Broadwood Stadium, 1/4/10.

We got exactly what we deserved from this. A doing.

In the absence of Chris Smith I warmed to him considerably.

Despite giving myself plenty of time I missed the first goal because the roadworks on the A 80 didn’t allow me to turn off at the A 73 as I had intended and I had to carry on, then double back though Condorrat.

I know nothing was riding on this but it verged on an embarassment. Defensively we were a shambles, it was beyond comic cuts at times. Vojáček in goal could have dealt better with the situations at Clyde’s 2^nd and 3^rd. All game he flapped at everything that came near him. Chappie implicitly admitted he’d got the team selection wrong by subbing two players about twenty minutes into the half. Unusually for him, though, it was the first half.

Ryan McStay oozed class – especially one drag-back in the second half. For about three seconds before he struck it for our first it was obvious from his body language what he intended. It still hit the bottom corner.

Their fourth was a great strike but the player who passed it to him handled in the build-up.

No complaints, though. We were well beaten.

To progress next season we need to improve our home form and do better against the teams at the bottom. Okay, we outdid Stenhousemuir but parity with Clyde, 3 points out of twelve against Arbroath, equal points but a worse goal difference v East Fife says it all.

I thought of Gordon Lennon during the match. Most games this season there hasn’t been time for that among the hurly-burly. Goodness knows what he would have made of this display.

The players stayed on the pitch at the end for some mutual applause with the fans. Recognition of the season’s efforts, not the day’s. I came away wondering how many of them I would see in a Dumbarton shirt again.

It’s going to be a long summer till July. What will I write about?

(I know there’s the World Cup but that’s not the same.)

The Rock, 13/4/10

Mission accomplished – with three games to spare. Survival is all I ever wanted for this season.

Well done the lads, and Chappie.

I don’t like that we threw away a two goal lead, however.

Next season will be tougher, I expect, what with Livingston coming up and whoever comes down from Division 1 likely to be strong.

There’s a nucleus to build on, though, if we get in a right back and Chappie stops fielding players out of position.

Forthbank Stadium, 12/4/10

So: this result means Arbroath cannot better our points total. We have a ten goal advantage over them but if they were to beat us by say two on the 24^th it would make things tight. But Stenny and East Fife also play each other that day making it highly unlikely all three can get past us.

Still, we can make it arithmetically secure tonight by our own efforts against Clyde.

Why do I have a sinking feeling?

Forthbank Stadium, 4/4/10

Get out of jail free card played. Yet one more illustration that my crystal ball is defective.

Yes, we made their keeper make two good saves in the first half; once from a close-in Wyness header and once when Kieran Brannan was through but I couldn’t see this coming when we went one down.

We rode our luck more than once when defending corners. We have eleven men back and they still manage to get efforts in; plus we don’t then have an out ball. Just after they scored Ross Clark saved on the post at a corner.

Ross Clark at right back? Not the disaster it could have been but he’s more effective in midfield, surely? He was as exposed as Chissie there btw.

A route one ball gave us the equaliser. Dennis Wyness’s “powerful shot into the bottom corner” was a lob over the keeper into the middle of the goal and was so slow in coming down I thought he’d missed the goal completely.

The second was an exploitation of Carcary’s pace; he then squared the ball to an unmarked Wyness who looked to scuff it a bit, but who’s complaining?

Kieran Brannan started but seemed to lack enough pace to get past a man and a bit of confidence. He probably needs more development time. White was solid between the posts and had no chance with their goal.

The midfield was totally lacking in imagination and ideas. How we scored twice is a mystery to me but three points gratefully accepted

Two more points and Clyde can’t overtake us.

Broadwood Stadium, 17/3/10

Clyde must be rubbish. We don’t keep clean sheets.

Yet Chappie seems to be rotating the midfield and not the defence. No cover there I suppose.

However, not being at the game, I can’t really comment.

This was important, though. In the past, games against the bottom teams have sometimes seen us struggle and this one keeps us afloat compared to those just below us.

Despite the topsy-turviness of this division, Saturday is unlikely to be fruitful.

New Bayview, 10/10/09

Well; in the “spot the formation” game it seemed to be 3-4-1-2.

The first half was a bit turgid, Vojacek never had a save to make and Chaplain came closest for us with a snapshot which their keeper dealt with well. Why, though, was Chris Craig one of the front two?

Second half was much better. After his goal – a break at last, the ball fell for him in the box – Dennis McLaughlin suddenly looked a good player and when Roddy Hunter came on we were full of menace. (He’s a forward, Chappie – Craig isn’t.)

I was worried that we would sit back and let them on to us – which they tried to do and the game spread out a bit. The failure to convert the two very good chances we had after the goal I thought might come back to haunt us. Vojacek had a couple of good saves but we didn’t concede. No need for Chappie to make impact subs. Alan Cook was impressively solid, if showing his inexperience at times, and Chissie worked hard.

No failures today but Ben Gordon’s confidence in his ability means he takes a few too many risks.

Since Clyde also won, it was a great three points.

Onwards to Alloa next week.

Edited to add:-

I was well prepared, took gloves and hat….
And I didn’t need them! I didn’t even do up my jacket.
What’s happened to New Bayview? It’s usually Arctic – never mind Baltic – there. (It doesn’t help that the stand is built with its back to the winter sun.)

Last week I watched a TV programme fronted by Jonathan Meades which was an annotated travelogue through post-industrial Scotland. Meades’€™s starting point was the almost poetic litany of the names of Scottish football clubs as heard in the results on Saturday afternoons.

Unlike those from England, very few of whom have names that are geographically indeterminate, at least at first glance* (the exceptions are Arsenal, Aston Villa, Everton, Queen’s Park Rangers, Port Vale, Tranmere Rovers; at a pinch Crystal Palace) and most of which are relatively prosaic (Swindon Town, Derby County, Bristol City) – only Nottingham Forest, Sheffield Wednesday, Plymouth Argyle and Crewe Alexandra have any rhetorical flourish €“- a disturbingly large number of Scottish teams’€™ names give no clue to their geographical location.

*I know Arsenal were once Woolwich Arsenal and that Everton is a district of Liverpool – as Tranmere is of Birkenhead – but Port Vale (the club plays in Burslem) isn’€™t on maps any more – if it ever was – and the Crystal Palace is long gone: which just leaves QPR and Villa – which may well be a Birmingham geographical locator of which I am ignorant.

The list of obscurely named Scottish clubs is much longer.

I have already, of course, mentioned Kirkcaldy’€™s finest, Raith Rovers (dancing in the streets of Raith.) There are two Saints – of Mirren and Johnstone (and until World War 2 there was a third; of Bernard’€™s) – a Clyde, a Hibernian, two Queens, Queen’€™s Park and Queen Of The South – famously the only football team mentioned in the Bible – an Albion Rovers and two Easts, of Fife and Stirlingshire, which could be located anywhere in their respective counties. In the case of East Stirlingshire their peregrinations actually took them as far west as Clydebank for a season before returning to their Firs Park home in Falkirk, which they have now had to leave; renting space at Stenhousemuir’s ground nearby.

In this context Rangers and Celtic do not count as their full names include the prefix Glasgow. Similarly it is Greenock Morton. While Midlothian as a county no longer exists, Heart Of Midlothian – the actual heart of the county is in the centre of Edinburgh, not off Gorgie Road; and there is a mosaic over the spot which is supposed to confer luck if you spit into it (Edinburgh is not quite the douce place you might take it for) – are named for a Walter Scott novel, apparently via a local dance hall. Likewise the County of Ross is no more; in any case the eponymous club plays out of Dingwall. Was there ever a county of Stockport by the way? Yes, and no. A county borough apparently.

There is a Raith estate in Kirkcaldy – and a former Raith cinema – so the name makes some sense; but it’€™s not on any maps of Scotland. Clyde are somewhat disappointingly so called because they first played by the banks of that river, though they now rent a ground in Cumbernauld from the local council.

The Paisley club St Mirren are named after the local Saint, Mirin; St Johnstone from Saint John’s town (of Perth,) and the now long defunct St Bernard’s after a local well by the Water of Leith.

East Fife are located in Methil in – err – east Fife. Like (Glasgow) Celtic, Hibernian FC’s name reflects the Irish roots of its founders but otherwise has no relevance to Edinburgh, or Leith if you must, where they are domiciled.

Albion Rovers play home games in Coatbridge and were formed from a merger between teams called, rather prosaically, Albion and Rovers.

Queen’s Park is obvious but its city isn’€™t. (Compare Queen’€™s Park Rangers.) There was, too, once a King’s Park club, but that was in Stirling. Queen Of The South is an epithet given to the town of Dumfries by the poet David Dunbar. The club which took the name amalgamated in 1919 from other teams in the area including 5th Kircudbrightshire Rifle Volunteers and 5th King’s Own Scottish Borderers. In this regard the former Third Lanark team (based in Glasgow, not Lanark) were also geographically obscure, and were again derived from a military source, the Third Lanarkshire Rifle Volunteers.

Historical teams in this vein are Northern, whose ground was in Springburn in Glasgow, and Thistle who also played in Glasgow at Braehead. This last is not to be confused with Partick Thistle whose ground is actually in the Maryhill district of Glasgow and not in Partick itself. Other former Scottish League clubs Solway Star, Nithsdale Wanderers and Mid-Annandale (originally Vale Of Dryfe!) had, though, some geographical pointer in their names, albeit to a wide area.

The daddy of all such non-geographically named teams is Royal Albert, for two and a half years in the 1920s members of the Scottish League. Based in Larkhall, they now play junior football. The name comes from a ship their founder also owned. They apparently bear a relationship to the Hawick team, Hawick Royal Albert, who were founded by a man from Larkhall.

I hope all is clear now.

The Rock, 22/8/09

Given that we were two-nil down after 24 minutes I’ll take the draw. But against ten men for nearly an hour you’ve got to look to be winning the game.

We obviously need to learn to defend when we equalise. That’s Alloa a fortnight ago and now Clyde today have caught us then.

Correction: we’ll need to learn to defend. At this rate we’re heading for losing 108 goals in the league this season.

This result was particularly galling as Clyde hadn’t yet scored in the league but at least we showed the resilience to come back twice.

However, it’s getting on for being the worst league start – the worst overall start – I can remember.

Still bottom of the league. Ah, well. Onwards and upwards, eh?

(I’ve just now checked on Sons Mad as far back as they have dates for the games [1992-3] and it is the worst start in that time.)

Gayfield, 15/8/09

Well, that’s the unbeaten run at Arbroath gone, then. (Four league draws in a row up to yesterday.) Plus we’re now bottom of the division. The only consolation here is that both teams with full points are the two we’ve played already.

The first thing to say is that we were dominant early on. Not much to show for it beyond a McNiff cross that Roddy Hunter just failed to reach. The longer this continued without us troubling the keeper overmuch the more I had a foreboding.

Onebrow remarked he’d take the draw now and I said he shouldn’t have said that and then I compounded it by adding that I felt a sucker punch coming.

It duly arrived with a wind assisted sixty yard punt (in both senses) that completely took out the badly positioned Michael White (not, at that time) in goal. It knocked us back but in this league we’ll need to get over setbacks like that.

The big blow was the badly defended corner just after half time. 2-0 and a much bigger ask.

The rest was us huffing and puffing with Arbroath breaking a lot but never really threatening.

Then a bit of concerted pressure near the end and a good Ben Gordon header from a throw-in led to a poached Roddy Hunter goal.

At which point we threw up Gordon and Dunlop and went for it. Chissie did have a great chance to equalise but mishit the ball. Full marks for chasing the game, Chappie, even if it backfired as Arbroath broke away and made our lack of cover at the back count.

Why is every match at Gayfield played in a gale? And why can we neither play with the wind nor against it? We should have peppered the Arbroath keeper with long-range shots all second half.

I liked McNiff and his long throws – we’ve lacked a weapon like that for long enough (since the two games of James Okole in fact) – but he’s still a bit raw.

Has anyone else noticed the remarkable similarity between Scott Chaplain and Fergus Tiernan? (Except for Tiernan’s goal scoring obviously.)

Note to the manager – we did look more solid when Ryan McStay came on.

Next Saturday’s game against Clyde is now very important.

Edited to add:-
Arbroath were no great shakes, but a big physical team much like Alloa. Then again at this exact time two seasons ago I wouldn’t have said they were promotion material. (They made the play-offs and scraped up.)