SPFL Tier 4, Cliftonhill, 31/12/22.

Another win. Four points clear at New Year. Heady stuff.

It seems we snatched this one though.

I’m not surprised we found it difficult. I thought Rovers were a decent side when I saw them at the Rock in October.

Onwards though.

It’s a big game next week at home against second placed Stirling Albion.

SPFL Tier 4, The Rock, 24/12/22.

A very good way indeed to celebrate the club’s 150^th anniversary.

From the reports I’ve read it sounds like we fully deserved the win. Goals from Gregor Buchanan and David Wilson did the job.

I can’t remember ever being top of the league at Christmas before. Ditto at New Year. (Our four point lead means we wil achieve that accolade too.) Mind you our next game – on Hogmanay – will be tough. We’ve found Albion Rovers to be difficult opponents this season.

SPFL Tier 4, The Rock, 15/10/22.

Perhaps I am a jinx after all. We haven’t scored a goal in open play since the one I saw at New Bayview. And we’re no longer top of the league. (Okay it’s by goal difference but that’s a ten point lead gone inside four games.)

Whatever, this was a hard watch. Albion Rovers were worth a point and but for three goal-line clearances in nearly as many seconds could have had all three.

We were more or less not in the game for the first ten minutes and Rovers had already hit the post before another misplaced clearance resulted in an opportunity for their player to belt the ball home.

We did come into it and the penalty was an absolute stone-waller. Carsy stepped up to convert. A few minutes later Ally Love had a great chance to put us in the lead but pulled his shot wide. It looked easier to score.

In the second half any promising moves came to nothing due to poor final balls. There was a similar stramash to the one we got away with in the first half but we couldn’t get the ball past their defenders. In the end we were grateful to Brett Long’s fine one handed save late on to salvage a point from this.

If we are as poor as this against Cumnock on Friday I suspect we won’t be in the Cup for the next round draw.

SPFL Tier 4, Forthbank Stadium, 8/10/22.

Well.

This is the result that most Sons fans knew in their bones was coming. Things had been going too well.

We’re still top of the league, though.

But for how long?

It’s all eerily reminiscent of last season when the wheels fell off spectacularly with a 5-0 drubbing at Peterhead on the first Saturday in October. But this was worse.

The only consolation is that this time we have a bigger points cushion.

Next Saturday at home against Albion Rovers is now a must win I’d say.

Otherwise I’d not fancy us at all to beat Cumnock in the Cup the Friday after.

SPFL Tier 4, Cliftonhill,* 6/8/22.

Well. Another win. But we left it late and we were playing against ten men for well over an hour.

Stuart Carswell is on penalty duties again. And there was a first goal for us for Ryan Wallace.

We’ve had false dawns before. I’ll reserve judgement as to how good we might be for a few weeks yet.

Mind you; I can’t remember the last time we came from behind to win a game.

*Apparently the Riegart Stadium for sponsorship purposes. Me neither.

Scottish League Cup,* Round 1, The Rock, 3/8/13

A win’s not to be sneezed at.

But…

We beat the same club 2-0 at the same stage last season and this season they’re a Division lower.

However, I thought this wee Rovers side was better than last year’s so make of that what you will.

This was played on a fiery pitch with a gusting wind in the first half so ball control appeared to be difficult.

Even so there were signs here of a new approach under Ian Murray, passing the ball even from the back. Here debutant Aaron Barry, on loan from Sheffield United, looked a good addition, composed on the ball and reading the game well. We did miss Jim Lister when the ball was played forward in the air though. It was my first sight of Scott Linton at left back and Mitch Megginson wide right. Both had solid games.

Rovers only had one legitimate effort on goal the whole game, ex-Son Scott Chaplain’s effort being parried on to the post by Jamie Ewings. Having said that, their keeper didn’t have all that much to do either, though he had a fine stop from a Chris Turner shot early on and a flap at a Mark Gilhaney shot in the second half. (Former Sons Mick Dunlop, Kevin Nicholl and Liam Cusack were also in Albion’s starting eleven.)

Scott Agnew misplaced a lot of passes but it was his exquisite ball inside the defender that led to the goal. Two of them got mixed up trying to combat Mark Gilhaney’s run and he nipped the ball. I thought he might hit it first time but this is Mark Gilhaney. He’d had an opportunity to do that earlier and tried to take on the full back and lost the ball. This time he seemed to take an age to round the keeper but he finished it off nicely.

We didn’t have to do too much after that and as a result let Rovers into the game a bit in the second half.

We need to be more clinical and carve out more chances. I doubt a First Division (sorry, I know there’s a new name for the Division, but it’s bollocks: I think I’ll go with Tier 2) side will be as accommodating to our midfield and defence as Albion were.

Falkirk next week will be a test of that.

*Scottish Communities League Cup, if you must.

Mixed fortunes in the two cup draws.

In the Challenge Cup we’re away to Stranraer on Jul 27^th. That’s a bit far for me to travel I fear. Still it’ll only mean me missing our annual early dismissal from that trophy.

In the League Cup, it’s Albion Rovers at home on Aug 3^rd. A chance to see former Sons in action again. (Three of them apparently.)

Scottish League Cup*, The Rock, 4/8/12.

A win and a clean sheet. It took us some time last season to achieve either of those – and this was a cup match, where our record has been none too strong for too many seasons now.

Still, this was against lower league opposition and we didn’t look that much better than them. I suspect the Wee Rovers will struggle in Div 2 as they didn’t look to have much of a cutting edge. We will struggle in Div 1, ditto.

We started off well but didn’t create much in the way of clear-cut chances then let them into it and they had a fair bit of possession in the first half. Our midfield seemed non-existent at times. Perhaps we’re making too much of Jim Lister’s ability with the high ball. The opener just before half time came from a corner, Brian Prunty reacting to the knockdown in the box – which may have come off their keeper or a defender (it was up the other end and difficult to make out.)

We were more in control in the second half. Jim Lister was one on one with the keeper after a horrible defensive mistake but shot it straight at him. Rovers have one of the smallest goalkeepers I can remember but he made a brilliant reaction save from Prunty a few minutes before we scored again. Another defensive mistake was pounced on by sub Mark Gilhaney (Scott Agnew had had a poor game before being hoiked) who squared it into Jim Lister’s path for a nice controlled finish.

Jamie Lyden was given the right back berth. He had an encouraging start last season at Brechin and East Fife, scoring in both games before losing his way and not featuring again. His confidence looked low to begin with here but I thought he came onto a game.

Andy Graham and Alan Lithgow were more solid at centre-back than last week but will be tested more severely when the league starts.

On to the real stuff next week.

*Okay: it’s the Scottish Communities League Cup now.

Home of Albion Rovers FC.

The “Wee Rovers” heyday is long gone, being just after the First World War when they reached the Scottish Cup final and had a run in the First Division. They also achieved promotion in 1934 and mostly remained in Division 1 till the Second War. Thereafter they have been mostly in the lower divisions. For a fuller account see link.

Below is a view of the Stand and entrance gates of Cliftonhill from Main Street, Coatbridge (the A 89.)

The stand and its immediate surroundings is the only area where spectators congregate.

The Stadium is unaffectionately called the “Stadio San Giro” by its detractors.

It’s fair to say the ground has seen better days but any disparagement is out of place. It’s very homely and has a friendly atmosphere.

This is the west end. Standing may once have been allowed here but not for a long time, I think.

The east end is similar, only a mound of earth.

The North Terracing (below) is now, I believe, closed to spectators for safety reasons but it was from here that I saw Kenny Jenkins deflect with the neatest of touches with his head a Charlie Gallagher free kick to score in a 1-0 win in 1972, vital to the championship win that year.

SFL, Cliftonhill Stadium, 7/4/12.

I had mixed feelings about this one. I have a bit of a soft spot for the “Wee Rovers” and about half their team is composed of former Sons players.

Yet once the game started the atavism kicked in, I was as partisan as usual and I wanted us to win.

We had the better of the first part of the game but the bobbly pitch did us no favours and led to a few mistakes. Mark Gilhaney had a great chance to score – though Craig Dargo was actually offside in a previous phase and not given – but the keeper made a good save. A few minutes later Dargo was put through clearly onside but the flag went up. James Creaney also stung the keeper’s hands with a fierce shot.

An unstoppable drive from ex-Son Danny Ferry then put Rovers ahead. The ball was in the net from the moment it left his boot – I don’t remember him ever hitting a shot like that when he was with us.

A corner for us was wasted when it was taken short and on the next I was about to moan, “Don’t try that again,” but it was given quickly to Scott Agnew whose cross was turned into his own net by a defender.

I felt we lost a lot of our forward momentum when Ryan Finnie went off injured.

The second half was pretty scrappy. I think we only had two shots on target, one of them Gilhaney again. The keeper saved again. Craig Dargo couldn’t even let the ball bounce off him into the net, it skied over. He tried to place another but it was just wide. I can’t see what Dargo gives us that Pat Walker doesn’t. Yes, he’s a clever player, but he’s not a natural goal scorer. And I like Pat Walker’s industry.

James Creaney had a good game and saved the jerseys twice late on, putting off an attacker who looked likely to head in a cross and making an incredible block in the last minute.

Four points ahead of fifth with four to play and Airdrie Utd and East Fife still have to play each other the week after we have Airdrie Utd at home. There will be no easy games though. Everyone we still have to play has something to play for themselves.