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"a team which had conceded
five goals clapped off the park! " |
Hi , and welcome to the second instalment of my attempt to keep
you all up to date with the current news and views from Ochilview. At the time
of penning these notes we had just lost our cis cup tie to a very good St.
Johnstone side, the score line made it look as if we had been routed but nothing
could be further from the truth, indeed it was probably the first time that I
had heard a team which had conceded five goals clapped off the park! A mini
collapse in the last ten minutes put paid to our chances on the night but if I
am being honest I came away from the game thinking that we were definitely
heading in the right direction.
 There
was a number of very good performances from what was essentially a very young
side, the other thing that struck me was the fact that Robert Love's injury
seemed to have a big effect on the game. Tactically we were in command and the
wee man looked as if he was in the mood for a big performance, I had given him
and Andy Brand licence to roam and as free players they were taking advantage of
that. Of course you have to balance that freedom with very disciplined players
who understand that they must make sacrifices to allow the game plan to take
shape. Graham Gibson for instance has not played many games as an orthodox
central midfielder but was made aware that he had to match the dangerous Martin
Hardie and he succeeded until tiredness set in in the later stages. Jjust
one example of a team understanding the need to balance flair with sheer hard
work, the injury to Lovie could not have happened at the worst time for him and
us , he had just scored and received a clatter from the beaten goalkeeper which
meant that celebrating was out of the question.
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"we lost our concentration
and our chance was gone " |
The tactical changes that we adopted meant that Steve Desmond
was shunted out to the wide left area and we lost a grip on the midfield as he
and Andy Shirra had been dominating that area of the park, It seem to work
against us and I am convinced that having Lovie on the pitch for the ninety
minutes would have helped us record a much better score line. The other
problem with playing full time teams is that you generally know that you have to
be ahead going in to the final quarter of the match to give yourself something
to defend when the legs get tired. Unfortunately we lost our concentration and
our chance was gone, the good thing is that we do not have time to dwell on that
defeat we now have a cracker to play down at Annan and it will good to see an
old Stenny favourite down there in the shape of manager Harry Cairney.
 I
am really looking forward to this game as we have been assured that there will
be a big crowd as history is made by the Annan lads. Strangely we go into the
game as underdogs given the hype surrounding the Annan players and I don’t mind
that a bit, I expect us to go there and get a result because I believe that we
are a better team and the fact that so many of the experienced players were
rested on Tuesday night should give us a slight edge. I hope that there is
a decent travelling support and we can enjoy another three points.
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"...all my energies are
going into our league campaign" |
It shouldn’t be too hard to work out from the decisions that I
have made with team selection to understand that all my energies are going into
our league campaign. I have discussed my feelings with the board and we are
singing from the same song sheet in agreeing that it has been far to long since
a Stenny team achieved anything , I know how important the cups are and also the
revenue that they provide but the true test of a team is winning its league
title and that’s what I try and make sure the players know exactly what is
expected of them.
Finally, the first team squad looks to be complete and I don’t
envisage any other movement before the window closes , you never say never in
this game but I feel much happier with the players at my disposal this
season.Here’s hoping we can get a run of wins under our belt in what I feel will
be the most competitive league in the country, Love will be out for the best
part of six weeks but touch wood everyone else is fit and raring to go, so until
next month, enjoy your football and get behind the Warriors!
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