SPFL Tier 3, Balmoor Stadium, 2/10/21.

Ouch!

I wouldn’t normally have watched this but my younger son invited myself and the good lady over for the afternoon and dinner. Not a good afternoon as it turned out but the dinner he cooked was lovely.

I kind of knew it wasn’t going to be our day when they scored flukily early on. Their player’s shot was mishit well wide but another stuck his foot out to deflect it in. Thereafter we dominated the first half but couldn’t find the net. The wind was playing havoc and our players couldn’t seem to judge it well. Still, 1-0 down at half-time was recoverable.

Two nil down three minutes later wasn’t, a cross swung into the box met at the back post. Then Ryan McGeever tied himself in knots at another cross and only succeded in letting it hit off him into the path of the attacker.

The wind was so bad that at one point a Sam Ramsbottom goal kick reached halfway to the halfway line and then blew out for a corner kick! It looked like our players suggested to the ref that the conditions were such that the game should be abandoned but at 3-0 I doubt he was going to do that.

Their fourth wouldn’t have happened at 1-0 or 2-0, their player just swung at the ball from a tight angle and it screamed in off the post.

The fifth was a penalty where I thought their player had just fallen down rather than being fouled but the Pixellot camera angle and distance from the action make it difficult to tell.

Bizarrely I thought we actually played quite well – even the Peterhead stream’s commentators admitted this was not a 5-0 game – and I was impressed by the players’ commitment even at 5-0 down. The wind took away our best weapon as our crosses into the box didn’t find their targets.

So, nine games in, we’ve played everyone else and we’re fifth – possibly sixth if Montrose beat Queen’s Park tomorrow.* And our goal difference is back down to 0.

We’re equal points on third but only three points above eighth. It’s a ludicrously tight league.

*Perhaps not likely since Queen’s haven’t lost yet.

SPFL Tier 3, Links Park, 28/8/21.

This is turning into an interesting season.

I had mentally written this one off. An away game against the (previously unbeaten) league leaders at a ground we’ve not done well at in recent times?

But we went two up (one of them from Kalvin Orsi – maybe he is a centre forward after all) and eventually held out for the win despite a late penalty for them.

I can’t remember when we last beat the league leaders on their own patch.

At the minute there’s not much between the teams in mid table and those at the top and bottom.

There’s a fortnight to wait for the next game though. That ought to allow time for injured players to get back to fitness but today’s picks did well enough. It’s against East Fife though and they picked up their first three points today so will be confident.

SPFL Tier 3, Broadwood Stadium, 15/4/21.

Well, I didn’t watch it (I had something else on last night) but this is a welcome win. A Nat Wedderburn header from a Ross Forbes free-kick was enough to give us the three points.

It takes us above Clyde before the last of the 18 home and away games on Tuesday.

Ours is a daunting prospect against Partick Thistle (who thumped Montrose 5-0 yesterday) while Clyde play bottom team Forfar.

Then it’s into the four games of the split. I suppose there’s more likelihood of us gaining some points from those since they will be versus the other teams in the bottom five but this is Dumbarton nil we’re talking about. One goal is usually enough to beat us.

SPFL Tier 3, The Rock, 6/4/21.

Groundhog Day (minus one.)

The one being the goal that Montrose didn’t score. We had a very good save by Sam Ramsbottom to thank for that (so getting us back one of the four points swung between us and Forfar from that mistake. He’s our only keeper now that Chris Smith has left to spend more time with his job.) He does seem to be a good enough shot stopper but while his kicking can be long he had another dreadful kick out during the first half which luckily didn’t fall to a Montrose player.

But yet again we didn’t score ourselves.

We did have a shot on target though. It was a very weak effort from sub Robert Jones after good approach work from fellow sub James Wallace.

We have six goals from fourteen league games. It doesn’t take a genius to work out where we’re going wrong.

Onwards to the East Fife game on Thursday evening.

Dumbarton nil, anyone?

Scottish Cup, Round 3, The Rock, 3/4/21.

We should change our name officially to Dumbarton Nil.

Fair enough they are two leagues above us but they didn’t look great shakes. You might say they were there for the taking.

Admittedly they ought to have won by more then one goal since they created quite a few chances. We were indebted to Sam Ramsbottom and the defence for keeping the score down but on the other hand, that is their job.

But we could have played all week and not scored. (If only that Ryan McGeever chance had fallen instead to Jaime Wilson.)

In fact we have played all week and not scored (except for a deflected shot against Falkirk.) If you’re looking for a reason for our league position it’s right there.

So now we’re likely to be knackered and playing a very good Montrose team on Tuesday night and a not too bad East Fife on Thursday.

The three teams we’ve lost against since the restart are arguably the ones we stood most chance of gaining something from and those games are gone, with zero points to show for them.

The amended fixtures that will suposedly allow Tier 3 SPFL clubs to complete 18 games for this season have been published.

(After a top five/bottom five split a further four fixtures are proposed to make up a 22 game season – but only if every side has managed to fit the 18 game total in.)

Sons’ games are scheduled as follows:-

Saturday, March 20 – Forfar Athletic (H, 3pm)
Saturday, March 27 – Peterhead (H, 3pm)
Tuesday, March 30 – Falkirk (A, 7.45pm)
Thursday, April 1 – Airdrieonians (H, 7.45pm)
Tuesday, April 6 – Montrose (H, 7pm)
Thursday, April 8 – East Fife (H, 7pm)
Saturday, April 10 – Cove Rangers (A, 3pm)
Saturday, April 17 – Clyde (A, 3pm)
Tuesday, April 20 – Partick Thistle (H, 7.45pm)

To those has to be added the game against Huntly in the Scottish Cup on March 23 (ko 7.45 pm) and a possible tie beyond that if we win.

It’s some schedule, In fact it’s an insane schedule given that we have a less than threadbare squad and no hint of imminent signings.

The players will be dead on their feet by Apr 1 (5 games in 12 days.) There’s also 4 in the seven days Apr 3-10 if we’re in the next round of the Cup. That’s due on Sat Apr 3.

I was looking forward to actually seeing a Sons game again tomorrow.

However today’s suspension of Scottish football below its top two tiers means that it will now not be until February 13^th when the home game against Montrose is due – or just possibly the 9^th if the Cup game against Huntly is scheduled for then – that I will have that pleasure.

With the coronavirus now spreading at a higher rate than ever I suppose this was an inevitable decision. People’s safety must be the main priority.

It’s still a blow to morale, though.

SPFL Tier 3, Links Park, 19/12/20.

Ouch!

This is a riddy* in anyone’s language. A comprehensive doing.

My son watched it on Montrose’s live streaming and told me afterwards we weren’t ever at the races.

And Peterhead’s win at Firhill today makes our point there a fortnight ago look much less of an achievement. Plus two other teams below us won.

So we’re down to sixth and only two points above ninth – with everybody below us having a game in hand. (Those might be against each other, though.)

The four games at home in a row we now have (barring an away Cup draw) really need to count.

*West of Scotland abbreviation for “red face.”

The memorial is in Hope Paton Park. View from side:-

The memorial is a bronze figure of Victory standing on a ball above a stone pedestal, with supplementary pillars. Memorial bench to front:-

Reverse view:-

Great War Dedication. Bronze plaque inscribed, “To the glory of God and in sacred memory of those belonging to Montrose who gave their lives in a great cause 1914 – 1919”:-

Great War Names, A Adam to R Falconer:-

D Fawns to A McKenzie:-

F McKenzie to J Young:-

There are names on both sides of the pillars dedicated to World War 2.

Commemorating the dead from 1939, 1940 and 1941:-

Commemorating the dead from 1941 (continued) and 1942:-

Commemorating those fallen in 1943 and 1944:-

Commemorating the dead from 1944 (continued,) 1945 and 1946:-

Links Park is the home of Montrose FC. Its entrance is at the end of Wellington Street, just off a park with the same name as the ground:-

Southwest Corner:-

Stand from southwest:-

West Terracing:-

Links Park from northwest corner, showing main stand:-

From northeast corner:-

Stand from northeast corner:-

Stand:-

Stand from southeast corner:-

West and north terracing from southeast corner:-