His contributions were instrumental in our promotion push and improvement in a team that only scored 30 league goals last campaign. We at Queen's Park are excited to see what he'll do next season!

Often, the SESL season is best broken into 5 parts:

1. First 16 league matches
2. CECIL Cup
3. SESL Cup group stage
4. Last 14 league matches
5. SESL Cup Knockouts

How did Motherwell do on these phases this season?

• First 16 league matches: Poor. For defending champions, our title defense sure didn't last too long. By 16 matches played we were 16 points off the top, having dropped points every weekend bar one. A home draw to Livingston. Shocking home losses to ALB and DEE. An away draw at STJ. Away losses to LIV, STE,and FRA. Not at all the way to retain a title. The thing is...most of this was not due to prioritizing the cup. A lot of these losses were just plain ol' losses.
• CECIL Cup: Nearly perfect! But only nearly. We took a hard route to get to the final. Beating FOR, SRA, STE, and DEE was no small task, and the victory over DEE was especially hard-won. After that kind of schedule, you would think that we should be able to sweep aside division 2 ELG in the final. But, ELG were quite a strong side and well managed. And MOT really killed their chances by getting their best WG sent off and conceding a penalty just 2 minutes in. We thought we had found the right balance, playing 4 'a' players, to not risk penalties but also get enough attacking boost, but sometimes it just doesn't work out. 3-1 win for ELG, and congrats to them on the first cup trophy for the club!
• SESL Cup group stage: perfectly good, 4 wins and a draw while ending with good ELs and getting 4 captain's bonuses. Pretty ideal set of results
• Last 14 league matches: Much improved. 9 wins, 3 draws, and 2 losses was certainly a step up. Still not as good as we would typically like, but this time the results much more reflected a prioritization of the cup. Ended up in a nice 4th place, and so I would say this was a pretty decent salvage after the really bad first half.
• SESL Cup Knockouts: A++. Top marks. Everything we could dream of. A comfortable disapatching of EDI. Tough matches, but good results against ARB and ABE. A surprisingly big margin of victory against DEE to make the final. And then a dream final, beating SRA 5-1 after this time it was the other team that was punished early by the ref. A second SESL cup final (Season 20) and a first SESL cup victory for Motherwell. This really turned our season from disappointing into a big success!

Marquinhos

Provided stability in a tough defensive season that did see EST join the list of over achievers (Just not the biggest over achievers) for the season just passed

Player of the Season is tough to choose, but it's a bit like the American Most Valueable Player I guess.

Saint of the team feels like Gary Linarcer  FW 1/28
(not to be confused with the overpaid ex-BBC sports presenter Gary Linekar)

Playing 37 matches which is the highest on the roster, Gary was a key figure.
Top bloke. Target Man.  Talisman. 
Take a bow POTS Gary Linarcer  FW 1/28

Only 14 teams left to pick a POTS - don't let the 34 others steal a march on you. Remember, although any SLs comes off the lad's PU total, it releases these CPs for use on another player...

Saturday midnight is the cut off point - teams not having selected a POTS lad yet are:

DEE, PET, RR

CLY, COV, FOR, KIL, NAI, QOS, SM

AYR, EST, MON, QP

Aberdeen chosen one is my defensive midfielder Alex McLeish as Player Of The Season.

Solid at the back does not do him justice
as he also chipped in with 5 goals when the handbrake was let loose. 

• Powerhouse

• Giant

• Colossus

• Titan

• Behemoth

• Juggernaut

• Heavyweight

• Dominant force

• Big hitter

• Major player in the SESL for next few seasons.

That's Alex McLeish 1/26 DM.  ABE Player Of The Season.

D Robin FW 1/25 is the player of the year at Berwick Rangers for season 60.
Not to be confused with Robin Dewar who disappeared, instead D Robin was a near ever present featuring in 29 matches during season 60.  10 goals a decent return, and moreso when this was from just 18 shots. 
D Robin FW 1/25 will be the first choice striker and the first to get CP next season.

In a season that promised much but fell down in the 2nd half of the season, we could rely on Smithy (FW) to keep us going. Would have liked more goals from him but his 15 strikes helped us and kept interest going up to the last. Next season he will be one of the 2 main strike force along with rapidly improving La Rosa. He also picked up 2 MOM awards.
As long as Smithy stays healthy no reason why he can't help propel the side into the 2nd division. 

Clydebank choose their main forward, Kevin Bridges, (in his spare time he is a stand up comedian 👍)

Kevin scored 17 times from 33 shots for a team that just missed being the worst in the 3 divisions. In addition he gained 4 Man of the Match awards - a testament to his commitment to the club. We lost many goals at the back due to a shortage of defenders but Kevin kept us in games with a goal or 2. A bad season overall but Kevin was one of our successes.

There are several contenders for Elgin's Player of the Season.

Kyle King was phenomenal in goal, almost securing silver gloves and achieving 13 Man of the March awards.

Ross Draper was solid in defence putting in great tackles and collecting just two yellow cards.

However the title of player of the season goes to Michael Dangana.  Our star striker has scored 42 goals across all competitions, a massive contribution to Elgin's 2nd place league finish and first ever cup win in the Cecil Cup.  Well done Michael.

East Fife’s player of the season is midfielder Brendan Ramsay (pictured).  Brendan joined us this season as our Bosman player and soon established himself as a key squad member.  His stats (24 matches, 3 goals), don’t really tell the story – his workrate is phenomenal, he buzzes around for the full 90 minutes rather in the manner of Alan Ball sixty years ago.  On top of that, he is always encouraging to the Fifers around him – a piper leading the troops into battle, fearless and inspirational.  

And I’m told he cooks the best risotto north of the border.  Congratulations Brendan!

As the dust has settled, I thought it may be worth addressing the flood of questions that have come into the Stenny Press office since clinching the Division 1 title, such as “Awesome, how did you do it?”, “Magician, what’s the secret?”, “We are writing a book about sporting history, how do you spell Sten hoos mer?” and “What’s the easiest way, to follow in your footsteps?”

It’s natural for people to ask, as a club we kind of saw this coming.

So, in everyone’s interest we have published the Dummies guide…

Winning SESL FOR DUMMIES

• Sign up to play, study the rules, and get to know your fellow managers.
• Systematically unpick the algorithms, leave nothing to chance. Master the art of tactics & manage your finances to the N’th degree. Scout opponents daily and cover every eventuality on the pitch through minute by minute conditionals.
• Make your fans suffer through an eternity of Yo-Yo’ing through the divisions and harvest a culture of mediocrity. Never allowing them the pleasure of even being the ‘nearly men’
• Almost 60 Seasons later – Secure the Division 1 Title.

Simple really, when you know how.

I hope this helps uncover Stenhousemuir’s flawless, ‘rapid’ rise to the top.

Young Sean Quinlan 1/28 FW gets the nod at the Rock. While the team on a whole were very disappointing Sean was excellent in the forward line. 12 goals in all competitions and he will kick on next season and become the club top scorer. He will find Division 2 a lot easier. Onward and upward!

27 teams are looking for an increase in SLs for one of their players - most so far come from the top division where only 4 teams have still to select a lad.

2nd division has 9 teams still to pick and the 3rd division, who will get the +3SL bonus there are still 8 teams to go.

Teams below are the ones who can still get the bonus plus the 50k if they justify the selection. THIS SATURDAY midnight is the cut off point - payments will be made Sunday.

1st Div

DUM, DEE, PET, RR, 

2nd Div

CLY, COV, EF, ELG, FOR, KIL, NAI, QOS, SM

3rd Div

ABE, AYR, BER, CB, EST, GM, MON, QP

Season 60 is in the history books and the EDI players are off on their well deserved holidays. No such luxury for the EDI manager as he concentrates his efforts on the financial side of the game ahead of the transfer window re-opening and the upcoming new Pre-season. And thats without working out the full effects of Post Season Ageing which is about to dent most teams hopes for Season 61.

With the challenge of playing in Division 1 next season looming, the manager believes he will need to add to the curent squad if the opportunity arises but insists that EDI will only spend if any deal is good for the long term and there will be no short term approach from the club. 

With the manager having had a few seasons experience of the differences that Division 1 football poses a few seasons ago, he feels that he and the club are better placed to succeed this time around but it won't be easy for sure.

The entire season came down to this one last game. The playoff. 

Despite our T11 being on their last legs we started the game at full strenght, while Partick Thistle made a few changes to avoid late season injuries. One of which reserve goalie Myles Roberts who became the hero of the day in a thrilling match with 20 shots; 14 on target and 7 goals! 

After 10 minutes it was Robinson who opened the score and PT took a deserved early lead, 0-1. Then 15 minutes later three goals in three minutes. Score: 1-3. Right before half time it was Dalglish that put PT on a 3 goal lead.    

After the tea it was Deveronvale who had the best of the play and pulled one back, but it wasn't enough. Couple solid chances, but reserve goalie Robert barely made any mistake showing glimpses of what once was. 

Final score 2-5. 

We congratulate Raymond Cini on his promotion, while we start preparing for the drop. 

No not COW PATS but COW POTS

The winner is Robert MacIntyre, with 7 man of the match awards, 25 goals and a hat trick in the all important play off win it was a straight forward decision. Without his goals, and the playoff highlighted this, cow would have been in serious relegation bother. We look forward to the season ahead, hopefully Robert will have the backing of the board and a team to match his talents.

Goes this year to our Age1 forward. Rubes 1/26.  Rubes contributed 14 goals this season and will be a massive part of the Albion Rovers forward line as we try to get straight back up to Div1.   Oh well as Mr Blair says Div 2 is where all the action is.    Special mentions to Patrick Graham who was also in the running.

Dani Olmo wins the award for FRA player of the season.

After a slow start to the season Dani ended up on 28 goals including 6 in the SESL cup.

He was pushed hard by Ferran Torres the league golden boot winner, but his cup contributions and willingness

to get back and defend led to the club opting for Olmo for this prestigious award.

Sam Dalby is the recipient of the player of the year award for DUU this season.

In what was another narrow escape for the Terrors top scorer Dalby came up clutch with 5 goals in the last 6 matches of the season. 
This gave Dalby 16 for the season, a vast improvement on the 3 he managed last year. Currently 54th on the all time scorers list he will have at least another couple of seasons at the top to try emulate the 90+ garnered by Daly and Weatherston. 

Not the season we expected but it it what it is,we finished 11th,winning 12 drawing 2 losing 16 ,scoring 57 and conceding 58 amassing 38 points.

Most matches played 30 by Kasper Lopata,most minutes Sam Gormley with 1982 minutes ,bad boy with 20 dp's was Logan Ross,top goalscorers were Scott McTominay  and Noah Chilvers with 12 and most MOM's with 3 were Scott McTominay and Noah Chilvers .

Noah Chilvers in only his 2nd season had an amazing season and has come on leaps and bounds and hopefully can show his full potential next season,we need to rebuild and it could be slow and tricky.

Jota has been awarded the CEL Player of the Season award.

In what has been a dissapointing season for the club, Jota has been a glimmer of hope for Parkhead faithful.

25 goals from 29 matches in all competitions showing Jota has the potential to become the next CEL legend.

Next season he will be the focal point of the CEL attack as we attempt to make our way back up through the divisions.

Attacking midfielder 3/29 Popeye Doyle was the fans favourute player for Stirling this season.

The tough tackling lynchpin in Stirlings ballcontroling midfield scored 13 goals to finish joint 9th in Diviison 3's Bronze Boot award. His performances helped push Stirling into the playoff places going imto the last round of matches, but unfortunately he was unable to lead the club into Division 2 as he failed to get a single chance in the final two league games.

Despite this he is still Stirling's player of the season

Our choice for POTS was easy this season as our 2nd season MA Noah Chilvers stood head and shoulders above the rest ,he played 32 games contributing 2300 minutes without any DP's and scored 15 goals from 36 shots and earned 3 MOM's- we are hoping he has not peaked yet and look forward to a better season.

Dwain Rock  1/29 FW is the clear choice for STJ Player of the Season award.
19 goals from 28 shots is exceptional.
Compared to Gassama same SL age and position who hit just 7 goals in 26 shots.  
And Dwain Rock also played less games and less minutes than Gassama.
Dwain shall go on to be a rock and first pick for STJ for next few seasons.
STJ been on a decline for a couple of seasons so hope to herald a re-born title challenge and Dwain Rock will be at the head of this charge for the title once again.

Goals win games - stating the obvious - so an attacker is most likely to win any Player of the Season award.  And no different at PT.

Top boy is Terry Ablade who played 35 (thirty five!) games and received just 1 (one) yellow card.  
Nearly as clean living as Harry Kane - and nearly scores as many too - but 17 goals from 49 matches is a razor sharp return from Mr Ablade..   
Starting skill level was in the teens, so he trained hard to earn his TP and will start 1 SL ahead of his team mates thanks to the initiative of POTS ran by David Blair (just checking you still reading Davie boy!)

If shot conversion rate to goals scored is a key factor for a player of the season then there can only be one winner.   Euan Henderson the age 1 forward who is on his way to be a club legend was an easy choice to make.  Euan won in a landslide vote - yes, all 3 of the executive board voted for him.
Top scorer Euan hit 12 goals from 25 shots in almost a 50% shot conversion rate.
AI player of the Season is Euan Henderson FW.

In a mediocre season where HEA finished mid table, there was one shining light.
Arthur Seat, the oddly named FW, smashed in 21 goals and almost single handedly kept relegation from swallowing the team to division below.
Only blot on his copy book was 3 yellow cards, and oddly Arthur Seat was the only player to sit out of a match suspended.
Player of the Season award is FW Arthur Seat.

Player of the Season award goes to Alex Matos the MA player
The dynamic and versatile attacking midfielder used his electric speed to leave opposition defenders in his dust
10 goals he hit is just the start for this player who has a bright future ahead in the sesl
Division 2 can look out for enjoying viewing this player in the season ahead.

Robert MacIntyre  FW 1 30 is the most valuable player at Arbroath this season. 
He was a slow starter and TP was added a little too slow for his liking.  
But he knuckled down and slowing started to make impact.  
Amassing just 2 yellow cards the whole season showed his charactera and has an
assasin up front as the season progressed.
High hopes for Robert MacIntyre in coming seasons that he could be the crucial to any future success.

Take a bow Lewis Ferguson MF 1/26
30 shots for sesl RAN is a great contribution from midfield.
Lewis played his part, and pick up Man of the Match awards.
He will be a key player for next 3 or 4 seasons for sure.
He will never be sold.

In real life, Lewis Ferguson is a Scottish professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for Serie A club Bologna, whom he captains.  Lewis also plays in the Scotland national team going to the world cup this coming summer.

Stenhousemuir Crowned Division 1 Champions

For the first time. 

This season marks the most successful individual season in STE history and we are looking forward to the 'Division 1 Winner' line being added to the Trophy Cabinet on our team page. Our only other major honour being the SESL Cup (along with Division Winners 4 times). 

It also cements this as the most succesasful period for Stenny - or longest duration in the top flight, as next the coming season will be our 5th consecutive for the first time. 

The final table actually looks fairly comfortable, but it was anything but. We trailed to a mighty DEE side most of the season. We actually started the campaign with 2 wins, 2 draws (1 in the CECIL cup) and a defeat, not a surprise given our T11 and T17 at the time. Our Team needs ahead of the season were signalling the need for securing a foothold in the top flight and we were nervous of achieving our Sponsorship (unbeaten streak of 3 games). But we kept winning and at the half way point in the season it was obvious we were going to finish in the top half, but we still had no belief of keeping up with DEE (despite the fact we had been the only team to beat them). DEE's first half of the season was awesome. But in the second half we saw an opportunity, we were still in the running, so we committed to the challenge and significantly strengthened the squad and finished our team Coaching too. We secured the double over DEE in the league and they dropped points elsewhere while having one eye on the Cup.  

With stars at both end of the pitch we were able to Score, defend well and rotate players to compee in every game for the first time in a long time. 

Most pleasingly it draws to a close the 'reset' or 'rebuild' we set out on many seasons ago and proves it was a worthwhile strategy - I will post more about that journey soon. 

No rest though in SESL, attention turns to re-energising the squad for next season. Looking forward to that trade window opening already. 

So the top two played out for the title, when the Bairns travelled to play Airdrieonians. We went into the game with a four point advantage so could afford to lose. We did play our strongest lineup but played stall hoping for the point. We shouldn't have worried, we had all the luck. Three shots on target and all converted for a three nil victory. Division 3 title confirmed. Our last game at home against Brechin City was a dead rubber for us but City was going for promotion so no let up by Falkirk. A very tight game but again we converted both chances to win two one. City still won promotion and we won the title by a massive ten points in the end. Not sure what I was worried about. 

BB King is Motherwell's POTS for season 60. The big winger has helped push MOT towards glory in both cups, and has played a vital role in all phases of play. His contributions to our shot chance % has been his biggest impact: as our highest SL WG for much of the season, he has the biggest OFF contribution of any player. He has also pitched in with 8 goals across competitions, including 4 in our pushes towards 2 cup finals. But, a skill often underrated for WGs, he has also been a big factor in closing out tight games. Changing position from WG to MF or DF, he has been a big part of creating a giant DEF value to ensure that our opponents don't get even a sniff of goal when down one. We also greatly appreciate that he came back from an event that may have ruined the season of lesser players: his red card in the CECIL cup final. A big part of what helped MOT lose that match, the Well management has been very impressed that he returned from that stronger and didn't let that affect his future performance. In fact, he came back and had a great match in the SESL cup final, helping Motherwell win their third major trophy. Well done, BB King, and we hope next season sees you reach even higher heights!

Martin Boyle FW gets our vote.

He played in 36 of our 39 matches, amassed  only 4 disciplinary points (a real bonus for us considering I play "a" quite a bit) and scored on 12 occasions from 25 shots. 10 goals (from 21 shots) in the league, and 2 goals from 4 shots in the SESL Cup.

In addition he won 3 Man of the Match awards in a season where we did not set the heather on fire (Scots saying!). He averaged just over an hour in all the games, dovetailing with Kieran Bowie and Jim Wishart for the 2 x forward slots, to save ELs.

There can be no arguement or discussion about who took the Blues PotS this year. Mondo!! The fans adore him and so do the statisticians. Leading SRA Goalscorer in just 4 seasons with 82 goals in 132 appearances, 31 of which this season. He scores just for fun! What are his plans for the future. Well many have mentioned Captaincy and renaming the North Stand to "The Mond". Who can say? (Well the Chairman can? -Ed). But lets just sit back and enjoy the hour long 'Highlights of S60" You Tube on his very own channel for now.

Falkirk went into last weekend's matches with an one point advantage over Airdrieonians in second place. So with promotion almost certain it was down to who would win the title. Four games left starting with a trip to Aberdeen. With reserve goalkeeper Gunn in goal we started with stall. Goalless at halftime and we we're happy. The situation improved on 82 minutes when Walker scored a thunderbolt and won the points for the Bairns. We remained top by the single point. The second match was at home against Clydebank. After just 28 minutes we found ourselves three nil up and cruising. The game ended four one, extending our lead to four points with Airdrieonians losing. The only downside was Ferguson was now suspended for the final two games. 

The last session of the season 60 league campaign saw EDI battle for a point at home to a determined SM side who themselves were seriously in the hunt for the final automatic promotion spot with the result being 0-0.

Onto the final match and EDI badly needed all three points and they duly obliged with a resoundind 0-4 victory away at KIL. The win secured the Division 2 league crown in what had been a fantastic and very close run affair, especially over the last few weeks with ELG and ALO in particular. It was a terrific run-in to the end of the season for EDI with the team taking 28 of a possible 30 points to snatch the title from ELG by goal difference only.

Commiseration to both ELG and ALO but they have the consolation of both playing in Division 1 next season as do SM by automatic promotion. 

And so its onto Season 61 with a quick turnaround coming up and EDI will certainly be looking to strengthen the squad for the challenge of Division 1 football next season and the manager will have to be on the ball when the 'Trade window' reopens at lunchtime THIS Sunday.

The manager is yet to officially confirm which positions he intends to recruit at but he does intend to try and make at least one early signing with perhaps one or two outgoings.

Some sore headaches have recovered and long hangovers abated, as the Celebration weekend draws to a close for Stenny fans across the world. When we get some time, we will review our season and enjoy the success. 

But to close out the season, a quick review of the final 2 games. 

Away @ Livingston

We knew that Dundee had made light work of Rangers with a straightforward 3-0 victory - perhaps we shouldnt have watched that first - so, this game was more tense than maybe it could have been. We knew we needed 2 points across the final 2 games to secure the title and we knew it could be tough as teams ploughed the last of that EL into some 1st class lineups. So as every minute ticked by in this game it became more and more worrying that we werent going to take anything from it! That is even though we were stornger in GP, DEF and OFF from the start. Half Time came around and we appeared to be struggling in posession, although we were 1 shot to 0 up. 60 mins came and went, still 0-0. Concede a ogal and there would be so much pressure on that last game. even a draw wasntnt great, given our worst GD, so half the team moved to aggressive and the stats moved furthe r in our favour. SHot chance 4x in our favour. 75 mins, still 0-0. 85 mins the same. But at the last, POTS Render, one of the few players with energy left to run capitalised on a GK Prior error and secured the victory. And the Title. Scenes. 

Home vs Raith Rovers. 

So this game ended up being a celebratio, a victory lap. and it seemed to get the better of the players. RR fielded a strong team, with a couple of players aggressive/dirty resulting in two very stronf OFF ratings, but our DEF and GP should have been enough to control this game. Heads were clearly elsewhere - players celebrating with fans, concentration was non existant. 

12% shot chance, we should be taking the lead. But RR had other plans. 0-1, then 0-2. It looke dlike STE would give up, let it go. But the fans wanted mor eand the manager wasnt having it. A few players moved to aggressive and the shot chance went to 15% (vs 2.3%) - Pulled one back and 1-2 was half time. Stepping into another gear in the second hald STE showed why they ran out Champions in the end - 2-2, 3-2, 4-2 and finally 5-2. Beautiful football. History made. 

A couple of players deserve to be recognized for the impression tey made this season. If it wasn't for Ben Traore we would've not made it to the playoffs. He alone is responsible for 9 points. Without his strong performances in matches 16, 33 and 34 I'm sure we would be at least 6 points down. But, Ben is a goalkeeper and therefor not eligable for the PotS award. 

Ben's team-mate and name-mate Adama Traore has played with passion throughout the entire season. He played in 37 matches for Deveronvale which makes his joint top with Gab Riella. Adama wasn't particularly lucky in front of the goal as his shot-conversion was barely 25%, yet he delivered quite a few assist and was always at the forefront of the fight. Even when we were down a few goals he would still give it his all. As a result he is joint top in disciplinary points. Something we admire greatly at Deveronvale. 

Adama Traore (1/25 WG) is our PotS for this season! 
 

Not a great finish to the season, but not unhappy about it. If we had gained 6 points we would have been in a promotion playoff spot. Not ready for it yet.

But we will be popular in Nairn and Paisley after losing 5-1 to the northerners and 1-0 to the Buddies. These results allowed the former to climb to safety in the division and the latter to get automatic promotion. Glad to be of service to you both - we wanted one win but got none.

Discovered an anomaly - we sit 24th in the T11 table - exactly right for our 8th position in division 2, but we sit 5th in T17. Guessing it means we don't have a sparkling 1st team but enough decent backups to plug gaps in ELs and injury/suspensions.

LIV Player of the Season is Lyndon Dykes  FW 1/29

🔍 Where Dykes excels

• 11 assists — that’s elite for a striker. He’s clearly your best link‑up forward.

• 30 shots — he’s involved, active, and constantly in the action.

• 27 matches / 2130 minutes — trusted and durable.

• 3 Man of the Match awards — impact player.  A potential SESL star for next few seasons.

He’s not a pure finisher, but he’s a facilitator who makes the attack function.

Take a bow: Lyndon Dykes  FW 1/29

A straightforward decision for the fans to make. Lewis Ferguson was the driving force in the Bairns midfield. Playing thirty one times this season, scoring eighteen goals from midfield and winning the man of the match award six times. Even though discipline was an issue, 22 DP points and missing the final two matches. He fully deserves the award after helping Falkirk to the division 3 title.

Alloa's POTS has been a difficult choice as there hasn't been a single outstanding player. Luke Donnelly's 8 goals from 8 shots in just 4 SESL Cup games is the highlight here. But Josh Gentles' 21 goals in the more important League campaign along with 6 MOM awards was very important in terms of promotion. PJ Morrison in goal also picked up 6 MOMs as did Andy Graham in defence along with some crucial goals, but Morrison let the side down too many times and possibly cost the team the Division Two title and Graham is ineligible due to his age.

In a close vote, the fans picked Josh Gentles as our player of the season

Well to be honest its not been a great season for ANN, we'll be in Div 3 next season but the writing has been on the wall for a season or so. As said, we knew this early doors and we've had an eye on a re-building strategy starting next season ... still our season could have looked worse if not for our stand-out fwd Jizz Hornkamp, helped us make the best progress possible in the cups (very handy to earn our sponsorship) and hit 15 goals from 22 attempts in the league. Worthy of our POTS this season and still more to come hopefully. 

Official Club Announcement confirms, that this seasons Player of the Season Award goes to.... 

Render (FW 2/33)

Several serious contenders in the frame, right to the end. Wolf (SW 1/29) has absolutely been critical to our success this season - a key role in how we set up the squad this season, offering a huge amount of protection to our GK's. Rhodes (SD 1/29) could easily have earned such a prestigous award with his versitility to stand in for Wolf, or offer leadership in Central Defence. Bear (FW 1/29) has had an awesome season, picking up personal accolades and playing beyond his years. 

But, without Render's goals (31), and some in critical games, we would not be where we are at the end of the season. Most matches played (38), a brilliant disciplinary record (0 DP) and the most MoMs (6). A fan favourite, it feels like both an easy choice and the right choice! 

What a Weekend. 

What a Season!

It will take a little time for it to sink in for some of the long-term staff here at Stenny, for sure. But the fans, well the fans have been going crazy since the final whistle blew on the Livingston game this afternoon, making what felt like the impossible at the start of the season, statistically official!

Stenny are SESL Division 1 Champions! 

Its going to be a long night of celebrations, long long overdue! 

The Press Office phones have been off the hook, but further words fromt he Club will undoubtedly shortly follow! 

Trent Crimm  MA     2/29 has tonight lifted the Player of the Season award.
It was a star-studded ceremony, but there was one runaway star.

Trent Crimm 11 goals from 15 shots will have teams all over Europe sitting up and taking notice.  
Then sitting back down again when these teams realise SESL is just a game.

In a season where relegation was always likely and confirmed without much drama it's probably quite surprising that HAM POTS is a defender! With a fairly small squad and very few quality defenders on the roster it fell to Cian Newbury to cover the defensive frailties throughout the season. A warrior stretchered off in the final session and unable to take part in the final game of the season after giving his all for the cause. Hopefully he'll have more help next season in yo-yo club's Hamilton return to the top flight! 

Good luck teams still fighting for promotion or a play off top 6 spot in D2 & D3 today.

ARB supporter clubs shall meet in the team pub tomorrow to discuss which player is least rubbish compared to the other rubbish at ARB.

Good initiative this POTS award by David Blair 👏

The Press office wanted to get out a quick Press Release, just in case we are heavily sulking this time tomorrow! 

As another great season draws to a close, Congrats to our Cup Winners this season and good luck for all those still battling for their end of season targets. 

Voting for Stenny POTS hasnt started yet, we will invite votes after the final game has been played. There are a good few stars this season who will stake a claim, im sure. 

Cant help starting to plan for next season of course - with Sponsorship payment waiting to be paid, if we can bring in any more then we will be well placed for CP purchase and the early part of next season, but we will need it. Its rumoured as many as 12 players could leave this club over coming weeks. Scouts are also out looking for 2 key players to join us next season. 

For now, all that remains is to wait for tomorrow!

Motherwell entered their first SESL Cup final with a fairly bad history of cup finals. 3 Losses in four CECIL Cup finals: Season 49 to SRA, Season 55 to RAN, and just earlier this season to ELG. All of them were by multiple goals (1-4 to SRA, 1-5 to RAN, and 1-3 to ELG) and two of them coincided with getting an early red card + penalty called against us. The win over AI a few seasons back was crucial to convince the supporters that we were, in fact, not cursed. Only a couple players remained from those that won the CECIL cup - Merle Haggard is still around, though he was only on the bench as backup GK this time. Jerry Jeff Walker, however, played 90 minutes in both matches. Now was our chance to get back at a reasonable cup final record and get revenge on SRA for that cup final loss, just 12 seasons back.

MOT had seen their star WG sent off just 2 minutes in earlier this season in the CECIL Cup final and were eager to avoid the same fate this time. This time, the first action of the match was SRA giving up a penalty and losing a star FW just 5 minutes in. MOT scored the penalty to go up 1-0, and the big boost here was that the MOT attackers now switched to 'n' to avoid giving anything back in terms of red cards or penalties.From here it was pretty smooth sailing for MOT: Billy Bland getting on the scoresheet in the 9th minute to make it 2-0, and another Guy Clark penalty in the 35th made it a big 3-0 at the half. Al Bondigas would also get on the scoresheet second half, and Guy Clark would complete his hat-trick in the 58th minute. SRA got a consolation late on, but 5-1 was both a huge win for MOT but also fairly harsh on SRA. Motherwell definitely knows what it feels like to have a player sent off early and nearly end the contest - definitely a bit more luck of the draw than your average SESL match result. Would have liked to see this one as an 11v11 contest, but glad that we could win one of our two cup finals this season.

Guy Clark scores the second hat-trick in a cup final for MOT (After Sean OHannigain had one in the 3-0 over AI in season 56). Motherwell now have one of every major trophy! Season 56 CECIL Cup, Season 59 Division 1, and Season 60 SESL Cup. We feel lucky to have pulled in such a diversity of trophies during this stretch of having a great squad.

The EDI 'Player of the season' has been a foregone conclusion for many weeks now....

FW CLYDE BEST with 28 League goals + 8 more in a limited number of Cup games has been the light of the EDI season. Clyde has led the line in the overwhelming majority of the games this season and his fitness levels plus his clinical finishing has been a delight for all EDI fans.

His goals and all-round performances have been the catalyst for the clubs promotion run this season. He is a leader both on and off of the pitch for EDI.

The team as a whole has performed admirably but it has been Clyde Best who has set the tone all season long and is a well deserved S60 EDI  'Player of the season'.

A weekend before the season ends, BRE fans have votes Lewis Raeside as player of the season.
The player has kept the team afloat with his 20 goals, forming a lethal partnership with the young Gordon Ramsey. And although the young Scottish striker is the future, the American forward has proven his worth this year, achieving almost 60% shooting accuracy.
These important goals have helped secure league points and keep BRE in contention for a coveted promotion.

Gents, please see below regarding the above awards.

With only 1 point from our last 4 matches general disappointment is getting the upper hand at Princess Royal Park. Lady luck has definitely left Banff. Our defense is as leaky as a sieve, while our strikers couldn't even find the goal if they were standing in it. 

Two games left to play and our only focus is avoiding the instant drop and go all out in the playoff to extent our stay in the top flight. It's no longer five to midnight, it is now 10 seconds. We hear the bells ringing already. We need 6 points this weekend!   

We started the weekend with an away game at Peter's Airdrie, always a tough place to play at they opted for a 4-4-2 normal as we opted for a 5-3-2 stall hoping to pinch a cheeky point,we started slowly as we were constantly under pressure as a deep cross saw cadden power home his header 1-0 on 22 minutes  half time soon came and subs on ,we failed to break down a stubborn defence and they sealed the game on 89 minutes when Henderson drilled home 2-0 as we were outplayed and outshot 5 to 0 ,well played Peter.

Next we were at home to Sergei's Brechin City another club playing very well this season,we opted for a 5-3-2 stall as they went for a 4-2-4 normal  game on and nothing to choose between the sides until on 37 minutes Raeside slipped through and slotted home 0-1,half time came and subs on and we tried to play ourselves back into the game but could not break down a stubborn defence,but our defence stood firm as well in a close game of only the 1 shot which they duly converted,well played Sergei.

So a pointless weekend sees us sit 12th.

Board meeting on Monday and Coach Rob will leave the role of manager by mutual consent at the end of this season ,he stated he had enjoyed his time at Dingwall but was unhappy that we could not win any silverware and hopefully his successor can

A very good pair of results in the latest league session saw EDI take all three points in a very tight game at home to the Division 2 leaders ELG by the score of 2-1. That was followed up with another victory this time away at NAI by a 1-3 margin. The resulting six points propelled EDI to the top of the table mainly thanks to main rival ELG and ALO both dropping points in their games.

So, with just two matches remaining of the league campaign, EDI have their destiny in their own hands in regards to the Division 2 title. Six points obviously would win the title and it is also possible that 4 points might be enough but that scenario would need a little help from elsewhere. If EDI should only get three or less points from the final session then EDI would need some significent help from elsewhere.

All to play for going into the last two matches and there are still three teams that could win the Division 2 title. 

At Last! A week to be happy with and our 2nd division status is guaranteed. More to the point we stay outwith both plaayoffs (relegation and promotion).

Kinda feel the team has just the right amount of lads in [positions where we can afford to rest some but have others almost equal to step up.  Taken a while but happy to wait till next season for the push to the top tier.

Last weekends games were kind of similar. I went on to the Viewer to watch COW v HIBs. JUst after we went down 1-0 I swapped to Report and saw us equalise then go into the lead. Despite another leveller (from COW) we went on to sciore twice more and that helped the GD. No cautions as well was good but we realised it was Slater in our goals who got us over the line, making 5 saves to earn the MOM award.

Then we entertained top dogs ELG, and  again we went to the Viewer and watched as we went 2 goals down. In disgust I moved over to the Report to speed up the game and saw us claw back not just 2 goals but a winner. All 3 goals came from forwards and we were good winners too. So from 2 bad spells earlier on which dropped us to 14th at one point we sit 7th - 4 points below KIL and SM with 2 games left.

Falkirk went into the last six matches with a two point advantage at the top of division three. We kicked off with a home game against Ross County. A solid performance finished in a two nil victory, thanks to goals by Speedie and Ferguson. Then we traveled to promotion chasing Queens Park. We lost a tight game by a single goal, one nil. The result leaves us with a point lead over Airdrieonians who drew their match. Four matches left to play and promotion is almost guaranteed.

Every league week has felt stressful this season, primarily because we have found ourselves perfroming better than expected. Unusual i guess. But this week was one of the toughest. 

Arbroath - Always a difficult game against Cameron's well drilled sides and looking at the run in a few weeks ago, one of the games we knew might be our downfall. Our side has been stretching to its physical limit - dont forget these guys are getting on in years! ARB started with a stronger OFF, but weaker GP but were simply far more clinical, in truth we werent switched on, the season is taking its toll, but we had a lineup out to win. ARB 3 goals, from 4 shots on target, from 5 shots. We got 1, consolation goal, from 2 shots on target, from 3 shots. Could this be the week that the relentless drive from DEE proved too much? we simply cant afford to drop points. 

BUT
James' Raith side clearly dont want to get relegated and are going to play a big part in this title race - fielding a very strong side they played to win and they did. Beating DEE in a 6 point session and by doing so keeping the gap at the top between STE and DEE at 5 points. 

Next up we had Dumbarton and luckily they werent in a postion to put up too much of a fight. Colins side were tired from the Cup and put it into beating PET. Probably the right thing to do, trying to make the great escape from relegation places with 1 mor eweek to go. With DEE scraping a win against a STJ team that had the upperhand across the board, they simply wont let go. Final 2 games next week with a 5 point gap. 

Some tired squads, injuries and suspensions across the division with lots to play for, there are going to be some intersting final week matches!

This weekend sees the penultimate session in the season 60 league campaign and there are still plenty of teams with all to play for.

EDI must face Division 2 table toppers ELG at Meadowbank stadium in the first of our two games and it promises to be areal tough match-up. That is followed by an away trip to NAI who have relegation battles to fight and will certainly look to get something from this game if they are to survive. 

The manager reports that the clubs finances are about where he would have hoped they would be at this point of the season and as a consequence the club will go into the next 'Pre-season' on a firm footing and will hopefully be able to strengthen further and finally be able to add a little depth to the squad for Season 61.

Thank goodness the end of the season is in sight as we have had a terrible season. 
Whilst money has been hard to come by we have also used up our resources, so it looks like we will be dodgy from the start of the season in being able to buy a maximum CP.

We have had our ups and downs, mainly downs as last Saturday's 1-5 loss at Ross County - yet we allowed high flying Morton to leave us with a hard fought point after a 3-3 draw. 2 weeks ago we beat Celtic 3-2 but we still won't get higher than 15th. 
Onwards and upwards for the last 4 games - might as well give them a go...🙄

The latest league session saw EDI  win their first game 0-3 away at ANN and then followed that up with a good 4-0 home victory over COW. Those six points were enough to give EDI's current 3rd place in the Division 2 table a more secure look with only four games left in the league campaign.

The recent mention that EDI would be interested in acquiring a MP 'Bosman' from any Division 3 team when the trade window reopens has drawn a little interest already. EDI are still prepared to discuss any potential trade with other Division 3 managers as nothing has been agreed yet elsewhere. All options are still open and up for discussion.

In recent memory, Motherwell haven't had a zero point weekend very frequently. But, this weekend Motherwell lost their 18-match unbeaten run in the worst possible way.

First up was league leaders Stenhousemuir. Motherwell supporters aren't used to seeing their team lose at home much, but it was clear the manager had their focus on the big cup semifinal ahead. With Motherwell almost guaranteed to be 4th or 5th in the league, the semifinal was priority #1 (and maybe priorities #2 and #3 as well). So, this match meant that key starters needed to be rested and others needed to protect themselves from getting into card trouble. The Motherwell defense was still stout at a 178 DEF with a SL 30 GK, so there were decent chance of pulling a 0-0 with the stall. However, this dream was dashed just 3 minutes in when STE took the lead. In the end, the shot on target count was actually 1-2, so Motherwell definitely could have gotten something here with better GK luck, but it was not to be.

Next up came Stranraer - an away trip that looked tough after SRA rested their players in their first match as well. Motherwell put out a strong side here, yet were absolutely blown away. 2-0 just 14 minutes in, and 4-0 at the final. Not really sure what happened here. SRA had just too good of players and our GK didn't particularly play well. Brutal, but deserved loss here.

The players will have to pick themselves up from the rough losses for the semifinal ahead. DEE are the hardest possible opponent, with a wild 32.3 T-11. With 21 CP still in the bank! It will take a herculean effort to get into the final here, but MOT will try their best. With disappointment in the league and a disappointing final in the first cup, this is our last chance for glory this season. Let's hope for the best!

Falkirk are having a bit of a wobble and are just about hanging onto top spot in division 3. Last weekend we kicked off with a home match against Celtic. Jordan opened the scoring for the Bairns on 33 minutes and then four minutes after the break Ferguson made it two. We conceded a minute later when Durie give away a penalty and got himself sent off to boot. We managed to see the game out and win two one. The second game away at Greenock Morton was a disaster. We conceded after just two minutes and didn't recover and ended the match losing four nil. We remain top but only with a two point lead going into the final six matches. 

Another 2 matches with mixed results but bottom line is the 2nd division is the place for excitement. We sit in 8th position after yesterday and only 4 points from a promotion playoff spot, yet we are only 3 points above an automatic relegation place. Having to keep eyes on the  back of my head.

What helps us is having a positive goal difference (thinking more the bottom hal;f this time.

We went to Tannadice and Dundee United who duffed us up fair and square by 4-2. We were 3 goals own before we counted and 4-1 down when we scored our 2bnd consolation goal. At that point we had slipped to 11th.

We then hosted relegation threatened Annan Athletic and it was clear they had looked for something from the game (playing 75% against our 57%). We got stuck in and were 4 goals up by half time - the most clinical we have been for ages - and we split 2 goals in the 2nd half for a GD boost of +4 goals.

4 games left and I believe we will end up between the magic 7th - 10th spots thus avoiding both ends of the table. That is the plan. We will try to win but thinking we have left it too late, although I thhinjk the squad are in good shape overall. 

...One Giant leap for Stenny fans. 

Another week passes, another very hard-fought couple of league wins under our belt. Eduard's DEE are relentless. It's always felt like we wouldnt be able to drop any points to keep up and finishing the season with a difficult run in made the challenge even greater, but we have some big scalps in the last few games and now only 4 games left to play. 

Away at Motherwell was always going to be a super tough game, but Andrew has difficult league games and the toughest cup games on his mind too. So it really helped settle our nerves when recent signing Dipps shot us ahead after just 3 minutes. We dont concede loads, so going 1-0 early always feels good. But just two minutes later Bear made a light challenge in the box and was doubly punished - Straight Red* and walking off barely having warmed up. Facing a penalty and it looked liked we were in for a long afternoon. But Norway saved the day and we pushed on for the remaining 85 minuts 10 v 11. Our OFF was dented and it dint look like we were going to manage to score more. Luckily MOT stayed cautious and sat back, so the game played out with very few shots / saves which worked in our favour and we secured 3 vital points

Home to Fraserburgh Another worrying game. Alon's team knocked us out of the cup just a couple of weeks ago, and convincingly so. We took no chances here - strong lineup, home bonus. But FRA came out with what looked like a T11 as well - we rarely seem to get a break! - starting with a worryingly high OFF of 240 which is what hurt us in the cup game. This time out though, we maxed of GP and it turned out like a game of men vs. boys. 14 shots to 1 and we put this one to bed 3-0. 

To finish our campaign, we have 2 very difficuly aways games and what should be, on paper, 2 easier home games. But i'm yet to have a game this season that has felt straight forward.

Reason to celebrate this week though - we are now guaranteed to have our highest SESL place finish in our history and two more points would secure our highest points total in any league campaign, in any division! It also cements our most successful period in the top flight. It would be amazing to finish this off!  

* Aggressive play is one of the things that intrigues me most in this game. I've looked at the numbers carefully many times and particularly as we were building a plan for the title run in this season. The numbers always suggest to me that playing a few players 'A' in the right games, with the right Refs is worth the risks. Yet the results for m always seem to be on the side of unlucky. But there is no 'unlucky' right? Over a long period of time these things should work themselves out. Its just numbers? Bear picked up a suspension and missed 85 mins of the match becuase he was 'A', the only one on the pitch. We knew the risks and i thinkwe can play round the suspension - that's why we picked up Dipps in the auction - for this very eventuality. But can we risk more 'A' in the remaining games? It needs some serious thought. 

We started the weekend with an away game at Andy's table topping Falkirk,a really tough place to get a result at ,both sides opted for a 5-3-2 normal,nothing to choose between the sides in the 1st 20 minutes as both defences on top ,but they broke the deadlock on 21 minutes when Speedie raced in and slotted home 1-0 and defences then on top till half time,2nd half subs on and on 48 minutes Ferguson powered home his header at the back post 2-0 ,from then on defences stood firm as they just edged the shot count 3 to 2,well played Andy ,impressive squad you have there.

Next we were at home to Craig's Clydebank ,a side like us having an up and down season,we opted for a 4-3-3 normal as they went for a 4-2-4 normal,game on and we started quickly and opened the scoring on 4 minutes when Grieves fired home a loose ball 1-0,11 minutes and Henderson drilled home from range 2-0,18 minutes and some slick interchange passing saw Chilvers race in and fire home 3-0 and on 29 minutes Fraser fired home 4-0,half time came and subs on ,Clydebank pulled one back on 71 minutes when Bowie headed home 4-1,but on 72 minutes McTominay drilled home from range 5-1 as we outplayed them and outshot them 15 to 1,only downside was Chilvers coming off with concussion and will miss the next 4 games,well played Craig,and with a 3 point weekend we sit 10th.

"To take more care with my orders".

Playing a 5-3-2 (1 WG, 1 FW)  I brought on a FW playing at MF for the FW  So now 5-4-1 with no FW. So a MF moves up to FW. 

Then at half time I move players - the sub that came on goes to FW, MF goes to WG. This should have been 4-2-4 but because of the forced reposition it was 4-1-5.

First thing the software does is force a DF to move to MF - not the one I would have chosen but not bad. But I have 3 FWs and 2 WGs. Luckily for me the forced reposition was the weakest player that happened to be the one forced up front earlier. Now it's 3-3-4 early cross but at least it's the proper four up front.

Four games since my last journal entry and three of those games had mistakes in the orders. But somehow we picked ip 7 points and another MVP to stay in the top four. Six games to go and five of those will have Ogayi playing 45 minute so it's no walk in the Park.

Mistakes were not changing a winger from MF to WG as we changed from stall to early cross. We lost that game to Hibs. The other two were last weekend where I got the GK orders wrong for each match but thankfully we came away with four points. I just would have preferred to have tried to beat St Mirren to keep them further back.

New Years Resolution? To take more care with my orders.

Still six more league games to come before the close of Season 60 but with shorter off-seasons due to the Trade window reopening earlier than was once the case, the EDI management are already putting together plans for the Season 61 pre-season....regardless of which division EDI may find themselves in.

First up will be two apprentices promoted to the full squad. A young WG will certainly be added to help bolster the teams attacking options in the upcoming seasons. The manager also intends to add a DF or MF apprentice for a little added depth in those areas at some point in the season.

It is also possible that EDI will dip into the early transfer market in search of a Division 3 teams unwanted BOSMAN should any said manager be interested in some kind of deal. If so, EDI will try to add a MP type player at a level to be of use to EDI next season and for the future. EDI would be happy to discuss any sort of package to make a suitable deal acceptable to BOTH managers if possible.

Should any Division 3 manager be interested then the EDI managers door is ALWAYS open....and the 'early bird' usually gets the worm, or in this case, the deal LOL.

Match 42   Greenock Morton 4–0 Falkirk

Greenock Morton were completely dominant, racing into a 4–0 halftime lead and comfortably seeing the game out.

• 2’ – Sergio La Rosa (GM)
  Early goal after Tyler Morton exploited space down the flank.

• 20’ – Casper Terho (GM)
  Powerful strike into the bottom corner.

• 25’ – Casper Terho (GM)
  Calm finish after rounding the keeper.

• 45’ – Sergio La Rosa (GM)
  Strong header at the back post to cap a ruthless first half.

No goals after the break, but Morton remained in control throughout.

Key Performers

• ⭐ Man of the Match: Casper Terho (GM)
  Two goals, constant danger, and excellent movement from midfield.

• Sergio La Rosa (GM)
  Two goals, three shots, and a constant aerial threat.

• Bill Smith & Colin Hendry (GM)
  Solid defensively, shutting down Falkirk’s limited attacks.

Tactical Notes

• Both teams started 4-3-3 (Normal), but Morton’s midfield overwhelmed Falkirk early.

• Falkirk were forced into an early substitution (1’) with David Speedie injured, disrupting their attacking plan.

• Falkirk’s late switch to Press (80’) came far far too late to influence the match.  35 minutes too late really.

• Morton’s defense allowed just 1 shot and 1 shot on target all game.

Statistics That Tell the Story

• Shots: GM 7 – 1 FAL

• Shots on Target: GM 6 – 1 FAL

• Possession efficiency (Avg SL%): GM 59 – 57 FAL

• Clean sheet for John Smith with minimal work required.

Overall Verdict

A clinical, one-sided performance from Greenock Morton.
Early goals broke Falkirk’s resistance, and the match was effectively decided before halftime.
Morton looked sharper, more composed, and far better balanced in all areas of the pitch.

FALKIRK remaon on 1st place in Div 3.   
But just 1 win in last 6 games may have sesl longstanding good bloke Andy Shaw rattled.
 

Queens Park (QP) and Greenock Morton (GM), with QP winning 5-1.

Some key highlights from the match include:

• Kris Faulkner was named Man of the Match, contributing heavily with great assists and a couple of shots on target.

• Victor Campenaerts scored two goals, helping seal the win for Queens Park.

• John Smith, the goalkeeper for Greenock Morton, had a tough game, saving 7 shots but allowing 5 goals in total.

• Greenock Morton only managed 3 shots on target, and despite a late goal from Joaquin Larrivey, couldn't mount a comeback.

Queens Park dominated possession with 68% average SL%, while Morton only managed 42%. The game also saw 1 yellow card for Virgil van Dijk (GM).

The action seems pretty one-sided, especially in the first half, with Queens Park leading 4-0 at halftime.

What stood out to you about this match?   
NO WINS IN SEVEN matches now.

GM need get their Div 3 season back on track pronto......
 

With EDI seemingly on a roll of good form, the team now faces some difficult games as most of our opponents all have something to play for regardless of which end of the Division 2 league table they are currently sitting at.

This weeks two fixtures sees EDI travel to ANN and that is followed by a home game versus COW. The entire SESL now enter the final phase of the league campaigns where historically EL's and Suspensions take most effect and can have serious consequences for many teams.

EDI simply hope for a fair roll of the dice between here and the end of the season.