SFL Div 2, Gayfield Park, 10/3/12.

I shouldn’t have gone to this game. I have never seen us win at Gayfield. The hoodoo continues.

First off, Arbroath are the best team I have seen this season. They were neat, tidy, passed the ball well and played some very good stuff. (I have yet to see Cowdenbeath, that joy is due in a fortnight.)

But the very early stages were even, an Arbroath move after Scott Agnew misplaced a pass needed a good save from Stephen Grindlay to prevent a goal then we came into it for a bit. In fact we scored. You won’t see it reflected in the score-line but Mark Gilhaney cut in and smashed the ball over the keeper, off the bar and down. I was probably among the six best placed people in the ground to see that it had crossed the line. The ref and lino were way behind things though and could not be sure so didn’t give it. That might have made a difference but I doubt it.

Shortly after that Brian Prunty was taken ill, tried to play on but eventually had to go off, which maybe unsettled us as Arbroath proceeded to dominate.

Their first came from a cross when three of their players were left free in the box. Another sweeping move a few minutes later saw a headed goal. I’ll need to see Lichties TV to decide whether Grindlay could have come for it. (At half time I heard an Arbroath fan say the wind had held the ball up for their forward. At Arbroath the elements are always against us.)

The second half was not much of anything. We huffed and puffed but made only one half-chance. Late on we went 3-4-3 and became ridiculously open at the back. Arbroath carved out one great opportunity and I had resigned myself to 3-0 but Stephen Grindlay pulled off an unbelievable save.

Scott Agnew had a poor game in midfield, debutant Craig Dargo had some nice touches but put the half-chance over, Prunty’s replacement Ally Graham might as well not have been on the pitch, sub David Gray turned his man a few times and got his crosses in but didn’t seem able to head the ball.

Any chance of us winning the championship disappeared on Tuesday night. With this game so did any chance of second. I hope two defeats in a row hasn’t put the heads down.

On this evidence, though, we will not win in the play-offs (if we are in them.)

SFL Div 2, New Bayview Stadium, 21/2/12.

Onwards and upwards; but I wouldn’t have given much for our chances at half-time. Apart from a great save by the keeper from a Brian Prunty lob just after they had scored we didn’t trouble their goal much. There was one great cross from James Creaney which no-one got on the end of (probably because up to then his crosses had been crap.)

E. Fife hit us on the break time after time and seemed to get past our back line too easily. The goal came from one such: a quick ball forward to a player who looked yards offside when he got the ball but couldn’t have been because the lino didn’t give it. (She gave other marginal ones though so no complaints.) Bobby Linn finished it well. Stephen Grindlay had a few small pass-back bombscares but saved us just before the half with a fine save with his legs in a one-on-one (after a defensive mistake let a nippy E. Fife forward in.)

Second half our defence never really looked in difficulty. One of our attacks had the ball played in to Prunty who elected to pass rather than shoot first time (the familiar failing) and Mark Gilhaney then took a touch so the chance was lost.

The goal came more or less out of nowhere the ball breaking to Gilhaney on the edge of the box who, for a wonder, hit it first time. A deflection took it past the keeper.

Two substitions saw Ally Graham replace the ever-willing worker Pat Walker and Mark Lamont come on for Ryan Finnie. It was difficult to tell but we may have reverted to 4-2-2 at this point. Lamont – unrecognisable from the poor player who came on late at Forfar last week – proceeded to rampage down our left side, giving the Fife defence loads of problems. It was his cross that an unmarked Ally Graham headed in to give us the win.

We could have had another a few minutes later when Prunty brilliantly took the ball down but then blazed it over and seemed to hurt himself in the process.

Another three points without us being particularly impressive. What is the Second Division coming to?