SPFL Tier 4, Forthbank Stadium, 1/8/26.

Plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose; or, it’s déjà vu all over again.

This panned out more as I feared than as I hoped. The similarities to a lot of our displays of last season are disquieting.

We were okay for the first ten minutes or so but never troubled their keeper. When they got the ball we looked distressingly open, though. One of their players was booked quite early and almost immediately committed another yellow card offence but wasn’t shown it. He should have seen red.

If we hadn’t given away the penalty (it looked a foul certainly) things might have been different I suppose but we always looked vulnerable. Just before half-time one of their players was shoving ours at a corner and things got fraught with several joining the melee. He was booked as was Mike Doyle for us. While the ref was noting things down their player started up the shoving again and got away with that. Stirling were thereafter diving at every opportunity and the ref was frequently conned into giving them fouls. Frustratingly, exactly the same sorts of challenges by them on us were not punished.

Not that we really deserved anything from the game. In the second half we only started playing after their second goal went in, far too easily for them.

Too many of our players were looking like square pegs in round holes, Deryn Lang and Leighton McIntosh up front were living off scraps.

David Craig in midfield looked sound, Aidan Rice in goal had no chance with the goals and made a great save at 2-0. Josiah Sowa on the left had pace and some tricks but his touch was often awkward (his brain seemed unconnected to his feet) and he went up blind alleys when he did have the ball. New loanee Owen Hartington  at least showed for the ball but, sadly, bore no comparison to Smudger  (Alexander Smith) late of this parish, who thoroughly impressed at the same venue when he came on and changed the game for us last season.

Things need sorting out quickly. Performing like this against Clyde next week could see us endure a thumping.

Today sees the start of the new league season. The World Cup is barely over and we’ve already played four games in the League Cup.* (Lost three, won one – perhaps surprisingly against a team in the Division above. Due to the pitch at the Rock being replaced with artificial turf our two home games were played at Cliftonhill.**)

So it’s back to nerve-shredding Saturday afternoons, then, starting with an away game at Stirling Albion. Then it’s two home games in succession – against Clyde and Edinburgh City.

I’m fearful that at the end of those we’ll have no points. Our squad is pretty low on numbers -we’ll need to get some more loan players in I think. And while goalie Aidan Rice is back to us on loan, Alexander Smith (Smudger) has opted to go elsewhere for this season. I would go so far as to say that it was his contribution to our cause last season that enabled us to avoid the relegation play-off.

Plus Stirling are nearly always a tough nut to crack, Clyde were pretty good last season and Edinburgh City simply owned us.

I admit I have more trepidation than hope at the moment, but only time will tell.

I would like to see us play some football, though, rather than try to avoid defeat.

*Premier Sports Cup if you absolutely must.

**The Reigart Stadium now.

SPFL Tier 4, The Rock, 11/4/26.

We knew a win would keep us safe in the division for next year. So job done. Well done, lads.

Not that it mattered as Edinburgh City lost again which would also have confirmed us as safe.

We weren’t at all convincing defensively though. Depite us having most possession they had two great opportunities to score early on, both from Josh Todd losing the ball in midfield. He’s been good since he rejoined us but was off the boil today. One of those required a very good save from Aidan Rice to keep us level at 0-0. Mark Durnan was also prone to mistakes today and was let off by wayward shooting from Stirling.

We began pressing well later in the first half and had a load of corners which we didn’t make the most of, one led to a stramash similar to that after Stirling’s first corner but neither resulted in goals.

A great Leighton McIntosh pass led to Scott Tomlinson (who had been tearing them apart down the right flank) beating his man, this time on the left wing, cutting in and getting his shot past the keeper from an acute angle.

It was strange, then, that Tommo was substituted at half time with Jack Duncan coming on.

The referee by the way was woeful. Stirling centre forward Russell McLean spent most of the game diving and complaining about non-existent fouls which were nevertheless given.

They equalised on 54 minutes when we appeared to stop defending. They more or less walked through our right hand side. I was never confident in our defending all game to be fair.

Smudger (Alexander Smith) had another great game. His ball control and work rate are phenomenal. When we finally got a free kick of our own – mysteriously given as indirect when their player had just about halved Kristian Webster – Smudger’s shot from the ball tapped to him was spiled by the keeper and Scott Honeyman got to the rebound first to dispatch it.

A slightly nervy ten or so minutes plus added time followed, punctuated by late sub Kai Kirkpatrick being sent off near the end. I didn’t see what happened but it seems he landed a punch on Russell McLean.

Still three games to go but we can now look forward to next season.

SPFL Tier 4, The Rock, 28/3/26.

In the first half this was just like earlier in the season. We were awful.

Plus we were totally unable to cope with the wind being against us. We were also utterly disorganised at the back. That can be attributed to Ali Omar being away on international duty with Somalia and general lack of familiarity with playing in a back three. Alexander Smith was missed in midfield too – he was away with Scotland’s Under 17s.

The officials were woeful. The stand side linesman’s first contribution was to flag for a Forfar offside from a throw-in. Do they not even know the rules these days. The ref had to give a dropped ball when they finally twigged. Yet again we had a ref continually being conned by our opposition’s players making a meal of any challenges.

Their first goal was a penalty given when the ball hit Mark Durnan’s arm – which to my mind was in a natural position.* Their second was the result of a poor defensive mix-up.

The second half was a different proposition. Jack Duncan had come up front on for Kai Kirkpatrick in midfield. (Kai was apparently showing signs of concussion at half-time.) The switch meant a change in shape but what the new one was  – apart from Kristian Webster being pushed into midfield – was difficult to discern. However we were certainly more comfortable with the wind than against it.

After a few missed opportunities we finally got on the score sheet when Leighton McIntosh surged onto a through ball with the Forfar defence waitng for an offside against someone else. Leighton squeezed the ball past the keeper but it felt like it took an age to cross the line.

Our tails were up now though and after good work by Jack Duncan the ball was channelled to Adam Livingstone whose cross/shot was diverted into the net by Scott Honeyman.

What had looked to be a deflating afternoon turned out to be not much damage done.

We’re now ten points ahead of Edinburgh City with only fifteen left up for grabs.

But no chickens are being counted at Son of the Rock Acres.

*Having seen the highlights his arm may have been a bit extended but the ball was played from very close to him.

SPFL Tier 4, The Rock, 21/3/26.

Another welcome win: three on the bounce at home now. But we weren’t quite as fluid as against Spartans two weeks before.

The first half was largely forgettable with us playing too many hopeful long balls always liable to be gobble dup by Annan’s back line and Annan themselves pretty toothless. They dived at every opportunity and moaned a lot at the ref and lino. I find those sorts of things a difficult watch. They weren’t the only mysterious decisions they made either.

There was really nothing to speak about in the way of goal efforts apart from their keeper making a brilliant save from Michael Doyle’s close range volley from a great Alexander Smith cross.

It looked as if things might peter out as a 0-0 draw till we suddenly scored. Scott Honeyman went through one-on-one with the keeper whose save squirmed away from him and Scott managed to poke the loose ball home despite the attentions of a defender.

Then a corner resulted in Leighton McIntosh drilling the ball in for the second.

We could have done with another to make sure of the three points but we began to sit back and let them dominate possession. This was made worse by manager Frank McKeown’s substitutions. Ryan Blair coming on for Honeyman on 75 minutes and proceeding to do very little before Jack Duncan and Ally Roy replaced front two McIntosh and Scott Tomlinson late on which immediately reduced our threat. Smith and Doyle were hooked for Tony Wallace and Gordon Walker on the verge of added time. This disrupted our organisation even further and most likely contributed to Annan’s late goal. Thankfully too late to give them much hope of an equaliser, but it was unneccessary.

Home again next week but without two players away on International duty. Not something a Sons fan can say often. Ali Omar is off to play for Somalia in an Afcon qualifier while Alexander Smith is with Scotland’s under 19s.

SPFL Tier 4, The Rock, 7/3/26.

An odd thing happened at this game.

We looked like an actual football team.

Unlike last week where we started as if we hadn’t seen each other before, this was cohesive right from the kick-off. We peppered their box with crosses and though balls.

Mind you with every wasted promising situation I was beginning to think that this had them scoring from their first opportunity written all over it. Thankfully that wasn’t to be.

Diminutive midfield loanee Alexander Smith (known as Smudge or Smudger apparently) was putting himself about to good effect with some great footwork. He also carried out defensive duties, tracking back well and harrying opponents.

It was frustrating not to be ahead at half time.

That frustration ended on 51 minutes. A great cross from the overlapping Ali Omar – we seemed to be playing three at the back with him on the left – found Gordon Walker free towards the back post. His bullet header was diverted by the keeper onto the bar but it came down and bounced off his back into the net.

Spartans then began to play with a bit more urgency but didn’t trouble loanee keeper Aidan Rice much except for a good save he made with his feet.

Then Scott Tomlinson got the better of a defender whose feet got in a muddle and his cross was converted under the keeper with a great back heel flick by Leighton McIntosh.

The third came because Spartans were overcommitted.  A swift counterattack saw Scott Tomlinson cross again this time for Scott Honeyman to deliver the coup de grace.

Players and fans were enjoying themselves now even if there was time for Aidan Rice to make a good save from the only threatening shot he faced from outside the box.

We need this kind of performance to carry on to Tuesday night against Stranraer. Especially since Edinburgh City also won yesterday to keep within touching distance of us.

SPFL Tier 4, Forthbank Stadium, 28/2/26.

Given recent results – we haven’t won this year – I was in two minds about going to this. But Forthbank is about the nearest ground in the Division to my home so if I wasn’t going to this where would I go?

Another baffling selection choice from manager Frank McKeown. No width picked at all. It looked as if he’d sent the team out to play for a draw; an utterly daft exercise as it’s wins we need and we’ve only now got ten games left to secure any.

Still, we had more of the possession first half but lacked confidence in shooting. Leighton McIntosh came on to a good cut back from Scott Honeyman but miscontrolled the ball into the air which gave the keeper time to narrow the angle for his subsequent volley. All the other cutbacks went to a defender’s foot.

We were ragged in the middle of the park and let their players advance considerably before making any sort of challenge.

Then Stirling got a mysterious penalty, Brett Long penalised for a challenge which appeared relatively inoccuous, with Brett, Mark Durnan and the attacker getting there at the same time. Long was booked though and despite taking an age to get back into his goal was easily sent the wrong way from the spot. It was about the only shot he had to face all day apart from a longish range effort in the second half. Stirling were poor which makes our approach all the more frustrating.

We came out more strongly in the second half and made their keeper make a few saves from long range but Stirling didn’t appear to be bothered about trying to score a second.

Triple substitution time came a bit earlier than usual, the ineffectual Ryan Blair and Jack Duncan being replaced by new loanee signing (and diminutive) Alexander Smith and Scott Tomlinson respectively _ potential width at last – and, more surprisingly, Adam Livingstone off for Ally Roy.

Scott Honeyman seemed to have been fouled in the box but was booked for diving – it certainly hadn’t looked like a dive.

Smith began to grow into the game and had a great low cross begging to be buried but Gordon Walker blasted the ball wide when it looked easier to score. (Walker’s crossing was poor all game, rarely getting past the first man.)

In the end we got a deserved equaliser when Smith popped up on the right, came back on his left foot and delivered a beautiful cross for Mark Durnan to head home. Cue delight on the pitch and the away stand. It was noticeable that Durnan immediately ran towards the fans to celebrate.

Stirling woke up for a bit, then, but their efforts came to nothing.

This was a game where we needed three points and they were there for the taking. The players are, I’m sure, up for it. The manager seems to have other ideas.