SPFL Tier 2, Central Park, 27/12/14.

A good and well deserved three points. We pretty much dominated this game and ought to have had it put to bed in the first half but all we had to show at the interval was a wonderful finish from Colin Rhyming Slang. Yes, you read that correctly. He had earlier blistered a shot just wide. He was having a good game.

Our line-up was a bit odd seeming with Archie Campball in for Mitch Megginson on the right and Garry Fleming playing wide left.

I thought our failure to put more than one away would come back to haunt us when we allowed them more possession in the second half and they duly scored. Danny Rogers saved their only other chance soon after but then we scored – from a corner! – Lee Mair heading in Scott Agnew’s delivery, though Sons fans were so far away in the corner of the old stand that no-one was really sure who the scorer had been until the internet was checked!

Then the clincher. Chris Kane (who had a poor game by his standards) was put in behind the defence by Colin Rhyming Slang’s pass, tripped by the defender and even though he was heading away from goal the ref gave a red card. Sons fans had the perfect angle to see Garry Fleming’s bullet head for the net. Unstoppable. It was almost a carbon copy of Gylfi Sigurdsson’s goal for Swansea on Boxing Day except the keeper didn’t take a step to his right first.

There were two more notable Colin Nish efforts, one hitting the post, and we had chances beyond that as the ten men struggled a bit to contain us but the ball wouldn’t go in.

Sixth at the New Year. That’s more than acceptable.

What with the World Cup and other things intervening I haven’t yet mentioned the league fixtures for next season.

I won’t have to travel far for the first game, which is Raith away. (Further than I used to certainly – I used to be able to walk to Stark’s Park – but not far.)

October looks interesting!

Sat Oct 4 Cowdenbeath H
Sat Oct 11 Hibernian A
Sat Oct 18 Heart of Midlothian A
Sat Oct 25 Rangers H

SPFL Tier 2 Play-off Final, second leg, East End Park, 18/5/14

A feast of televised football all round this week, this one courtesy of BBC Alba – as indeed was Sons win in the corresponding play-off two years ago.

I missed the first goal (I switched on in time to see the different angle replays) as I had been putting up towel rails and mirrors to make the new place seem a bit more homely and less stark. The good lady said it was like a sensory deprivation house when we moved in, all white walls and nothingness.

Dunfermline had their keeper to thank for only being one down at half time as he made two very good saves in that time. Dunfermline had a lot of the ball but didn’t do much with it. The same pattern prevailed in the second half; really the home team only had two long range efforts on goal in the whole game. Cowdenbeath always looked sharp on the counter attack but their second came from a corner that wasn’t cleared properly. A mistake by Josh Falkingham (you shouldn’t laugh, really you shouldn’t) let Cowden in for their third and it was game over.

Cowdenbeath were pretty impressive, I don’t remember them being as good the two times I saw them live this season. Maybe we didn’t let them play.

But two other part-time teams in the division gives the Sons a more than fighting chance of staying up again, which is what I’d settle for right now.

SPFL Tier 2, The Rock, 26/4/14.

Wow! 4-1.

Makes up for the doing we got at their place early on in the season.

It also sets up the last day nicely for nail biting by Hamilton and Dundee fans – and perhaps Falkirk ones too. Plus Alloa must be bricking it now Cowdenbeath are only two points behind.

Sadly fourth spot is now beyond us. I can’t see a twelve goal swing in our favour next week. Fifth is achieved with a game still to play though. This is a magnificent achievement by the management and players. We can bask in it over the summer.

SPFL Tier 2, The Rock, 5/4/14

Much belated congratulations to the team (managerial and players) in thumping Alloa again and so securing second tier status for at least another year. I didn’t even know out scorers till Sunday as telly has been pretty much on the back burner and internet access not really a priority for the last few days. I’ve still not got the main computer hooked up.

I know technically Cowdenbeath could still catch our points total but the goal difference difference is also massively in our favour. They’ve also won only nine times all season so to get four out of four would be incredible. Time to look up the table. One more win for us – or loss for Alloa – would mean we’re the top part-time team in Scotland twice in a row.

On to Raith on Saturday. They’ll be buzzing after winning the Challenge Cup though.

I wasn’t at the game but was listening to the radio during the second half. At 1-0 down I was thinking we were right into a slump, our status as high scorers was looking something of a joke and any possibility of fourth place was gone. Then I heard of the sending off and thought we don’t usually play all that well against ten men.

Then it was 1-1 and suddenly 2-1. Great!

We’re now three wins ahead of Cowdenbeath and they only have five games left. I can’t see this team throwing a lead like that away.

The promotion play-off dream is still on.

SPFL Tier 2, The Rock, 15/3/14.

Excellent. I’d take this every week.

Nearly everyone was available for this. Only Scott Linton was missing. It seems a strange decision to play our best midfielder, the returning Chris Turner, (we missed his influence last week) at left back to replace him. That doesn’t show much confidence in reserve left back Scott Smith who did all right when he came on last week but admittedly looks overweight.

So. Positive goal difference restored and a league placing higher than before we started. And Cowdenbeath have to catch up ten points on us in eight games in order to overhaul us. Time to look up the table rather than down. Amazing.

5 games in two weeks coming up, though.

The pundits on Sportscene Results were also inciting manager Ian Murray to “better” (or was it bigger?) things. Not just yet, please, Ian. You are still learning.

SPFL Tier 2, The Rock, 22/2/14

I’ll take this – even though we were one up twice – as it keeps our unbeaten run in 2014 going and we were also one down at one point.

Nice to see Scott Agnew get on the score sheet. It’s his first non-penalty of the season. I don’t know if he’ll keep his place once Chris Turner is fit again though.

But… Cowdenbeath won again. The gap from us in fourth to them in ninth is only eight points. Safety is still a long way off.

Yet a draw next week at Palmerston will keep us fourth.

I hope the prospect of the Aberdeen Cup game the week after won’t be a distraction.

SPFL Tier 2, Central Park, 11/1/14.

A great win, thoroughly deserved, which takes us 17 points clear of Morton and 9 above Cowden. Mind you, the start was a bit iffy.

The first back pass Stephen Grindlay had to deal with he managed to hit an attacker with and it rebounded to another Cowden player who promptly laid it across goal where the scorer couldn’t miss. Amazingly we were level within about a minute after some ping-pong in their box when Colin Rhyming Slang hit the loose ball home.

We dominated the rest of the half and Mitch Megginson finished well after being put through the middle. The defender who tried to take him out got a yellow card for his trouble. In the meantime Chris Kane also got past a last defender but neither the lino nor the ref saw the jersey pull which stopped him getting his shot away.

They had an opportunity to score again but Stephen Grindlay got a foot in the way. Paul McGinn was right through but clipped his shot just over. Their equaliser came when Stephen Grindlay looked to have an easy clutch but somehow let it spill into a Cowden player.

In the second half we scored early, Chris Kane, who looks to have a bit of pace and effort in him, was well placed to finish off a fine passing move.

Thereafter we sat back a bit and allowed Cowden too much of the ball. They had a free-kick which rattled the bar as the sum total of their threat though and we looked dangerous on the counter, which is where the clincher came from, another great piece of interplay resulting in Mitch getting his second.

The only real chance we gave up came right at the end when one of their players was free in the box but couldn’t get his head to it properly.

I must say Colin Rhyming Slang had a good game today, winning a fair number of aerial balls and having some neat touches as well as scoring.

SPFL Tier 2, The Rock, 4/1/14.

This’ll do. Two points at home,* a clean sheet and now fifteen points ahead of the bottom club with 17 games left. Debutant loanee Chris Kane got on the score sheet too and it seems Colin Rhyming Slang provided the cross for it. Plus it restored the gap with Cowdenbeath to two wins and took us above Queen of the South.

It’s not secure yet by any means. Cowden can haul us back in again next week at their place. A draw wouldn’t be bad for us, a win would be magic.

*Edited to add: Did anyone spot the error? When I was a lad it was two points, now of course it’s three for a win.