Saturday saw us home to Cove Rangers who we spotted had a couple of EL problems - that is choice coming from the one manger in SESL who flirts with ELs all the time. However we saw we had to press their keeper, and at the same time we introduced our high priced auction acquisition, Neil Marten to the action. And Marten didn't dissapoint scoring 2 of our goals.

Got off to a good start and actually were 3 goals up before we lost a late consolation (Captain could have done with a +1 SL). But 3 points was the aim so achieved.

Away to Clyde we kept it tighter - our main problem is to score rather than conceding. 0-0 at the break Marten slipped the ball to Boyle who opened for us, only for us to slip up at the back and give up the equaliser. Clyde created more chances overall so we are happy to come home with a point.

Now we have a youngster up front (Boyle) who will train up to be a decent striker (that is more so in hope than expectations) and an old head (Marten) who hopefully will keep scoring till MSA and then PSA shorten his effectiveness. Out of the CECIL CUp we have a clear run to next Saturday.

PS The Poll on keepers is not for me as my reasoning for using an aggressive keeper is purely to bring up the SL performance of my 2nd string keeper Bursik - his starting SL is way below Slater - our 1st choice keeper. That's it really... :-)

EDI went into this league session hoping for a similair return to last weeks session of 4 points...but realistically thinking that we would come up somewhat short.

However EDI won the first of two home games 1-0 versus CLY and followered that up with a hard fought point against ALO. That added up to two consecutive league sessions with a 4 point haul in both and a very satisfactory start to the new league campaign for EDI where we currently sit in 4th spot with a total of 8 points.

The next week will see the manager decide what direction EDI will look to go in the next two sessions considering our current situation.

We started the weekend with a home game against Daniel's Dunfermline, always a tricky side to play against, we opted for a 4-3-3 normal as they went for a 4-4-2 normal, we started quickly and opened the scoring on 5 minutes when McTominay powered home his header 1-0,7 minutes and Fraser fired home 2-0 and McTominay fired home his 2nd on 10 minutes 3-0,14 minutes and Dunfermline slowly played themselves back into the game and pulled one back when Oakley-Boothe fired home 3-1,half time came and subs on ,both defences now on top,Dunfermline changed tact to press on 75 minutes, but on 82 minutes McTominay completed his hat trick 4-1,88 minutes and Ngwerya pulled one back 4-2 ,but all too little too late as they were outplayed for periods and outshot 5 to 2,well played Daniel.

Next we travelled to Derek's Berwick, a side who we have always struggled to play against, both sides opting for normal 4-3-3 tactics, both sides enjoying lots of possession but we opened the scoring on 11 minutes when Henderson drilled home from range 0-1,25 minutes and a quick break saw Chilvers fire home 0-2 and he fired home his 2nd on 27 minutes 0-3,half time came and subs on ,defences on top for the next 35 minutes but on 80 minutes Grieves slipped through and slotted home 0-4 and he fired home his 2nd on 83 minutes 0-5 as we outplayed and outshot them 10 to 4,well played Derek. 

OMG Ross County sit top of the table ,never thought we would see this but it wont last for long.

Falkirk kicked off the league campaign with a trip to play East Stirlingshire. We got the game off to a flyer, scoring though McTominay on 6 minutes and then making it two on 25 minutes though Durie. We make the game safe on 60 minutes when Durie scored his second. The home side scored a consolation goal 6 minutes later but that was the way it ended, a three one victory. The second match was at home against Montrose and the luck deserted us.  The game was a close affair but we opened the scoring on 54 minutes by Speedie but conceded late on twice to lose two one. Not the way to start your home matches. We then get to the Cecil cup game away to heavyweights Dundee FC. At halftime we found ourselves three one behind and on 48 minutes McKenna got sent off and conceded a penalty which was converted. So to finish the game, five three was a decent enough result, which still gives us an opportunity in the second leg, however small. 

Well what the f*** was that? (Said, knowing that it's all random and if we didn't get results like this then there would be little point having random numbers in the games. So no, it's not a rant).

Anyway we weren't just mugged by Olmec (and the code is called Olmec.java) but stabbed in the back, ran over a few times and left for dead.

Based on shot chance (and ignoring the fact that GM's was halved after going four goals up) the expected -chances for each team was 6.5 for GM and 5.6 of ALO (I accept that Tapani's change to opporunistic might have been based on the score at the time). Actual chances were 10 to 1. GM had 8 chances in the first half alone.

With 6.5 shots and a 30% chance or less of scoring lets give GM 2 goals. Even with the 8 shots they got it's only 2.5 goals tops. With 5.6 shots and around 48% chance of scoring that's 2.7 goals.

So thank you, Olmec, for making me decision that much easier for the next few games.

SRA star defender Magjust Lekburn (DF 4/27) got a straight red early in the 1st leg of the Brechin cup tie. Manager McCumiskey was furious with his experienced centre back which could have cost them dearly. Luckily, the Blues ran out 3-nil winners but it could have easily have been the other way around. He will be banned for the  Rangers home match but back for the return leg next week. Lets hope he will calm down and concentrate on the job of playing football rather than a new boxing career! McCumiskey did give new signing young Jestry Murg (DF 0/9) a half in which he shows great promise.

The opening session of the new league campaign was somewhat frustrating for the manager, not because of the results but more to do with the amount of chances that EDI created or more specifically, the lack of opportunities that EDI managed over the course of both games.

In truth, some of the above was self inflicted with a poor choice of tactics by the manager and he has hopefully learned his lesson.

First up was a home game versus EF which resulted in a 3-3 draw and that was followed with an away game at COV which EDI were probably fortunate to win 2-3. That gave EDI a total of 4 points in the opening session which in all fairness was about right tbh.

When the two Cecil Cup games are included the overall picture looks somewhat poorer for EDI with form figures of DLDW. All this caused the manager to have a rethink in terms of expectation for this season and a more sensible approach to tactics in our upcoming games will hopefully improve the performances of the team.

With two home games for EDI in this weekends league session, EDI badly need to put some points on the board or its another mid-table season in store for EDI.

Two easy wins and a solid goal difference. How come?

Match 3: DEE vs DEV 4-0

Absolute clinic from Dundee FC as we graciously allowed Deveronvale to participate in a 4-0 demolition we called a "football match." Thomas Konrad danced past defenders like they weren’t even there, and Ben Traore in DEV’s goal was busier than a traffic warden at rush hour—unfortunately, with similar effectiveness. We scored four, could’ve had more, and even gave their strikers a few sympathy runs at our goal (just to be polite). Man of the Match? Obviously Konrad. The rest? They played their roles in this delightful display of dominance. Thanks for coming, Deveronvale. Better luck next decade.

Match 4: DEE vs ALB 5-0

Dundee FC absolutely struggled their way to a casual 5–0 demolition of Albion Rovers, who kindly turned up to spectate. Josh O’Connor kicked things off with a thunderbolt, while Javier Artero decided to help himself to a brace and the Man of the Match title. Tom Hateley even scored accidentally with a cross. Albion’s defense? Mostly ornamental. Their keeper, Randall Cunningham, had such a busy day, Coach Cooper may have suggested a career change. Dundee strolled, strutted, and showboated their way through, turning Dens Park into a playground. Final verdict: DEE dominant, ALB… well, they participated.

Well we have had a steady start to our league campaign, we started off the weekend with a home game against Roy's Stirling, always a tricky side to play against as you never know how they will set up, we opted for a 4-3-3 normal as they went for a more defensive 4-5-1 stall, both sides enjoying lots of possession early on but we opened the scoring on 15 minutes through an amazing diving header from Hale 1-0,27 minutes and Ashworth drilled home from range 2-0 and on 41 minutes Aaron's slotted home 3-0,half time came and subs on ,they pushed on and had an attack on 62 minutes and Doyle fired home 3-1,from then on both defences stood firm as we outplayed them for periods and outshot them 7 to 2,well played Roy.

Next we travelled to Robert's Inverness, another tough side to play against especially at their home,both sides opting for a 4-3-3 normal, they started the quicker and opened the scoring on 6 minutes when Boyle slotted home 1-0 ,but we slowly played ourselves back into the game and levelled things up on 9 minutes when Chilvers fired home 1-1,half time soon came and subs on ,we started the 2nd half the quicker and Hale fired home on 47 minutes 1-2,but Inverness kept pushing and levelled things up on 69 minutes when Souttar fired home 2-2,defences then got on top as they just edged the shot count 3 to 2,but points shared and we are happy  with that, well played Robert.

So a 4 point weekend for Ross County, we will take that.

Motherwell kicked off the season with a visit to Livingston and a home match against Raith Rovers.  Not our ideal opening fixtures for the title defense, but looking across the league there aren't many easy fixtures, so we would have to hope our superior T-11 could carry us through these two matches.

The match against LIV kicked off well for the visiting champs, as Motherwell boosted a small stats advantage due to having the stronger finishers of the two sides. That translated into a very early lead, with Ray Wylie Hubbard scoring just 6 minutes in. However, that lead wouldn't last long at all - LIV equalized two minutes later and kept attacking, scoring two more to make it 3-1 in the 28th minute. Very poor from the MOT GK! Motherwell would pull one back before half through Al Bondigas, and start of the second half in search of the equalizer. That equalizer would finally come in minute 68, as Gary Clark Jr opened his account for the season. But, from there it really unwound. Again, as soon as Motherwell found their crucial goal they let in a sloppy one on the other end. At that point, moving to a press, anything could happen. And, as it turns out, plenty of goals happend. Unfortunately, it was the home side that came out well on top. 7-4 the final in a match that looked, at the 68th minute, like it could go any which way. Motherwell lose their opener big time at the same time as league favorites open up with a big 4-0 win.

Second match was the first a Fir park, a place where Motherwell haven't lost in over a season. The change in stadiums made a big difference for the defending champions - now Motherwell had a big shot advantage to go with. However, the shots kept coming in...and kept going to poor finishers who missed the target. Halftime came and went at 0-0, with Motherwell doing not much with their five shots. In fact, it took until the 68th minute for Motherwell to score a big goal again, this time from Guy Clark. MOT moved into the stall from there and closed out the match, 1-0. First points in the bag, and 100% home record continued.

But, as Motherwell closed out their nervy win, league leaders DEE again won by a huge margin (first junk faced of the year coming, unusually, in the first weekend) to give their captain two bonuses from two matches. Given how strong they look, 3 points seems like a mountain to climb after just two matches done! Will be interesting to see how the season plays out.

Next up comes a return to cup play with a visit to Forfar Athletic. The league will resume after that with a visit to St. Johnstone - oof, tough early schedule!

The Fifers had an excellent first week to the season, with three wins and a draw, a captain’s bonus and an MVP.

Things got off to a smooth start on the last Saturday of September when we faced. Clyde FC in the CECIL Cup.  We fielded a pretty good front four and went ahead after one minute – were two up after ten and it was 3-0 at half time.  Another early goal in the second half allowed u to coast to the finish – a good display spoiled only by a late consolation for Clyde.

We managed also to win the away leg – by a single goal, to make it to the last 32 and a tie against Deveronvale.

League action started yesterday with an exciting encounter with Edinburgh City.  We took the lead shortly before half time, only to fall behind to two quick goals just before the hour mark.  We soon pulled it back to 2-2 and then it looked as if we had won it after a rather flukey Gregor Nicol cross drifted into the net with nine minutes left.  But Edinburgh weren’t finished and made it 3-3 before the end.  We can count ourselves a little fortunate to get a point here.

Our second Saturday match was a home game against Hibernian, always formidable opposition especially early in the season before availability becomes a problem for them.  There wasn’t much goal-mouth action here but after a goalless first half we fell behind soon after the restart.  We found an equaliser after an hour’s play and then a smart finish from Michael McKenna earned us all three points – another somewhat fortunate result.

So, a successful if somewhat fortunate week.  Star player of the week is a surprised-looking Michael McKenna (pictured) with three goals.

Falkirk had a tough draw against Cove Rangers in the Cecil Cup qualifying round. Rangers knocked us out last season at the quarterfinal stage so a chance to get some revenge. We started with the home leg. Not the best start going behind on 26 minutes but we equalised five minutes later though man of the match Johnstone and that's the way the game finished. A fair result. The away tie started much better. Gilmour put us ahead after just 10 minutes and then Ferguson made it two on 27 minutes. We didn't make it easy on ourselves and conceded four minutes later and then on 42 minutes conceded the equaliser. The game could have went either way but we got the all important third goal late on, 71 minutes and managed to hang on to win three two. Our reward for getting though, a tie against the cup favourites Dundee FC. We will give it our best shot. 

A great start to the league campaign with two captain's bonuses for Andy Graham who already has three.

First up was a 5-0 thrashing of Annan with Graham getting two goals and Gentles, Donnelly and Fuller getting the others. Five shots and five goals.

Next up was a visit to Clyde and they had the better stats, which showed with their five shots and two offsides to our four shots. Unfortunately for Clyde, Morrison saved three of the four shots on target but Fuller with two and Donnelly and Blackie with a shot apiece all scored.

It's early days but nice to see us top of the table with an impressive goal difference and top in T11. In fact we're third in T11 in the whole league. Greenock in the Cup on Wednesday followed by two difficult league games. Looks like I have to get my thinking cap on.

Must be nearly mid season now - seem to have played constantly. No, wait that was only our 1st set of league matches, so this is going to be a long season. Now out of the Cecil Cup, today we entertained Kilmarnock. They rested a few lads so we did have an advantage in OFF and DEF - not that you would know it. It took till the 2nd half before we gained our 1st on target shot, and it put us ahead. DF Cadden gained the honour and he was followed by our 2nd on target shot, and a 2nd goal from MF Collins. 2-0 and we were flattered.

Away at East Fife we went down fighting - stats pretty level but they sneaked a winner in a best of 3 goals scenario. DF Kennedy scored for us. So, 3 points from 2 games, 3 goals scored (none by a forward), and 2 conceded. Seems like a lack lustre season coming up.

While lots of teams are under way already, Dive 1 kicks off this weekend along with the league games for Division 2 and 3. Stenny are ready to go. A suspension to deal with, along with 3 players who should ahve left the club, but remain on the payroll, but otherwise we are about ready to go anyway. 

The coaches training plan is set in stone but we are looking for a couple of age 4/5 mid-level skill players if anyones selling. Unlikely to be as active in the Auctions this season due to resources and the plan for next season, but always on the lookout for another GK.

Starting with a home fixture against STJ will be tough. Rumours of a leaked team sheet show a 3-4-3 Counterattack set up. Surely not at home?

Due to ticketing issues, fans are being encouraged to arrive early for a 50% discount on drinks. So some turned up last night and have been drinking ever since

EDI look to have a fairly tough opening two games in the League this weekend when the host EF in the first match and then travel to COV for the second match. Both of our opponents this week look to be potential challengers for promotion and the games with certainly give the manager an idea of whether EDI have a serious chance of promotion ourselves.

Coaching and training continues apace and is on schedule at the time of writing but will be scaled down in the very near future so that the manager can look to build the clubs finances and put the club in good shape with a view to next season requirements.

allowing for the very early stage of the new season, the fitness coach reports that all is currently well within the squad and also there are no new suspensions so that the manager has a full roster to select from and the current rotation plan is working as well as can be expected.

The first round of the cup saw us drawn against QOS and the first leg was a frustrating match that we lost 1-0 agfter failing to really create anything.  In the return leg at home we found our stride quickly though and took the lead in the first minute through David Watson.  In the 31st minute we doubled our lead on the night to move ahead in the tie, and this opened the floodgates as we scored twice more in the next 6 minutes.  Midway through the second half, Watson grabbed his second and our 5th and we cruised to a comfortable win.

League football this weekend sees us travel to Hibs for a tough looking opened before QOS travel to us again for yet another encounter.  

After the 1–0 win in the first leg, Queen of the South arrived in Ayrshire with hope, but Kilmarnock decided the tie quickly.

David Watson scored in the opening minute, and by half an hour JR Smith had struck twice to make it 3–0. Jurgen Goallenson added a fourth before the break. After half-time Queens tried to react, with chances for Oakes and Dunbar, but it was Watson again whose deflected shot made it 5–0.

The visitors kept working but could not change the course of the match. The cup journey ends with a 5–0 defeat and 5–1 on aggregate. The team must now turn focus fully to the league.

Final Score: Kilmarnock 5 – Queen of the South 0 (Agg. 5–1)

After the 5-0 first leg win it was pretty much a foregone conclusion that we'd be playing in the second round. However East Stirlingshire aren't all that far behind us in T11 so I was taking nothing for granted. I was able to play some of our back-up players but still had CP and TP I wanted to use and initially I was going to stall the whole game, with a change if we found ourselves 4-0 down. Then I saw Tyron's pre-match post and trusted that he was playing a weak stall. I changed my initial tactic to normal in the hope we could win to make getting an MVP that bit easier. I already had a lot of player conditionals so didn't bother changing from the 5-4-1 with three attackers out of position in midfield.

I thought that was going to bite me on the bum as we couldn't find a way past Raya. Gentles was particularly disappointing with his three chances. But future star, Blackie came off the bench at half time and scored the winner after 72 minutes. Then we stalled to see out the game.

CECIL Cup "run" comes to an untimely end - only things I will miss are the training slots and the gate income. Rob summed up the 2 matches in the Journal below mine so can't say anything more constructive. We should have gone Press before we did, but the sucker punch was being caught on the break for their away goal in the 10th minute. We don't score many so 3 looked to be a forlorn hope, especially as we need a high SL forward to help Bowie out.

Good luck in the next round Rob, I have midweeks off now till the SESL Cup comes..... :-(

We were drawn against David's 2nd division Hibernian, a classy outfit on their day ,but they were missing some key personnel due to suspension, we thought this would be our chance and opted for a 4-3-3 press (something we have never done,but hey ho you never know till you try it)as they went for a 5-3-2 opportunistic, game on and nothing to choose between the sides in the 1st half as both defences stood firm, 2nd half subs on and we pushed on and on 56 minutes broke the deadlock when Grieves fired home 1-0,from then on it was backs to the wall to keep a clean sheet as we just edged the shot count 4 to 2,well played David ,so we head to the away leg with a slender lead,we hoped it would be more.

Return leg and both sides opting for normal 4-3-3 tactics, we were under the cosh from the opening whistle but opened the scoring on 10 minutes against the run of play when Chilvers slotted home 0-1,this seemed to spark Hibernian into life as they began there constant attacks and on 24 minutes levelled things up when Bowie fired home 1-1,2nd half subs on and back to the job in hand and our defence was standing firm, 80 minutes and they changed tact to press hoping to find 2 goals ,they managed 1 on 90 minutes when O'Rourke fired home 2-1,but it was not enough, they outplayed us and outshot us 8 to 3 ,but we sneak through on the away goal,well played David.

So round 2 for Ross County, cant remember the last time we got here ,but we will take it and give it our all.

After a 1-1 home draw in the first leg of our Cecil Cup tie versus BRE, EDI followed that with a very disappointing 2-0 away defeat in the return leg and are therefore an early casualty and the fans will miss out on a Cup run yet again, at least in the first half of the season.

On a more positive note, the manager reports that the Coaching/Training schedule goes ahead at full pace and the squad is beginning to look far stronger already at this early part of the current season.

All eyes now turn to the League campaign and it is hoped that the last two results will be improved upon.

The news is out: I am an megalomaniacal super-villain - and of course my current residency is a super secret volcano lair deep within Dundee Law.
I even seem to have a nemesis already: the notorious do-gooder Captain Malta with his awe-inspiring super power (depicted in action). 

My sinister goals are - in no particular order - world domination, destroying Tarradice park, winning a couple of matches and stealing from the SESL bank.
My weapons of choice are big explosions, a solid squad and the occasional reading proficiency test.
Goal #2 is already almost prepared - I just have to work out how to only destroy the Utd stadium, while keeping Dens Park intact.
Though, when I think of it, I also have to find a way for my trousers to survive the fire. Food for thought.
 

Queen of the South claimed an important 1–0 home win over Kilmarnock, thanks to a brilliant first-half strike from Jim Patterson.

The Doonhamers started in a 5-2-3, looking compact but dangerous on the break. Only three minutes in, Patterson turned well at the edge of the box, but his effort was blocked. The warning was clear, however, and in the 17th minute he produced the decisive moment. Collecting the ball near halfway, Patterson surged past several defenders, slipped by Robbie Deas, and calmly side-footed beyond goalkeeper Sam Clemie. A goal of real class and composure, giving Queens the lead.

Kilmarnock pushed before half-time, but the back line of Houliston, Clark and Binning stayed strong. Jurgen Goallenson found Eddie Morrison in space, only for Binning to snuff out the chance with a clean tackle.

After the break, Killie created opportunities. Danny Armstrong fired high over, while later he rounded Angus Gunn but somehow missed the target with the net open. Queens also threatened again, Patterson sliding through Dunbar, whose shot was saved.

As pressure grew, Archie Gemmill picked up a yellow for a sharp elbow, while Gunn was forced into a big save, tipping Goallenson’s long shot onto the bar. But with Clark clearing and Houliston intercepting, the home side refused to break.

From the 80th minute Queens switched to stall, defending deep and wasting time. At the final whistle, it was Patterson’s wonder goal that made the difference.

Final Score: Queen of the South 1 – Kilmarnock 0

The tie is still open, though, with the second leg to be played in Ayrshire on Wednesday. Queens will need the same fight and discipline if they are to advance.