SPFL Tier 4, Meadowbank Stadium, 31/10/26.

I wasn’t at the game – our record against them is appalling and we haven’t won away for well over a year – but it’s galling to lose the game in added time. Especially since my correspondent at the game isn’t convinced the ball crossed the line.* That’ll make two goals against this season have been dubious.

Again we lost a goal early but at least Leighton McIntosh got us back into it about half an hour in. We could have done with holding out for the draw.

Away to Elgin next week. Another defeat no doubt.

*Make that “isn’t convinced was onside.” I misunderstood the WhatsApp message.

Scottish Cup, Round 2, The Rock, 24/10/26

Well, a win’s a win and we’re into the next round which is the main thing.

I didn’t go to the game – the Amber Warning for winds and rain put me off the 144 mile round trip.

It seems we weren’t very good but the conditions were apparently dreadful, wind and water on the pitch both holding the ball up. Leighton McIntosh took his goal well according to Pie and Bovril.

In the circumstances we’ll take the win and move on.

We’re away to Edinburgh City next week so that’ll be nul points. They own us.

SPFL Tier 4, New Douglas Park, 10/10/26.

Another away game, another loss. Over a year now without winning away.

That is extremely unlikely to change while Frank is in charge. He’s pretty much clueless as to how to set-up a team or how to change things during a game.

Still, we did score to put a gloss on the scoreline; but it seems this was a fine individual effort by Leighton McIntosh.

SPFL Tier 4, The Rock, 04/10/26.

Another win and another strange one.

We set up with a back three – of Tom Lang, new loan defender Chris McKenna and Ali Omar on the left of the three.

But we were absolutely woeful in the first half. Despite nominally having five bodies in that area they were strolling through our midfield as if it wasn’t there (well, it wasn’t,) and Josh Todd gave away more balls than he held on to.

Their goal was a case in point: no resistance whatever given in the build-up and the guy who crossed it given oodles of space to do so. Not to mention the all but free header. Once again we had not enough of the ball. Most of their other efforts were from comfortable range with Mason Munn’s positioning in goal making his saves comfortable. We did manage to make their keeper make two good saves, though. One close-in block when Josiah Sowa was played in and the other a long range pile driver by Owen Hartington, heading for the top corner before being pushed away for a corner.

Not much changed early in the second half. Oddly we equalised while Josiah Sowa was off the park. He’d had his boot trodden off and was forced off to replace it. Scott Honeyman retrieved the ball in midfield from a miscontrol by a Forfar defender and sent Mikey Doyle down the right. His cross was powered in by Robbie Cleary.

Two minutes later we were in the lead. A ball played up to Leighton McIntosh evaded the defender and he scurried to the bye-line and crossed. The keeper spilled it but Owen Hartington had to turn back to pick it up before the nearest defender. He swivelled on it and wrongfooted the keeper to place it in the corner.

We ended the game with effectively no forwards on as Robbie Cleary and Leighton McIntosh were both withdrawn with ten minutes to go. I thought that might cost us. One day it will.

This was a win achieved not by any tactical acumen – the set up wasn’t right – but by the players doing what they could to overcome that.

SPFL Tier 4, The Rock, 19/09/26.

Football is a funny game. On the face of it this was a comprehensive win, yet at no time during it did it feel that way. Yes we scored early, a fine move down the right with Robbie Cleary and Mikey Doyle exchanging passes before Doyle crossed for Deryn Lang to get in front of his defender and smash the ball in. But the BBC statistics show we had only 31% possession over the whole game.

Mind you new loan keeper Mason Munn barely had a save to make, certainly not from a threatening shot. It has to be said he looked assured enough, a contrast to Harry Broun who has now left the club again after only rejoining a couple of weeks ago.

The formation was strange again, selection bingo once more at work. The choice of fielding Leighton McIntosh in midfield seemed odd but someone on Pie and Bovril opined he had been given a man marking job. Another returnee, Tom Lang, helped to shore up the defence. While Spartans moved the ball about – and looked as if they had played together before – they seemed to lack penetration.

We did little of attacking note in the first half after we scored and thoughts of last week’s second half capitulation against Stranraer were never far away.

The second goal changed things and, like two weeks ago against Elgin, there was an air of freakishness  about it, Robbie Cleary’s corner bouncing off a defender and going in off the post. The players celebrated it big style.

I thought to myself, though, how on Earth are we winning this 2-0? Apart from the goals their keeper hadn’t a save to make. It was that kind of game.

Spartans had to come at us a bit more after that and despite our last two substitutions smacking of a defensive mindset we managed up the park a few times. Josiah Sowa, who had come on midway through the half, showed just how good he can be at exploiting space when he cut in from the left and pinged a beauty in for no 3 in stoppage time.

We’re now joint second bottom, or alternatively, joint sixth and only two points off the promotion play-off spots. No chickens being counted here though. I think the players won this despite the manager, not because of him.

SPFL Tier 4, New Central Park, 22/8/26

Well we took the lead – through a penalty given for handball (but like most of those given these days it did not look intentional.) Leighton McIntosh put it away well.

We then proceeded to shoot ourselves in the foot almost immediately by giving away a foul a few yards outside the box. There wasn’t any need for the challenge. Unlike us they had someone who can hit the target from there.

A minute later we were down – and out. An uncontested shot from just outside the box wrong-footed Aidan Rice but I was still puzzled as to why he didn’t make an attempt to get down to save it.

Every time they went up the park our defence looked uncomfortable. A recurring theme.

Things didn’t change much in the second half. We did have an opportunity when the ball broke to Kai Kirkpatrick (I think) but his effort was blocked wide and the return ball across the box was begging for a firm foot to direct it in but it only got a tickle. Had we equalised then who knows what would have happened? Otherwise we had only two Scott Honeyman volleys from too far out which went wide or over.

Their third was as a result of an underhit back pass. Though Aidan Rice forced the forward wide the cutback was perfectly played to the supporting attacker.

Four games played, three lost, eight goals conceded and only one point above bottom spot. Feels far too familiar.

SPFL Tier 4, The Rock,* 8/8/26.

Well; this was better. At times we looked like a football team. We even had three shots on target in the first half.

Still, every time they got up the park my heart was in my mouth.

They had several efforts during the game which squeezed past the post but I don’t actually remember Aidan Rice having a save to make until late on. However, I thought they were going to equalise when a cross begged to be buried at the back post but the guy headed it over the bar.

Like last week we also did a lot of faffing around at the back, playing the ball between the centre halves and keeper. I know the manager wants them to do this as it supposedly creates space up the park but players at our level are too prone to mistakes to make this anything but a nervy experience. It could have cost us a couple of times when they were closed down quickly but we managed to get away with it.  The ball usually ends up lumped forward anyway – or else out of play.

Throughout the first half they committed niggly foul after niggly foul but with no consequence. The first two yellows went to Sons players, captain Mike Doyle and then loanee Owen Hartington. Not until some time after we had scored did they got one.

Their keeper, Jay Hogarth, formerly of this parish, did have a great save earlyish in the second half from a Doyle header. Not long after that we got what turned out to be the winner. Leighton McIntosh tied their defence in knots and looked to have been fouled in the box but the ball rolled free to Scott Honeyman, who duly did the needful.

Thirty minutes of purgatory followed as they naturally pressed forward and we made fewer forays forward, before the ref finally blew his whistle.

Josiah Sowa was a bit more effective than last week but I wish he’d get a cross in earlier. Owen Hartington and David Craig were good in midfield too but Leighton McIntosh deserved his Man of the Match award for his tireless work.

It’s looking to be a tight league. After two games nobody has won twice and only one team has yet to gain  a point. Scary really.

*Now the stadium’s official name. Huzzah!

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.

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, 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.