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.

After performing as expected in the first half of the season we seem to have hit a bump in the road. Up until last session we didn't manage to score more then a single goal against Fraserburgh. In the final two games of the year 2025 we suddenly put 6 balls into the net which helped us avoid a blowout against Arbroath and a much needed point facing Dumbarton as Colinn had one eye on his cup fixture. Sitting 12th on the ladder now. 

With 6 games to go we face Rangers and Albion Rovers for so called 'sixpointers' and a struggling Raith Rovers. We need to be flawless and take 9 points from these if we want to have a chance avoiding playoffs, assuming we won't be getting Lucky against Livingston, Saint Johnstone or Hearts.

Will it be enough?

The silly rolls have ended, maybe ...

#41: FRA vs DEE 0-3

Dundee marched into Fraserburgh like polite guests who accidentally brought a wrecking ball. We opened the scoring early, because why wait for drama when Nicky Riley can tap one in after a casual stroll down the wing. Fraserburgh tried a few counterattacks, but our defenders treated them like mild inconveniences — the footballing equivalent of brushing lint off a jacket.
Fatello then arrived after halftime, scored immediately, and probably wondered why everyone else was sweating. Caniggia wrapped things up with a goal so smooth it should’ve come with a warning label.
Fraserburgh rotated goalkeepers like they were testing fire alarms, but nothing stopped the inevitable: DEE 3, FRA 0 — job done, thanks for hosting.

#42: DEE vs ARB 3-0

Dundee strolled to a 3–0 win over Arbroath, who kindly spent 90 minutes demonstrating why defending is optional. Josh Meekings opened the scoring after being subbed on for an injured teammate — a classic “accidental masterplan”. Javier Artero doubled the lead with a shot Ned Doig heroically got a fingertip to… before watching it go in anyway. Jesse Curran wrapped things up with a header that Arbroath’s defence observed from a respectful distance. A few offside calls tried to add drama, but even the officials couldn’t derail Dundee’s cruise. 
Man of the Match? Curran, obviously. Title race? Still very much alive.

Okay - not done much in participating but 100k is there to be won so here goes.

Season has NOT gone well for us - I have made big blunders with my cash and resources and find I haven't enough TPs to train up my most recent buy - Budgie McGhie. He will be a man for the future and he came from Dundee.

Despite winning 3-2 at Celtic last weekend and 5-3 at Berwick the weekend before we have had too many losses and sit 2nd bottom (47th out of 48 teams in the set up). We might well end up with the wooden spoon if Berwick start to pick up points. But the main thing is to earn the end of season sponsorship of 100k and this is the start...

So we get to the last 6 games and we find ourselves in an unusual position. We are not bottom :) We actually have a chance of getting in the play off places. 3 points off the current 4th placed team. I think we will come up short as we just can't score with the 3rd worst GF in the league. We also have only our GK Josh Clarke in the tables for best stats. Nothing anywhere else. 
With our backup GK injured we will need a miracle with a DF playing in goals for a couple of games so that will affect our chance big style. 

Our FW's don't seem to be allocated any shots and our DF's get some more than them. This is the frustrating part and may well dictate my strategy in the future by only coaching MF's and have 1 FW in future seasons. Top goal scorer having 10 goals from 22 shots (Main)

We bounced back after our cup defeat, with 2 more strong league wins against Stranraer and Albion. With only 6 games left of league play this seaosn we are still 5 points clear. But Dundee keep winning too so there is no room for error at all. Dundee convincingly beat Fraserburgh ahead of their cup quarter final match as well, showing they continue to fight on all fronts.

Our current run of fixtures is relentless. When we need an easy game to give us a break, there just arent any!! In a 6 game run we play 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th and 7th.    

A number of sides still involved in the final stages of the SESL cup, so we will need to see what sides we are likely to play iun the leagues - hopefully some injusries or suspensions might assist us! 

Confidence is flying high though, with Moral back to a total of 0.98 and 12 league wins on the bounce. 

Falkirk had a bad week for the first time this season. One point from two games and being knocked out of the SESL cup. We started with a home game against bottom side Berwick. Straightforward one would think but not so. We fell behind twice in the first half and ended up two apiece by halftime. We had numerous chances to win but couldn't find a third by man of the match Antwell in the Berwick goal. The second game was a trip to play Ayr United. A close game was decided on 30 minutes by Rus for Ayr for an one nil victory. Then in midweek a last 16 SESL cup game with Dundee. With Brown and Durie suspended it was going to be tough. We went a goal ahead through Speedie but couldn't hang on and conceded two second half goals to lose two one. Time to concentrate on winning promotion. 

The good run of recent form continued this weekend for EDI with a resounding 2-5 away win at FOR  and that was followed uo with a terrific 5-0 home victory that saw FW Clyde Best score all FIVE of the goals for EDI. The haul of six points enabled EDI to solidify there current 3rd place in the Division 2 league table.

With only six league fixtures remaining, hopes of promotion to Division 1 remain high among the fans but manager Bill Bushby would only say the he remained cautiously optimistic of achieving promotion at this stage and there were still games and points to be earned.