Turning Queen's Park into kings

CraigWL · Jul 17, 2015

APRIL 2016 (Part 1)

QUEEN'S PARK V CLYDE (League 2)

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Four changes for this top of the table clash, as Collins, Davison, Martin and Steven Smith come in for Wylie, Mathis, Mitchell and Marr. Gabriel Auriemma has returned to full training, but is not yet fit enough for a return to the squad. This could be the deciding match in the title race, if Clyde win, it's effectively done, if we win, it will at least give us half a chance.

We started the game well, and could have taken the lead in the 13th minute when Davison flicked the ball on into the box, Alan Martin hesitated, allowing Collins to nip in, but he could only fire his effort straight at the Clyde keeper. Clyde came back with an attack of their own moments later, and looked certain to score when Marenghi found Stirling 7 yards out with a cross, but Muir sensationally caught his powerful effort. Clyde were not to be denied however, and on the hour mark, a Marenghi free kick found its way through a crowd of bodies to Downie at the back post, who volleyed a shot which hit the legs of Muir and went into the net.

We got an opportunity to equalise with 20 minutes to go however, when Ashgar was penalised for a high foot when Davison crossed the ball in towards Hardie. Admittedly, the decision was dubious. Steven Smith stepped up and placed his penalty into the bottom right corner. Clyde came very close to snatching a late winner when Dingwall got his head onto a corner in the dying seconds, but his effort struck the bar and bounced out.

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Not a bad result, but 4 league draws in a row isn't exactly superb form.

I also discovered that the Daily Record had conducted a survey among our fans asking whether Shaun Fraser should be in the first team right now. The results were

Yes: 0%
No: 96%
Undecided: 4%

Not much argument there, then.

Gordon Hardie was picked in the team of the week for the 2nd week in a row following his past performance

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All throughout our preparation for our upcoming game against Annan, i was plagued by constant complaints about a lack of first team football, i was getting tired of it. Something might well be done about it come the end of the season.

ANNAN V QUEEN'S PARK (League 2)

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Two changes for this match, as Wylie and Mitchell come in for Collins and Martin. We really need to stop our run of draws, but this won't be an easy task, Annan are clawing for a play off place and certainly won't lay down.

We took the lead in the 22nd minute, when McNab played in a low cross and found Sean Burns just in front of the penalty spot, allowing him to fire first time into the bottom right corner. We had a brilliant opportunity to double our lead when a long ball into the box found Davison, who was tripped by Lawson, and the ref duly pointed to the spot. Once again though, there was a big suspicion of a dive by Davison. Steven Smith stepped up, and fired his penalty superbly into the top left corner. Our task got a little harder just before half time however, when Barry Burns tripped the marauding Devlin on the halfway line and received his second yellow card.

We added another one to our tally when Davison broke into the box following a great passing move, burst past Swinglehurst and crossed for substitute Tierney, who comfortably volleyed home. At this point, i urged the team to focus on not conceding, there was no need to go overboard when 3-0 up with 10 men.

We couldn't keep our clean sheet however, and conceded when McNiff volleyed home when Euan Smith headed the ball back in the box after a corner was cleared. It was thankfully a mere consolation for Annan, however.

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This result guaranteed our participation in the play offs this season! Hopefully i have the whole squad to call on this time.

Unfortunately, Ryan Tierney suffered a gashed head after a collision during a match against Dundee's U20s, and will miss 2 weeks of football.

MONTROSE V QUEEN'S PARK (League 2)

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Four changes for this game, as Collins, Martin and Marr come in for Wylie, Mitchell and Steven Smith, 15 year old Jamie Miller also makes his debut in place of the suspended Barry Burns.

After a completely uneventful first half, we started off the second half well, and took the lead when Marr found Sean Burns at the back post with a cross, allowing him to tap in. We had the ball in the net again 15 minutes from time, but Mathis' goal was disallowed for offside.

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A good result, which sees our run of unbeaten games extend to 13. Clyde losing is also a boost, but i can't help feel that it's delaying the inevitable.

James Marr made it into the team of the week after his performance.

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Sean Burns is also in contention for the player of the year for the 2nd year running

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I doubt he will win it again, but we have our fingers crossed for him.

QUEEN'S PARK V ARBROATH (League 2)

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Four changes from the last game, as Wylie, Mitchell, Baptie and Steven Smith come in for Collins, Martin, Miller and Marr. Going for our third win in a row here, and desperately trying to keep in touch with Clyde.

We started off brilliantly, as Wylie found the net from 20 yards in just the second minute. Things took a turn for the worse mere moments later however, when Mitchell went off with an injury and was replaced by Martin. Wylie then also went off with an injury after 21 minutes and was replaced by Collins. We were dropping like flies and running out of subs. We doubled our advantage near half time, when Collins latched on to a long ball from Davison and placed the ball into the bottom left corner. Collins bagged his second of the match when he found the bottom left corner from just inside the D. One of the best halves that we have had for a long while.

Arbroath hit back when Gunn burst past Hardie and fired past Muir to reduce our lead. We restored our 3 goal lead with 20 minutes left as Davison crossed in and found Sean Burns inside the 6 yard box, who headed in to make it 4-1. Arbroath nearly scored another goal in the 79th minute, but struck the bar when Borris got his head onto a corner. They weren't to be denied in the 87th minute, when Sykes headed in a corner from close range.

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An excellent result and a thoroughly entertaining game. Incredibly, Clyde got thrashed by Arbroath, which sensationally takes the league title race to the final day, where we will face 8th placed Peterhead, and Clyde will tackle second bottom Elgin.

CraigWL · Jul 17, 2015

APRIL 2016 (PART 2)/Closing Days Of the Season

I heard back from our physio Andy Harrison about the injuries sustained by Mitchell and Wylie during our clash with Arbroath, Mitchell would be out for between 7 weeks and 2 months with a sprained ankle, whereas Wylie will miss 6-8 days with a dead leg. Mitchell will definitely play no further part this season, Wylie could potentially be back for the Peterhead game, but for sure will be back for the play offs if we end up competing in them.

Collins was also named in the team of the week after his performance against Arbroath

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I decided to organise a team meeting going into our final day game against Peterhead.

"Right lads, many of you will remember what happened last season, and while i don't want a repeat of that, i just want you all to know that there's no pressure on you, no-one expected us to be within a chance of winning the league this season, so don't let that impact your performances on the final day, you've all been fantastic up to this point, and i want you all to have the same mentality going into the Peterhead match, just play like you have been, and whatever happens, happens, i'm immensely proud of you either way"

Kenny Deuchar: "Listen boss, i know i among many others haven't been the most well behaved of players over the past year or so, but, whether or not i'm involved on the final day, i fully agree with you, all of the lads out there have been superb, and they shouldn't feel like they've failed if they don't win, because they certainly haven't failed, they've done you, the fans and the club proud"

"Thank you Kenny, your words mean a lot, you're an experienced head who's been around the block and i do appreciate you saying that. Ok then lads, this is it... let's go out there and give it absolutely everything!"

PETERHEAD V QUEEN'S PARK (League 2)

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Four changes for this game, with Collins, Barry Burns and Marr coming in for Wylie, Baptie and Steven Smith. Gabriel Auriemma also returns from injury to replace the injured Mitchell. This was it, everything comes down to this day, all we could do was win and hope that Clyde would slip up at home to Elgin. We didn't want a repeat of last season, but like i said in our meeting, i'm very proud of the squad regardless of what happens here.

We got off to the perfect start, as Davison found Sean Burns with a cross, whose initial effort was blocked by Moffat, but the ball came back to Burns, who slammed home to give us an early lead and send us top of the table on goals scored! The bad memories would come flooding back however, when Moffat launched a ball over the top and found McAllister, who placed the ball past Muir to equalise. Devastating, and it would get worse. On the half hour mark, Cameron whipped in a left footed cross from the left wing, and found Christie, who glanced the ball home to give Peterhead the lead. Half time came, Clyde and Elgin were still goalless, it felt like last season all over again.

We came so close to equalising when a good passing move saw Sean Burns receive the ball 10 yards out, but his powerful effort was tipped wide by Cowe. We were dead and buried as full time approached however, when Carrol was allowed far too much time on the ball, and his cross was headed home by McAllister. The full time whistle came and i was absolutely devastated. Clyde had drawn against Elgin. For the second season in a row, the title was actually in our hands, and we threw it away.

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So it was confirmed, we'd play Albion Rovers in the Semi Final of the Scottish League One Relegation Play Off, while Annan will face Stirling Albion.

We had a decent showing in the monthly awards this month...

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PLAYER OF THE MONTH

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An easy choice this month, Sean Burns has been excellent and appears to have rediscovered his form from last season, hopefully he can carry this on into the play offs.

WORST PLAYER OF THE MONTH

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Robbie McNab, who has again failed to deliver the goods this past month. He is still our best defensive midfielder though, and has great potential for this level. I have had a word with him about his form, and i hope he can reach his true peak in the play off games.

CraigWL · Jul 18, 2015

PLAY OFF SEMI FINALS

We had to focus on getting that defeat out of our system, it was certainly disappointing to give up our chance like that, but we have the play offs to look towards now, and i know we're more than capable of bettering our performance from last year.

We were hit with some bad news in the lead up to the games however, as Barry Burns was called up for the Scotland U19 squad and will play matches on the 9th, 11th and 14th of May, with our matches coming on the 11th and 15th, we will be without him for the semi finals.

ALBION ROVERS V QUEEN'S PARK (Play-Off Semi Final 1st Leg)

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Two changes for this match, as Steven Smith and Baptie come in for Auriemma and the absent Barry Burns. This match was a sell out, there wasn't an empty seat in the house and i was just hoping that we could do our travelling fans proud. I didn't want to go through the heartache of last season all over again.

The first half passed with no notable action, and i had mixed emotions, an away draw wouldn't be bad going into the game at Hampden, but a win would be massive. The second half would pass in the same fashion, until Collins met a Burns corner at the near post and headed in to give us a late lead. I resorted to running around wildly on the touchline in delight, what an important goal that could be!

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QUEEN'S PARK V ALBION ROVERS (Play Off Semi Final 2nd leg)

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A completely unchanged side from the first leg, i'm hoping that consistency will be our friend here. In theory, we should be getting a win here, but it doesn't always work out that way...

And the cat was well and truly put amongst the pigeons just before half time, when Maguire played a ball down the wing to Garden, who squared for Fullarton to tap into what was effectively and empty net. Incredibly that was the only notable action of the entire 90 minutes, and we headed into extra time... I had a good look around the stadium before heading in to do the team talk, there was over 2,000 Queen's Park fans here, easily our biggest attendance of the season, could we really let them down?

We came inches away from regaining the lead in the 97th minute when Collins played in Davison, who hit a left footed snap shot against the post from just inside the box. We were all over them, but we just couldn't score. Then the seemingly inevitable came, the dreaded penalty shootout. I could barely stand to watch...

Darren Miller was first up for us, and he slammed his penalty home in convincing fashion. McManus then stepped up for Albion... and struck the crossbar!!! I remained stonefaced, we still had another 4 penalties to score as things stand. Hardie was next up, and he buried his penalty to the left hand side. Chaplain then stepped up for Albion, and hit his penalty straight down the middle at Muir, 2-0 after 2 pens each! I could hardly believe my eyes. Davison would be next up for us, and he dispatched his penalty into the bottom left corner. Campbell was to take Albion's next penalty, and he had to score. This time, there was no mistake, and he dispatched his penalty into the top right corner superbly.

And then, incredibly, 15 year old Jamie Miller made his way to the spot to take our 4th penalty, with the opportunity to win the game for us, and he stuck his penalty into the top right corner with the composure of someone twice his age. We had done it! The players raced all around the ground and celebrated wildly, and i couldn't help but join them, we had put ourselves one game away from playing League One football next year.

I was reminded of the great attitude within large parts of the squad after the game, when Ryan Baptie came up to me after the game and apologised for his part in Albion's goal, when he allowed Fullarton to get the wrong side of him. He said he was distraught and would have no complaints if he was dropped for the Play Off final. For a loanee to have such an honest and selfless attitude was truly great to see.

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I was also called by Ronald Jack once again following this game, he informed me of an approach by Vanarama North side Stockport County for my services. As tempting as it was to return back to England, i was committed to Queen's Park for the time being, and i really couldn't bring myself to attend any interviews with a play off final on the horizon.

CraigWL · Jul 18, 2015

PLAY OFF FINAL

STIRLING ALBION V QUEEN'S PARK (Play Off Final 1st leg)

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Three changes for this game, as Mathis, Auriemma and the returning Barry Burns come in for Davison, Marr and Gibson. Here we are then, the play off final, a tie where honestly anything could happen. The pre match analyst was actually giving us the edge but i wasn't sure about that. Stirling were a tier higher for a reason and we'd have a fight on our hands, i'd definitely take a draw in this game going back to Hampden.

I have no idea how we didn't take the lead after 20 minutes, when Sean Burns put a cross perfectly onto the head of Collins, who couldn't get over the ball and headed onto the bar from less than 6 yards. We took a blow in the 29th minute when Baptie was forced off with an injury and was replaced by Gibson. Collins had another opportunity early in the second half when Derek Burns misplaced an attempted headed clearance, but Collins saw his effort blocked by a sliding Davidson. We were all over Stirling, and had another chance in the 74th minute when Berry slid in Wylie, whose effort was acrobatically tipped wide by Murdoch. Then, from the resulting corner, the ball eventually found its way back out to the taker Mathis, who whipped in a cross which was met by Collins, who headed in from 9 yards.

Mathis had a half chance to double our lead in the 79th minute when he was played through by Steven Smith, but he could only strike his shot against the post from a narrow angle. Stirling nearly nicked a draw in the last minute when Cunningham got his head to a corner, but the ball flew over the bar.

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A truly exceptional result, and a thoroughly deserved one at that. The job was only half done though, and we had one more match to get through if our dream was to become a reality.

We were hit with some unwelcome news 2 days before the second leg however, as Lee Davison sustained a bruised thigh during a training session and will be sidelined for 2 weeks, which means he will definitely miss the visit of Stirling. To make things worse, the injury that Ryan Baptie suffered during the game turned out to be strained knee ligaments, which will keep him out for 2 months.

QUEEN'S PARK V STIRLING ALBION (Play Off Final 2nd leg)

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Four changes for the 2nd leg in an effort to combat tiredness, as Tierney, McVey and Gibson come in for Collins, Auriemma and the injured Baptie. Derek Corrigan also comes in for his first start of the season in place of Mathis. This was it, a draw or better in this game and we were in League One. We must stay focused.

The intensity of the match was clear to see on the pitch, as both us and Stirling received a yellow card each in the first 5 minutes, while Morrison took a knock following a strong challenge from McVey, they were certainly up for it! Morrison was forced off completely with an injury after less than 15 minutes following a collision with Berry. Then, the unthinkable happened, Ian Smith dinked a free kick into the area, a free kick which was very easily headed away by Hardie, but Cunningham, who challenged for the ball, was shoved in the back by Barry Burns, and the referee duly pointed to the spot. Unbelievable. Cunningham stepped up, and comfortably dispatched his penalty in the bottom left corner.

The goal appeared to reinvigorate our side however, and Tierney, after being set up by McVey, jinked past the challenge of Marsh and slammed the ball past Murdoch to give us back our aggregate lead. We came close to scoring our second of the game after half an hour, when Sean Burns hit a powerful free kick from 30 yards which was diverted wide by the legs of Murdoch. The ball eventually came out to McVey, who passed it to Tierney on the edge of the box, who turned past Marsh and finessed a right footed shot into the top right corner. We were 3-1 up on aggregate! We came forward again mere moments later, and when Corrigan received the ball from McVey on the right side of the D, he cut inside and curled a left footed shot into the far corner to make it 3-1 on the day and 4-1 on aggregate.

We took a blow after 36 minutes however, when Gibson was shown his second yellow card for clattering Ian Smith. We weren't a man down for long however, as Stirling received a red card of their own when Christian Davidson lunged in late on Tierney and got his immediate marching orders. Stirling were not laying down however, and when Gillespie was found unmarked with a throw in, he set up Marsh, who lashed the ball into the net to make it 3-2 on the day and 4-2 overall. That was probably the most intense half of football i've experienced since getting here, and in one of the most important games in the club's recent memory, the stakes couldn't be higher.

We started off the second half horrendously, when a hard, grounded cross from Cunningham deflected off the leg of Hardie and into his own net. The last 20 minutes came and i could barely bring myself to watch, the match was finely poised and could really go either way at this point, relentlessly pacing up and down the technical area, i could only hope.

Then, it happened. Cunningham crossed and found Gillespie on the penalty area, and his shot hit Muir and went in, making it 4-3 to Stirling on the day and 4-4 on aggregate. I couldn't believe what i was seeing. I instructed the team to go out in the second half and frustrate the opposition, and the exact opposite was happening. We were intent on snatching it late on, and Corrigan came inches away from doing so when he was found by Tierney at the back post with a cross, but his volley rattled the post and bounced clear.

And that was that, the end of the 90 minutes, we were being plunged into another extra time period. Things began looking very bleak for us, when, after nearly 100 minutes of football, Barry Burns tripped Brown on the halfway line and received his second yellow card, we were down to 9 men. We had also used all of our subs, meaning McVey was forced to play left back, while Berry manned the middle of the park on his own.

I couldn't believe what i was seeing on the stroke of half time, Berry tripped McKenzie midway into our half, and he also received his second yellow card, leaving us with only 8 players on the pitch. Things were getting really bad now, as McElroy and Corrigan were forced to operate as auxiliary central midfielders, leaving Tierney very much isolated up front. The best we could hope for at this point was penalties. I wasn't really expecting the 4-2-1 formation to do us much good.

And indeed, we somehow managed to survive. Penalties came, this was one of the most dramatic endings to a football season that i have ever seen, and i was right in the thick of it. We could only sit and hope as our depleted squad prepared for the lottery of the shootout.

Cunningham was first to step up for Stirling, and he comfortably stuck his penalty in the bottom left corner. McElroy then made his way to the spot for us, and hit his penalty straight down the middle to make it 1-1. McKenzie was next up, and he beat Muir for power to give the advantage back to Stirling. Hardie then stepped up to level, but he slammed his penalty against the crossbar. I was on the verge of tears. Sam Davidson was next, and he placed his penalty down the right hand side to make it 3-1. Marr would be next up for us, and he dispatched his penalty efficiently to give us a fighting chance. Derek Burns then stepped up for Stirling, and hit his penalty straight into the top left corner. Tierney bravely stepped up next, he had to score... And he couldn't. He blazed his penalty past the top left corner, and we were staying in League Two for another season.

I read these words in the paper the next day...

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Clearly i lacked that motivational edge to my game, i think my tactics are sound, but on a mental and emotional level, i'm obviously not there yet. A massive range of emotions went through my head, would things have been different if i didn't instruct the team to park the bus in the second half? Why couldn't we have taken more of our chances in the first leg? Was i at fault for the collapse?

To end things on a slightly positive note, we did have two players included in the team of the year...

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Well, regardless of what the answers to all my questions were, there was simply nothing left to do for me and the squad other than to go away for a while and make preparations for next season. I'll certainly need the break to get over that final.

PLAYER OF THE PLAY OFFS

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Thomas Collins, although he didn't make an appearance in the 2nd leg of the final due to tiredness, his performances in the 3 games before that were excellent and really helped us get as far as we did.

PERSONAL PLAYER OF THE SEASON

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For sheer consistency over the year, i feel Vincent Berry deserves to be player of the season, we will eventually find out who the fans think deserved it, but i'll give it to this man, who bossed the midfield for large parts of the season, and notched 10 assists along the way.

END OF 2015/16 SEASON

CraigWL · Jul 18, 2015

2016-17 PRE SEASON ROUND UP

AWARDS

Vincent Berry was named Fans' Player of the Year in pretty convincing fashion.

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We also had four players from our team of the year inducted into the overall Best Eleven.

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MISC

We appear to be doing well in terms of sponsorship money, so that's very good to see.

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I also opted to reject a job interview from Drogheda United during pre season, i really don't want to leave Queen's Park just yet, as i'm hopeful that we can take that final step towards promotion soon.

As expected, recently relegated Brechin are clear favourites for promotion this season, the bookies sadly don't really fancy us.

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We also got the news that our facilities are no longer as highly regarded as they once were due to technological advancements, a big shame, and we hardly have the resources to upgrade them.

TRANSFERS

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OUTS

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The majority of the players who have left the club have done so due to their complaints over first team football over the past season or two, most of them simply didn't feature enough, and i hope i have replaced them with good enough players to take us to the next level.

INS

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Luke Donnelly, a Celtic youth product who spent time on loan at East Stirlingshire a couple of seasons ago, he will hopefully provide some depth and potential in the middle of the park.

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Toby MacNeil, on loan from Dundee United who will hopefully provide stiff competition for Mathis for the right wing spot this season.

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Daniel Harvie, who should naturally replace the departing Baptie at left back.

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Dean Hawkshaw, who should hopefully do just as good of a job replacing Steven Smith on the opposite side of defence.

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Colin McCabe, who has been brought in to provide backup to Muir and Hoban in the goalkeeper area. He, like Donnelly, is also a Celtic youth product.

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Ross McKinnon, who, along with Jamie Miller, will provide competition for Daniel Harvie for the left back spot. He was last at Cove Rangers and has also had spells with teams such as Clyde, Elgin, Motherwell and Alloa

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Ricky Little, who played for the club between 2008 and 2013, has returned to add depth to the presently weak centre back position. He last played for our rivals Albion and also spent time at Arbroath.

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Daniel Hoban, who was recently released from Inverness, will provide some depth in between the sticks.

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Calvin Colquhoun, a physically sound central midfielder who has signed on loan from Dundee.

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Dean Horribine, a Hibs youth product who has also played for Berwick and Arbroath, signed to provide backup to Sean Burns on the left flank.

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Aaron Norris, a well balanced striker who was last at Aberdeen, signed to provide extra depth up front.

PRESS CONFERENCE

Journalist: "Mr Lucock, some would say that the turnover of players recently has been a little excessive, what do you say to these claims?"

"It's quite simple really, after last season's efforts, i want to make some moves that will help us take that next step. There were far too many players who were not satisfied with the level of first team football that they were getting, and i simply could not keep them here and allow them to disrupt the harmony of the squad. The core of the squad is still there, i simply wanted to bring in a new batch of players who could provide better competition for places in the lineup"

"Just a word on Garry O'Connor, for a player with his experience and reputation, he really didn't feature much in your plans last season, can i ask why that was?"

"Of course, Garry certainly came with a big reputation for many reasons, to have a player here with experience at the very top level was great, but that was then and this is now, i never said that he would be an integral part of the team, and i felt that it would benefit the team more if the younger players had a chance to get a bit more experience. He also informed me that he would be retiring at the end of this season, so i didn't see fit to keep him here. I do wish him all the best in the future, though."

"Speaking of youth, you have appeared to lean towards the younger players when making your signings, and there is a lack of experience in your squad in some positions, is there a reason for this?

"Listen, if you're good enough, you're old enough, i'm looking to build for the future where possible at this club, and signing younger players is just one part of doing that."

"There has been many reports that you have turned down numerous job offers over the past 12 months, can you tell us if this is true, and if so, why did you reject them?"

"I was invited to a few interviews by various clubs, yes, i admit that's true. For now however, i'm committed to bringing glory to this club, and as long as i believe we have a chance of moving forward, i'll be staying here."

PRE SEASON FRIENDLIES

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A mixed pre season, but no real disappointing results in there, i never expected results against the Northern Irish sides.

CUP DRAWS

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A League One side and a Championship side, not ideal, but we'll do our very best, as always.

cjamm · Jul 18, 2015

hey great story so far that playoff final was devastating good luck next season

CraigWL · Jul 19, 2015

cjamm said:
hey great story so far that playoff final was devastating good luck next season

Thanks mate, yeah i was absolutely gutted! Really appreciate the comment.

dllu · Jul 19, 2015

This next season has to be yours!

PatrickLFC · Jul 19, 2015

Ridiculously unlucky yet again, hopefully third time lucky for you!

CraigWL · Jul 19, 2015

dllu said:
This next season has to be yours!

I can only hope! I suppose... semi finals 1st season, final 2nd season... 3rd season takes care of itself, right?

PatrickLFC said:
Ridiculously unlucky yet again, hopefully third time lucky for you!

A part of me resents FM for pulling the whole 'opposition manager inspired team talk' trick in a play off final, haha. Hopefully we can push on from here, though.

CraigWL · Jul 20, 2015

SEASON OPENING CUP GAMES

BERWICK V QUEEN'S PARK (Challenge Cup First Round)

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So here we are again, another new season. Daniel Harvie, Ricky Little, Calvin Colquhoun and Toby MacNeil are all in the side for this tie after joining the club. Daniel Hoban, Dean Hawkshaw, and Aaron Norris are on the bench.

We made a solid start to the game, and took the lead in the 35th minute when MacNeil attempted to drill the ball across the 6 yard box following a corner, the ball deflected off Dillon and fell to Little, who tapped in from a yard out to score on his return to the club. We doubled our advantage early on in the second half when Burns got onto a lofted through ball down the left flank from Gibson, before crossing in to Collins who volleyed home from well inside the 6 yard area. Berwick hit back mere moments later however when Currie received the ball 25 yards out and superbly smashed it in the top left corner.

We then went on to score one of the scrappiest goals i've seen since arriving, Burns played the ball to Davison at the near post, whose volley was blocked, the ball fell to Gibson, whose effort was blocked by Scully, Martin then got onto it in the midst of a crowd of bodies, struck the post, the ball rebounded out, hit Smith and creeped over the line.

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A good win against a good side, and i certainly saw things that bode well for the future. We didn't escape completely unscathed however, as Collins sustained a dead leg during the game and will be out for 6-8 days, likely missing the Cowdenbeath tie.

Currie also said after my post match comments that it was good to receive praise from such an amazing manager! Not sure if he's angling for a move to Glasgow, but we'll have to see.

We would discover the next day who awaited us in the second round...

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I was certainly hoping for a more winnable tie, but we've shown in the past that we're capable of a giant killing, so who knows?

We have also confirmed the signing of Darren Clark from Highland Football League side Keith FC.

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This one was certainly done with the future in mind, so hopefully he doesn't think he's going to always be in the first team...

QUEEN'S PARK V COWDENBEATH (League Cup 1st Round)

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Three changes for this game, as Tierney, Auriemma and Hawkshaw come in for Collins, Macneil and Mitchell.

We didn't start off looking like we would repeat our Berwick heroics, when Robertson rattled the bar from just inside the area after just 2 minutes. We had an opportunity of our own after 18 minutes however, when Toshney missed his attempted header after a long ball from Auriemma, allowing Macneil to run in behind, he ran into the box but before he could get his effort away, Toshney recovered and made an excellent block. We nearly got a lucky break after 28 minutes, when Hawkshaw crossed from the left hand side and struck the near post. We fell behind not long after half time when Johnston capitalised on a missed header from Little after a Toshney long ball and volleyed into the top right corner to give Cowdenbeath the lead.

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Not a great game of football by any means, and it's disappointing to go out, but we weren't really expected to get anything from this so i don't have too many complaints.

A pretty good showing from the opening games though, it leaves me with a bit of hope that we'll be able to mount another challenge this season. We went 14 games unbeaten last season before losing on the final day, so hopefully with the new signings involved, we can replicate that sort of form.

CraigWL · Jul 21, 2015

AUGUST 2016

We received a slight blow to kick off the month, as Bob Findlay informed me that Vincent Berry had suffered a damaged elbow in the game against Cowdenbeath and will be out for 2-3 weeks. Certainly not ideal to have one of our most influential players out for the opening games of the league season.

QUEEN'S PARK V MONTROSE (League 2)

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Six changes for the opening league game, as Davison, Colquhoun, Donnelly, Murray, Jones and Mitchell replace MacNeil, Auriemma, Gibson, Little, Hawkshaw and the injured Berry.

We had the ball in the net in just the 8th minute of the game, but Tierney was flagged offside as he slotted past Edwards. There was nothing to deny us moments later though, when an early cross from Donnelly found the late run to the far post from Burns, who easily tapped home to give us the lead. It wasn't until the the 78th that the game would see more action, when Splaine took a shot on the turn from well inside the box, but thankfully Muir got down well and tipped it wide. We put the game beyond any reasonable doubt in the last 10 minutes when Burns found substitute Corrigan at the near post with a corner, allowing him to volley home and double our lead.

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A very good result to kick off the season, we never looked overly troubled and dispatched Montrose fairly comfortably.

Youth striker Stuart Hay has also left the club to join Championship side Alloa.

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He had complaints about a lack of first team football before the bid came in, so i made the decision to let him go, a decent player going out, but squad harmony has to be improved from last season.

I also completed my studies for my National A coaching license on the eve of the Kilmarnock game, i hope the techniques that i've gathered will make a difference!

We did make a signing of our own however, as ex Hearts, Raith and Queen of the South man Rhys Craigie has signed for the club.

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KILMARNOCK V QUEEN'S PARK (Challenge Cup 2nd Round)

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Seven changes going into this cup game, as Collins, Macneil, Auriemma, Gibson, Little and Marr come in for Tierney, Davison, Colquhoun, Murray, Jones and Mitchell. Craigie also comes in for Donnelly to make his debut.

This will be a big ask, Kilmarnock were in the Premiership last season, and are favourites to win the Championship, so it will take a very solid performance from everyone for us to progress through.

We managed to hold out until just before half time, when Paya crossed to Magennis, who squeezed the ball under Muir with a first time hit from the penalty spot. Kilmarnock doubled their advantage on 68 minutes, when Gary Gardner fired a shot from just inside the area which Muir could only parry into his own net.

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Not exactly a surprising result, Kilmarnock are simply a lot better than us and fully deserved the win.

Unfortunately, Collins' injury in the game turned out to be a fractured wrist and will rule him out for 2 months. Not much help to have one of our best strikers out injured.

ELGIN CITY V QUEEN'S PARK (League 2)

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Four changes from the Kilmarnock game, as Tierney, Colquhoun, Donnelly and Hawkshaw come in for Collins, Craigie, Auriemma and Marr.

We didn't start the game off well, and Ally Graham seized on a poor touch by Little and fired a shot past Muir to give Elgin an early advantage. We nearly got back on level terms on the half hour mark, but Gibson's headed effort from a free kick was disallowed for offside. Tierney had an opportunity to equalise mere moments later, but his header at the near post following a Hawkshaw cross struck the post and bounced out. We had the perfect opportunity to equalise in the 67th minute, when Tierney was fouled by Scott Graham inside the area after he intercepted a McHardy throw in. McNab stepped up, and beat Fraser for power to equalise.

Our joy was short lived however, as Ally Graham headed in from 6 yards following a Sinclair corner. Wylie would equalise moments later when the ball broke to Wylie inside the area, allowing him to rifle in at the near post. Wylie came close to giving us a late lead when he broke past Scott Graham, but his low drive was held by Fraser.

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Not a terrible result at the end of the day, but it would certainly have been nice to get a win. Colquhoun sadly suffered a fractured arm and will be out for 5 weeks.

We have bolstered the squad again, with the acquisition of experienced midfielder Stephen Hughes.

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He has experience at Premiership level with the likes of Rangers, Aberdeen and Motherwell, and also played in England with MK Dons and Norwich. He last played for Brechin when they were in League One, and could potentially face them in the upcoming fixture, depending on his fitness.

QUEEN'S PARK V BRECHIN (League 2)

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Four changes for this big clash, as Norris, Berry, Craigie and Mitchell replace Tierney, Colquhoun, Donnelly and Hawkshaw. This could be a great clash to help us judge where we are right now, Brechin are the undoubted favourites to win the league and have won their opening 2 games, so we're really up against it here.

Sean Burns put the ball in the net after just 10 minutes after being found by Berry, but he was cruelly denied by the linesman's flag. We came forward again after half an hour when Norris cut inside from the left hand side and hit a powerful shot towards goal, but it was well held by Smith. We were bombarding Brechin, and came so close just 10 minutes later, when Craigie hit a shot from just inside the box following a corner, the ball hit Smith and fell to Norris, but his shot was blocked on the line by Swankie.

There is a tendency in football, when you don't take chances that come your way, you will regret it, and that came true on the brink of half time, when Carberry took advantage of a poor touch by Little and scored from close range. I was certain it wasn't going to be our day, just after the hour mark, Norris was found well inside the 6 yard area by Macneil, but he hit his effort straight at Smith, who somehow deflected the ball against the post. However, from the resulting throw in, Mitchell exchanged passes with Tierney, who crossed in and found Burns, who headed in to level the score. Brechin remained threatening, and were inches away from regaining the lead when Wood headed against the bar at the near post after being found by a Steven Jackson cross.

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A good result i feel, 5 points from our opening 3 games is a decent return, and we have proved that we aren't a million miles off the likes of Brechin right now. One negative to come out of the game is that Colin Martin suffered a bruised rib and will be out for around 2 weeks.

Mitchell and Muir were both included in the team of the week after their showing

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EAST FIFE V QUEEN'S PARK (League 2)

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Just two changes for this game, as Tierney and Donnelly come in for Norris and Craigie. A real contrast to the last game, as we go from facing top of the league to bottom of the league. We have an annoying tendency to draw against East Fife though, so i'm hoping we can change that here.

Unfortunately, we didn't look like doing that at all, as the first half passed without a single notable chance. It in fact took us until the 78th minute to fashion a clear cut chance, when Tierney stopped the ball dead on the byline and laid it back to Berry on the penalty spot, but he could only hit a tame effort which was easily held by Gott.

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A very frustrating match, i don't know why we can't raise our game in these matches, if we had played like we did against Brechin, we probably would have won that game easily.

We moved on to deadline day, and unfortunately, Ryan Tierney has decided to move on.

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Like Stuart Hay before him, he has joined Championship side Alloa. Despite my best attempts to keep him, there was really no changing his mind. This leaves us a little light in the striker department, so we'll have to do our best to manage.

I managed to get third place in the manager of the month award.

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Those results from Brechin just show how well we did to nab a point from the game! Unfortunately, we just can't produce similar performances against lesser sides. We now have to wait until the 17th of September for our next match, against East Stirlingshire, hopefully the break will do us some good.

CraigWL · Jul 21, 2015

SEPTEMBER 2016

A bit of a quiet month in store for us, with only 3 games being played.

To add to that though, we do have the draw for the Scottish Cup...

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Albion Rovers, the only team to be currently level with Brechin in the league. We don't have the best of luck. Still, a winnable game either way.

We received some bad news in the leadup to our game against East Stirlingshire, as Dean Hawkshaw twisted his ankle during a training session, which will leave him out for 6-7 weeks.

I also got a small mention in the Daily Record on the eve of the game...

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Certainly a big occasion for me, i still remember my first moments here, from the phonecall which began my journey, to the meeting with Christine Wright in the local pub, to the upset against Dundee and the opening day win against Clyde. I had expected to be embroiled in a relegation battle but we had managed consecutive 2nd place finishes, and were a mere final day win away from promotion on both occasions. I still believe we have the potential to make that next step, we just have to find the right formula.

Another article also caught my eye in the paper...

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That certainly doesn't bode well. If Peterhead pick up a head of steam over the next year or so, then we could be in a bit of trouble going forward.

EAST STIRLINGSHIRE V QUEEN'S PARK (League 2)

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Two changes for this game, as Norris comes in for the departed Tierney, and Craigie replaces Donnelly. This game sees a reunion with us and Patrick Slattery, who has just signed up with East Stirlingshire after leaving Ayr.

We came close to scoring after 15 minutes, when Berry played through Norris, but his effort was blocked by a good sliding challenge by McCracken. Just a minute later however, we executed a textbook counter attack following an East Stiringshire free kick, when Berry ran nearly the entire pitch before teeing up Macneil, whose shot found the net despite Amos getting a hand to the ball.

We conceded in shocking fashion 20 minutes later however, when Muir hoofed the ball up the field straight to McKenna, who launched it back towards our box and found the unmarked Watters, who took advantage of a staggered defensive line to beat the offside trap and equalise. They would strike again not long after the break, when Lamont crossed and found David McKenna, who volleyed home from just outside the 6 yard area. It didn't take us long to hit back however, as Macneil found Gibson at the far post following a corner, allowing Gibson to tap in. We should have taken the lead just a couple of minutes later, when Mitchell drilled in an early cross to the far post and found Burns, but he could only strike his shot against Amos from close range.

We were enjoying a good spell of dominance, and came forward not long later, when Norris took down a Burns cross, but he took the ball slightly too far wide and could only strike the foot of the post from the byline. We had another golden chance with 15 minutes left, when Wylie took advantage of a missed header by Greene, but his 1 on 1 opportunity was saved by Amos.

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Our 4th consecutive league draw, and another game where we squandered numerous chances to win the match.
On a positive note, Vincent Berry was named in the team of the week for his performance.

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QUEEN'S PARK V ALBION ROVERS (League 2)

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Two changes for this match, as McPherson and Donnelly come in for Norris and Craigie. This would be no easy game, Albion currently sit at the top of the table, a point ahead of Brechin, although we are unbeaten in our last 5 matches against them, hopefully we will carry on that run, but i'm quite reserved going into this.

Things didn't get off to a good start, as McPherson went off with an injury after just over a quarter of an hour, Albion would show no remorse, as Hardie found McGregor six yards out with a cross, allowing him to easily score to make it 1-0. We would equalise after 34 minutes however, when Harvie floated a cross to the far post and found Macneil, who knocked it down to Norris who smashed in from close range to bag his first goal for the club.

We were close to taking the lead 20 minutes from time when Donnelly's lofted through ball found Macneil, but his shot was blocked by a sliding challenge from Still. We took a dramatic lead with just 5 minutes left, after Norris's cross was headed out by Fisher, only as far as Macneil, who scored at the near post to make it 2-1.

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A vastly improved performance from our last few games, and a great win at that. Montrose's win over Brechin has really made the situation at the top of the table interesting as well!

QUEEN'S PARK V PETERHEAD (League 2)

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Three changes for this game as Norris, Craigie and Auriemma replace McPherson, Berry and Donnelly. Hopefully we can knock off Peterhead here before their takeover allows them to build up some momentum.

Things got off to a poor start as Macneil went off with an injury after just over 10 minutes, not ideal to have arguably your best player off the pitch... It would get no better closer to half time, as Burns would also be forced off with an injury. Luck was not on our side today. It didn't affect us too much however, as Wylie dispossessed Wood near Peterhead's box, and found Mathis at the back post, who easily scored to make it 1-0.

The injuries didn't stop coming, and Harvie went off with one after just over an hour, not only that, it was after we had made all 3 of our subs, to add to that, Mitchell was playing with a knock. Just when i thought things couldn't get any worse, Gibson was sent off after fouling Scott as he burst down the right flank, we were now playing the last 10 minutes with 9 men... I was getting horrible flashbacks of the play off final here, and absolutely idiotically, Colquhoun lunged in on Moffat, and received a straight red card. 8 men. The only saving grace was that Peterhead were also getting injuries galore, and were playing with 9 men as of this point.

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An absolutely insane game of football, I have no idea how we ended up winning it, but it's a truly vital result which sees us move top of the league.

Both Harvie and Mitchell suffered bruised ribs and will be out for around 2 weeks. This is where it gets bad though, Burns sustained a torn calf muscle, which rules him out for between 5 and 6 months. Just when things are looking up for us, something like this happens. I was gutted. I called him into my office the next day.

"Hi Sean, thanks for coming in, i just wanted to say how sorry i am about your injury, you're going to be a huge miss for us over the course of the season, and you really don't deserve something like that, you've been thoroughly professional since i've arrived here, and i wish you the speediest of recoveries, for the team's sake, and for your own personal good"

"Thanks gaffer, i was devastated when i heard the news from Bob, i was really enjoying my football and the team's performances lately too, so i'm pretty upset that i'm going to miss so much football over the next few months. I want you to know though that i believe in you and the team, i think you'll do fine without me, and if my replacement does well enough, i certainly don't expect to be put right back in the team based on my past exploits, i'll try and be a positive influence in the dressing room while i'm out, and my fingers are crossed for you"

A truly consummate professional, who we will badly miss.

We got three mentions in the monthly awards this month, too.

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PLAYER OF THE MONTH

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Vincent Berry, despite not playing against Peterhead due to fitness issues, he was superb in the first 2 games of the month, and as good as Macneil was, i don't feel he had the influence that Berry did.

WORST PLAYER OF THE MONTH

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Gabriel Auriemma, who hasn't really lived up to expectation over the last couple of games that he has featured in.

CraigWL · Jul 22, 2015

OCTOBER 2016

ALBION ROVERS V QUEEN'S PARK (Scottish Cup 2nd Round)

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Five changes for this cup tie, as Craigie comes in for Auriemma, Wylie and Marr replace the injured Burns and Mitchell, while Jones and Miller take the place of the suspended Gibson and Harvie. We beat Albion in the league just 2 matches ago, hopefully we can set up another cup run with a win here.

We nearly scored an extraordinary goal after 20 minutes, when a long ball from Little reached Norris, who flicked the ball on from just inside the box and struck the top of the crossbar, the ball was just about cleared by Ross Fisher before Macneil could tap in. Our injury struggles wouldn't leave us be, and as well as Marr picking up a knock, we lost Craigie to injury after 35 minutes.

And our old defensive problems wouldn't go away either, when Little missed an attempted header after a long ball from Ross Fisher, allowing Duthie to run in and slot the ball past Muir to make it 1-0. We would restore parity on the stroke of half time however, when Ross Fisher inadvertently headed in a Jamie Miller cross. We nearly fell behind again just after half time, but Muir saved well from a close range Hardie effort.

Norris had an opportunity to give us the lead, but struck the outside of the post from a narrow angle after latching onto a through ball from McNab. We would pay for missing that opportunity, when Hardie just about kept a long ball in play and crossed from the byline to find Garden, who easily headed in from close range.

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A shame that we lost, but hopefully we will be able to focus on the league now and benefit from a less clustered schedule. Rhys Craigie's injury turned out to be a twisted ankle and will rule him out for 6-7 weeks. We were starting to look a little thin in some areas.

We received even more bad injury news just after the game, after Dean Horribine suffered a hip injury during a game against Aberdeen's U20s. He will be out for 3 months, and would have been out for 6 if he didn't go and see a specialist. It didn't end there though, in the very same match, Colin Martin strained his knee ligaments, and will be out for 2-3 months. This wasn't what i wanted to see, given how well we were doing in the league. I thought we'd get a bit of a break now, but no, the very next day, Calvin Colquhoun came down with flu which will keep him out for about a week.

I received a phonecall from Ronald Jack in the early hours of Sunday morning, what on earth could he want?

"Hi Craig, i know this is a bit of a strange time to be calling you, but i just want you to know that i'm looking to sell the club"

"What? Why? We look like we're starting to get somewhere, we're top of the league, why now?"

"It's nothing to do with how the team is doing Craig, i'm just tired, i feel like i need a break. Trying to manage the finances of the club is not an easy job and it's taking its toll. A local businessman is interested and we'll be trying to sort everything out as soon as possible so you can focus on what you do best. I still have belief in you and will definitely keep tabs on how you're doing in the future."

"I understand, Ronald, it's your decision. It's good to see that you still have the club's interests at heart, best of luck in the negotiations"

"Thank you Craig, i will keep you informed"

We start doing well in the league and then everything starts happening at once. It will be interesting to see where this goes, i hope the new man coming in doesn't have any other managers lined up...

Our injury list would get even more jam packed on the eve of our game against Annan, as William Muir came down with food poisoning, leaving him out for about a week.

ANNAN ATHLETIC V QUEEN'S PARK (League 2)

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Five changes to our battered and bruised team, as Collins, Auriemma, Harvie, Mitchell and Hoban replace Macneil, Craigie, Miller, Marr and Muir. Normally i'd be looking for a win here, but with so many players out, i'm really not certain.

We got off to the worst start imaginable, as Omar turned in a Campbell cross after less than a minute. Can't legislate for that at all. We should have been level in the 20th minute, but Wylie volleyed wide after being found in the box by Auriemma. We almost got a stroke of luck 15 minutes later, when Mitchell's early cross struck the crossbar and bounced out. We were lucky not to go 2 down 20 minutes from full time, when Kyle was found at the back post, but his effort was well saved by Hoban. We had the perfect opportunity to equalise with 15 minutes left when Collins received the ball following a corner and was tripped by Syme inside the area.

Mathis stepped up, and rifled his penalty into the bottom right corner.

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Disappointing to not win that game, but at least we didn't lose.

Vincent Berry got a spot in the team of the week after his performance

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ARBROATH V QUEEN'S PARK (League 2)

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Three changes for this game, as Marr, Muir and Gibson come in for Auriemma, Hoban and Jones. Arbroath are rock bottom right now, so we should be looking to win this one, it rarely turns out that way though.

We endured a rather depressing first half, as absolutely nothing happened up until stoppage time, when Sykes flicked home a corner to give Arbroath the lead. We were back on level terms early in the second half however, when Mitchell fired a shot into the bottom right corner after being set up by Norris. It didn't take Arbroath too long to regain their lead however, when Sykes received the ball on the edge of the box, and hit a lovely shot into the top right corner.

Arbroath would then kill us off with 10 minutes left, as Sykes cut back from the byline and found Buchan, who easily doubled Arbroath's lead. Collins would score a point blank finish in stoppage time, but it wasn't enough.

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Quite simply not good enough, that should have been a comfortable win, yet we were dominated by a team who were bottom of the league.

I was also contacted and invited to an interview at Shelbourne, who had just been relegated from the Irish Premier League, i turned them down, of course, i was still committed here.

MONTROSE V QUEEN'S PARK (League 2)

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Five changes from the Arbroath defeat, as Sinclair, McPherson, Macneil, Colquhoun and Horne come in for Wylie, Collins, Norris, Mitchell and Marr. A better performance is definitely expected here.

The better performance didn't seem to be coming though, as Harwood headed in a McDonald free kick early on.
Incredibly, the rest of the match would go by without any further action, as we simply seemed to accept defeat.

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A really weak performance from us, with little to no fight showing all across the pitch.

Ronald Jack also confirmed with me that the club has been put under a transfer embargo while the takeover talks are happening. Probably won't make a massive difference to us right now.

PLAYER OF THE MONTH

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Slim pickings here, but Gavin Mitchell was solid when called upon.

WORST PLAYER OF THE MONTH

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Once again, Robbie McNab had a poor month, and is really struggling to impress here.

CraigWL · Jul 22, 2015

So... my PC decided to lock up on me after the last game and forced me to replay all of the matches from that month. Because of this, i decided to holiday the month, these were the results.

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And this is the table.

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Not a massive amount of difference in all honesty, nevertheless, just thought i'd put this in to let everyone know about any inconsistencies that might be noticed, apologies!

CraigWL · Jul 23, 2015

NOVEMBER 2016 (Part 1)

QUEEN'S PARK V ELGIN CITY (League 2)

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We desperately need a win here, only 1 point from our last 3 games isn't good enough, and we need some momentum or we may fall out of the promotion race.

We made a good start to the game and took the lead just after the 20 minute mark, when Little got onto a free kick and cut it back to Auriemma, who brilliantly found the top right corner to give us the advantage. Elgin nearly hit back immediately, but Millen's free kick from 20 yards struck the bar. We really should have conceded after 55 minutes, but Ally Graham put his 1 on 1 wide of the post. We doubled our lead late on in the game, when the ball appeared to get lost in a sea of bodies following a Berry free kick, allowing Colquhoun to take advantage and rifle his shot home.

Elgin hit back almost immediately when Stirling got onto a pass from Sutherland and beat Muir at his near post. Elgin's chances of getting back into the game took a blow in the 90th minute, when our ex player Gordon Hardie was shown a second yellow after tripping Collins from behind.

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A much needed win, hopefully this will allow us to build up some momentum. Unfortunately, Collins' injury has turned out to be an injured knee, and it will leave him out for 4-5 weeks.

BRECHIN V QUEEN'S PARK (League 2)

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Four changes for this match, as Sinclair, Norris, Hughes and Hawkshaw come in for Collins, Wylie, Craigie and Auriemma. This is a vital game, Brechin currently hold a 4 point lead over us, we really need to at least avoid defeat to stay on their tails.

We had a half chance in the 18th minute, but Norris' effort was blocked at the near post by Jackson after he was found at the near post by Macneil. Brechin came very close to scoring just after half time, but Muir produced a miraculous point blank save after Carberry got onto an early cross from Williams. From the resulting throw in however, Williams would head in at the far post following a Greig cross to make it 1-0.

Mitchell came very close to getting an equaliser for us after latching onto a beautiful through ball from McNab, but his effort was well saved by Smith. McNab was causing trouble again in stoppage time, and another great pass found Macneil, but he could only fire straight into the arms of Smith.

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We didn't really deserve to lose that one, but ultimately it doesn't really matter what we do or don't deserve, we lost, and we've fallen 7 points behind the leaders and dropped to 3rd in the process.

ALBION ROVERS V QUEEN'S PARK (League 2)

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Four changes from the Brechin game, with Wylie, McPherson, Craigie and Berry coming in for Sinclair, Macneil, Hughes and Hawkshaw.

We took the lead in the 18th minute when McPherson broke away from the crowd to take down a Berry free kick, and slotted it past Parry to make it 1-0. Albion nearly got themselves level after half an hour, when McMillan volleyed towards goal from the edge of the box, but Muir pulled off a good save. We nearly got lucky just before half time, when Mitchell's early cross flew over the head of Parry and struck the bar. We doubled our lead not long after half time when McPherson brought down a free kick by Little before rounding Parry and slotting home.

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Great result for us, especially good to pick up a win against our rivals. We now need to focus on keeping this going, rather than going stop start like we have been recently.

The day after the game, i was once again informed of an approach for my services. This time, from Bolton Wanderers. This was incredible, i've not even been managing for three years, and a team who barely four years ago were in the Premier League was interested in having me as their manager. They currently sat 15th in League One, so they have endured a bit of a fall from grace, but they still have players such as David Wheater, Jay Spearing, Mark Davies and Rob Hall. I was certainly at a cross roads...

CraigWL · Jul 24, 2015

NOVEMBER 2016 (Part 2)

Naturally, i declined. I still feel attached to this club, this club gave me a chance, i need to work hard here to give them something back, and that thing will hopefully be promotion.

News on the takeover talks was reaching me every day, and i had heard rumours that a fans' trust were aiming to take control over the club following Mr.Jack's decision to put the club up for sale. I think this would a great thing, much better than some foreign consortium.

Looking more towards the on field matters, Ricky Little and Ross McPherson were named in the team of the week after our solid win over Albion.

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QUEEN'S PARK V EAST FIFE (League 2)

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Tiredness has struck the squad and, with this game coming so soon after the last one, we have made a few changes, with Davison and Donnelly coming in for McPherson and Craigie. 17 year old Josh Adams also replaces Wylie to make his senior debut. I have a bad feeling about this game, as i normally do when we play East Fife.

And indeed we got off to a poor start, as Lewis Davidson headed in a free kick just after the 20 minute mark. We nearly got ourselves level just before half time when Norris flicked a long ball on to Davison, but his shot was well saved by Gott. We would not be denied just after the hour mark however, when Davison was found at the near post with a corner, he swiveled and laid off Norris, who fired past Gott to level the scores.

I thought we had fallen behind again mere minutes later after Gilmour set up Davidson with a free kick, but Muir was able to dramatically claw the ball out to keep the score at 1-1. We got another lucky escape with 10 minutes left, when Mullen rattled the bar with a free kick from just over 20 yards out. We would make East Fife pay for missing their chances when Davison was played down the right with a through ball from Horribine, he crossed the ball in allowing Norris to head in from point blank range for his second of the game. Incredibly, there was more action to come, as a long ball over the top caught out Gibson, allowing Murray to run through, he struck an effort from 20 yards out and rattled our crossbar for the second time in the game.

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Truth be told, we didn't really deserve a win there, still, we've not finished off a lot of teams in the past, so it's nice for it to go the other way for once. The win was especially vital, with Annan getting a win over Brechin.

I was then contacted for a second time by the board over at Limerick with an offer of an interview, i once again politely declined, we were building up a head of steam here, and i certainly wasn't going to leave right now.

QUEEN'S PARK V EAST STIRLINGSHIRE (League 2)

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Four changes from the East Fife game, with Wylie, Collins, Mathis and Hughes coming in for Adams, Davison, Norris and Donnelly. Once again, i'll be making sure my squad is aware of the threat that Slattery poses.

We almost took the lead after a quarter of an hour when Wylie set up Berry on the edge of the box for a sweet left footed volley which was just about parried by Amos, the ball almost fell to Mathis, but he was denied by a great challenge by Liddington. We came forward again just five minutes later, and Collins headed in from close range after Mathis found space and drilled a cross in.

East Stirlingshire should have been level minutes later, when Watters teed up McCluskey, but he curled his shot wide of the left hand post. The two swapped roles a couple of moments later when McCluskey found Watters well inside the 6 yard box, allowing him to tap past Muir to level the scoring. We were lucky not to fall behind five minutes from time when a long ball over the top found Watters, but Muir superbly tipped his 1 on 1 onto the post. We wouldn't sit back and soak up punishment however, and regained the lead a couple of moments from the break, when Wylie broke into the box and hit a lovely left footed shot into the top right corner.

We had an opportunity to double our lead just after the break when Collins broke the offside trap to get onto a long ball from Berry, but his first time volley was acrobatically tipped over by Amos. Collins would make no mistake 10 minutes later however, when he rose and looped his header over Amos into the far corner following a McNab cross. Just three minutes later, Mathis extended our lead by drilling his shot into the bottom right corner from just inside after being found by Berry. We nearly scored a remarkable fifth when Berry once again played a long ball and found substitute Davison, but he could only lash his volley over the bar.

East Stirlingshire would score a late consolation when Hendrie knocked down a MacGregor free kick and found Love, who tapped into an empty net after Muir had came out and attempted to claim the ball.

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Directly after the game, this article caught my eye on BBC Sport... Not only had ex Carlisle manager John Ward been sacked, but...

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I was almost happy to be linked to so many different jobs, i suppose it meant that i was doing pretty well here. Still, i didn't want to leave right now, we were really starting to play well. The end of that article is a very good point though, god knows who would want to appoint someone who only has experience playing a video game...

Collins was also named in the team of the week following his brace.

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I was also proudly named manager of the month for November.

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Interestingly, the last time i won the award was for the same month in 2015. Hopefully a good omen...

PLAYER OF THE MONTH

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William Muir, in terms of consistency, he has been excellent recently, and has also produced some great saves at vital times.

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Scott Gibson, he has struggled a little to impress in recent games and has looked a little dodgy at the back, with that said, he hasn't been overly bad, so hopefully he will be able to push on from here.

CraigWL · Jul 24, 2015

DECEMBER 2016

PETERHEAD V QUEEN'S PARK (League 2)

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Two changes from the last game, with Norris and Marr replacing Mathis and Hughes. Hopefully we could kick off the month on the front foot and set ourselves up for a good festive period.

We should have been ahead just before the 20 minute mark when Wylie was found by Norris with a backheel, but he struck the outside of the post with his effort. We came forward again just moments later and took the lead when Norris found Collins 6 yards out with a cross, allowing him to head in and give us the lead. We were desperately unlucky minutes later, when Mair struck a first time shot towards goal after being found by a McAllister cross, the ball was initially travelling wide, but hit Harvie on the way and deflected in.

We fell behind 5 minutes from half time when Mills floated in a right footed cross from the left flank, McAllister got his head to it and scored, despite Muir getting a big hand on the ball.

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Once again, we prove to be massively inconsistent, and fail to win a game that we should easily have won, given the two sides' positions.

After the match, i decided to begin studying for my Continental C license, the course will take about 4 months, so hopefully i will have it finished before the end of the season. Queen's Park again agreed to cover the cost, very good of them considering the finances.

Aaron Norris was named in the team of the week after his performance, despite the result.

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QUEEN'S PARK V ANNAN (League 2)

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Three changes from the Peterhead game, with Horribine and Macneil coming in for Wylie and Collins, while Colquhoun replaces Marr. This really was a must win, Annan will overtake us and knock us down to 3rd if we lose here.

We came close to taking the lead after 32 minutes when Norris was found 6 yards out by Macneil with a corner, but his effort was well saved by Smith. Macneil had his own chance to open the scoring a minute later as Mitchell found him at the near post with a cross, but Smith again came to Annan's rescue and tipped the ball wide. We again came forward with just 5 minutes left in the first half, but Norris' low drive from 20 yards was again saved by Smith. It wasn't until the 75th minute that we would again come forward with purpose, and nearly scored when Mitchell found Collins with a cross from the byline, but his close range effort was blocked by a combination of Syme and Smith.

The resulting corner was headed away by Kouider-Aissa as far as Berry, who took a touch before rifling a shot towards goal which rattled the crossbar and bounced clear. Berry was again found at the edge of the box with a corner just moments later, and he finally broke the deadlock, finessing a right footed shot into the top left corner. Straight from kick off, we won the ball back, Davison was played in down the right flank, and a sliding challenge from Lawson knocked the ball into the area and the path of Horribine, who easily tapped in to double our lead. You wait for ages for a goal and then two come along at once! And we weren't done there, in the 85th minute, Ford misjudged a header following a Horribine free kick, allowing the ball to fall to Collins, who lashed home for our 3rd of the game.

Collins had the ball in the net again just a couple of moments later, but the goal was disallowed for offside.

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Definitely one of the most commanding performances i've seen from us in a long while. It could easily have been 5 or 6. Why we pull this out against teams like Annan and struggle against Peterhead? I really don't know.

QUEEN'S PARK V ARBROATH (League 2)

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Three changes, with Wylie, Collins and Marr coming in for Horribine, Norris and Colquhoun. Arbroath are having a bit of an average season so far, but that usually means bad things for us. We have won all of our last 5 home games though, so hopefully that form will continue.

We looked good to carry on that run in the 20th minute, when Wylie got his head onto a Marr cross and beat Crawford for power to give us the lead. We were pegged back early on in the second half however, when Reid headed in a Grant free kick.

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Not a particularly exciting game of football, and a performance from us that pales in comparison to the one against Annan.

James Marr was named in the team of the week after his performance.

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News reached me that Ronald Jack was pushing quite hard for an end to the whole takeover saga, with him saying that he believed that the whole thing could hurt the club on the field. In a way, he's correct, but the transfer embargo doesn't make much of a difference to us right now.

QUEEN'S PARK V MONTROSE (League 2)

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Four changes from the Arbroath game, with Norris, Colquhoun, Coll and Horne coming in for Collins, Mitchell, Harvie and Marr. Another vital game here, as we are currently level on points with Montrose, a win would do us a lot of favours. One positive is that Montrose have only won 1 of the 10 games that we have had against them since my arrival.

We took the lead in the 39th minute when Colquhoun set up Berry on the edge of the box, Berry rifled it towards goal but his shot was parried out by Edwards only as far as Little, who tapped in to make it 1-0. We came close to doubling our advantage 20 minutes from time when Norris tried to finesse the ball into the top corner from the edge of the box, but Edwards made a very good save. Montrose immediately pushed back, and very nearly equalised when Tumilty headed a Quitongo cross onto the bar from 6 yards. They wouldn't be denied for long however, and equalised just after the 75 minute mark when Quitongo tapped home after Muir had brilliantly saved a first time Callaghan volley.

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Disappointed to let that one slip so late on. Montrose never really troubled us until their goal.

Vincent Berry was named in the team of the week for his performance.

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ELGIN CITY V QUEEN'S PARK (League 2)

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Four changes from the last game, with Collins, Mitchell, Marr and Harvie returning to the squad in place of Norris, Horne, Coll and Colquhoun. This match would be tough, Elgin have been on good form recently, and we haven't been too good as of late.

We took the lead in the 39th minute, when Fraser pushed a Macneil free kick onto the post, the ball dropped onto the line, allowing Gibson to rush in and nudge the ball over to give us the lead. We came close to doubling the advantage early in the second half when Norris played in Macneil, but he was denied by a great sliding challenge from our ex man Hardie. Elgin came forward in the 65th minute, and were gifted a chance when Gibson's clearance went straight to Sinclair, who played a pass over to Cham, allowing him to slot home. Thankfully, the goal was chalked off for offside.

We managed to double our lead in the 70th minute, when McNab found Macneil on the right hand side of the 6 yard area, he cut the ball back for substitute Hughes, who fired past Fraser to give us a 2-0 lead. We took a serious blow late in the game however, when Muir was forced off with an injury. From the resulting free kick, however, Muir's replacement Hoban's long ball over the top foiled Scott Graham allowing Norris to run through one on one, his initial effort struck the upright, but the ball luckily fell right back to him and allowed him to slot into an empty net. We weren't done there however, and we bagged another in the 87th minute when Marr hit a low cross in towards Norris, whose initial first time effort was saved by Fraser, but once again the ball fell back to him, and he tapped in for his second of the game.

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A brilliant performance, one that was much needed after our recent toils, and it allows us to finish the year on a high. Thankfully Muir's injury turned out to be nothing serious, and he will be available for the next game.

We placed in all three of the monthly awards, too.

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Those Elgin results show just how well we did to hammer them!

PLAYER OF THE MONTH

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Vincent Berry, incredibly consistent as usual over the last 5 games, and chipped in with a goal and an assist along the way

WORST PLAYER OF THE MONTH

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Gavin Mitchell, barring one solid performance against Annan, he was quite poor over the course of the month.

CraigWL · Jul 26, 2015

JANUARY 2017

Another month, another year. And with the transfer window open, the rumours inevitably came flooding in. Reportedly, Dundee, Falkirk, Motherwell and Rangers were all chasing Colin Martin. I really hope none of them come in with an offer, as there's not much we'd be able to do to convince him to stay.

That wasn't the only transfer business we'd have to focus on though...

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Yep. Jamie Miller and Derek Corrigan have left to join Partick Thistle and Alloa respectively. Corrigan wanted to leave, so i'm not overly fussed on that front, but Miller was one of our best prospects, and to lose him is a big blow for the future. Still, it's to be expected. Also, interestingly, this is the 3rd player that Alloa have snapped of us since the start of the season.

QUEEN'S PARK V BRECHIN (League 2)

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Three changes from the thrashing of Elgin, as Horribine, Norris and Donnelly replace Wylie, Collins and Marr. 2nd vs 1st here, another game which we really can't afford to lose if we're to stay on our opponents' tail.

We nearly took an immediate lead when Berry charged down an attempted clearance from Swankie, the ball rolled to Macneil who turned both Steven Jackson and Smith at the same time, but he could only hit the post. We had a golden chance to score in the 19th minute when Horribine was blocked off by Williams inside the box when he attempted to get onto a through ball from Berry and the ref duly pointed to the spot. McNab stepped up and slammed it into the bottom left corner to make it 1-0.

Brechin would hit back early in the second half however, and equalised when Muir inadvertently punched a Williams cross into his own net. Things got worse for us in the 66th minute when Berry handballed after challenging for an aerial ball following a free kick. Steven Jackson stepped up and thumped the ball home. Incredibly, just a moment later, the referee gave the third penalty of the match when Anderson fouled Collins inside the area. Gibson duly stuck his penalty into the top left corner to bring the game back to 2-2. It didn't take long for Brechin to peg us back again though, when Steven Jackson headed in a Greig free kick.

We attacked back straight from kick off, and immediately replied when Horribine headed in a cross from Mitchell.

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A thoroughly entertaining game, and probably a fair result on reflection.

And as we were getting prepared to go into our game against East Fife, we got this news...

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Quite surprised that this is the first time this has happened, the facilities at this level aren't exactly top of the range.

To make things worse, our worst fears were confirmed... Colin Martin has joined Dundee.

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There goes one of our best prospects, something that we will probably see occur very often in the future.

And i later got the news from Ronald Jack that the takeover talks with the supporters' trust had broken down. Reportedly, the trust had not been given full access to the financial reports and talks broke down from there. Our transfer embargo was lifted, and we could all now focus on the on pitch matters again. In more positive news, Sean Burns has resumed full training and will now be available for selection again. A huge boost indeed.

QUEEN'S PARK V ALBION ROVERS (League 2)

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Two changes from the draw against Brechin, as Wylie and Marr come in for Horribine and Donnelly. Another important game against our rivals, and with our rearranged game against East Fife coming, we could do with building some momentum here. We looked good to do exactly that, when Wylie headed in a Marr cross at the back post on the half hour mark. We doubled our advantage just moments later when Norris poked home a low cross from Wylie at the near post. Our plans were scuppered a little when Mitchell was forced off with an injury just before half time.

We nearly bagged a third 10 minutes into the seond half, when Norris fired a shot from just inside the area which was tipped onto the bar by Parry. We put the game beyond any doubt when Norris once again tapped home at the near post following a cross from Harvie.

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An excellent performance, one that sets us up perfectly going into our game against East Fife on Tuesday.

We've also decided to terminate the loan of Dean Hawkshaw, due to his lack of first team involvement, Marr and Mitchell were the ones competing for the right back spot, so there wasn't much need for us to be stalling Hawkshaw's development. I wouldn't completely rule out us bringing someone else in, though.

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We also had five players named in the team of the week following our convincing win.

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We have also confirmed the signing of young striker Ross Cameron on a free transfer from St Mirren.

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He has bags of potential and will hopefully go on to be a good player for us, keeping him happy might be a problem, though.

EAST FIFE V QUEEN'S PARK (League 2)

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Three changes from the win over Albion, as Horribine, Collins and Donnelly come in for Wylie, Norris and Marr. A win here would be huge, it would put us just one point behind Brechin, as well as moving us 3 points clear of Montrose, this is a rearranged game, so no other sides are in action today. A worrying statistic - East Fife have only won 1 of the 10 games that we have played against them since i took over here.

My fears seemed to be well placed, as we fell behind almost immediately when Muir came to claim a cross but fumbled the ball in front off Robbie Mitchell, who easily scored to make it 1-0 to East Fife. We got our goal ten minutes from the break, when Macneil headed in a Horribine cross at the far post. Ten minutes into the second half and we nearly took the lead when Donnelly fed in Collins, but his powerful shot was well palmed out by Gott.

East Fife came forward just moments later and nearly got a goal themselves, when Ramsay hit an effort from 20 yards which hit the inside of the right hand post and bounced clear. We caught a break in the dying minutes of the match, when Ross Mitchell had the ball in the net once again following a free kick, but it was chalked off for offside.

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Pleased to avoid defeat, but i once again am left to wonder what could have been, as we squander an opportunity to move within touching distance of Brechin. Unfortunately, Luke Donelly's injury turned out to be a twisted knee, which will keep him out of action for 4-5 weeks.

In other news, we have confirmed the signing of Motherwell defender Jack McMillan on loan until the end of the season

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He should be able to provide solid competition to Gibson and Little in the centre of our backline.

EAST STIRLINGSHIRE V QUEEN'S PARK (League 2)

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Three changes once again, as Wylie, Norris and Marr come in for Horribine, Collins and Donnelly. Once again, a game we should be winning, but that never means much.

We were inches away from taking the lead in the 25th minute, when Norris struck a shot from just inside the area which hit the underside of the bar and bounced out. Slim margins indeed. Harvie was forced off with an injury after half an hour and had to be replaced by Coll. We were awarded a penalty 10 minutes into the second half, after McCracken slid in from behind on Norris after he was played through by Berry. Admittedly, it did look dubious. Nevertheless, McNab stepped up and put his penalty right down the middle to give us the lead.

Our lead didn't last long however, and East Stirlingshire equalised when David McKenna tapped in at the far post following a Lamont cross. A very underwhelming game was capped off when Wylie went off injured in stoppage time.

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A poor result, especially given that Montrose and Brechin both picked up 3 points.

Gavin Mitchell was named in the team of the week for his performance.

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Just when i thought that we would finish the transfer window without any more dealings... Alloa reinforced their position as the bane of our very existence and poached two more of our youth players.

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PLAYER OF THE MONTH

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Aaron Norris, who has chipped in with 2 goals and an assist this month.

WORST PLAYER OF THE MONTH

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William Muir, who was at fault for a couple of goals and simply wasn't at his best this month.

CraigWL · Jul 27, 2015

FEBRUARY 2017

ARBROATH V QUEEN'S PARK (League 2)

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Three changes from the East Stirlingshire game, as Horribine, Craigie and McMillan come in for Wylie, Marr and Gibson. This certainly won't be an easy match, Arbroath have been on good form and are looking to break into the play offs.

We took the lead fairly early on in the game, when Craigie teed up Berry, who fired into the top left corner from 20 yards after a good team move. We doubled our lead roughly 15 minutes later, when McNab jinked past Grant before setting up Norris, who swiveled and fired past Crawford to make it 2-0. We appeared to have put the game beyond doubt before half time after a superb counter attack led to Macneil slotting past Crawford, but the goal was chalked off for offside. Arbroath themselves nearly got a goal before the break, when Pascazio took advantage of some confusion in the box following a free kick, and struck an effort which rattled the post.

We bagged our third of the game in the 67th minute when substitute Cameron tapped in at the near post following a Horribine cross. Arbroath nearly bagged a consolation in the dying minutes but Muir held a Sykes volley from the edge of the area well. We sadly failed to keep a hold of our clean sheet when Marshall turned in an early Grant cross, but it mattered little in the end.

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A very good result for us, one that sees us close the gap on Brechin at the top, things are really hotting up between us, them and Montrose!

Ricky Little was named in the team of the week after his performance.

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Unfortunately, Macneil has came down with flu, and will be sidelined for 6-8 days, meaning he will miss our clash with Peterhead.

QUEEN'S PARK V PETERHEAD (League 2)

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Five changes from the previous game, with Wylie, Davison, Colquhoun and Gibson coming in for Norris, Macneil, Craigie and McMillan. Sean Burns also makes his long awaited return from injury in place of Horribine. This is another one of those games that i dread. Coming off a good win against a side on form, we now have to welcome bottom of the table, never a good sign in my experience.

And we were left shell shocked in the first minute when Peterhead strolled through our backline which led to Barrowman playing in McAllister, who finessed past Muir to give Peterhead the lead. It didn't take us long to get an opportunity to get back on level terms, when Berry played in Davison down the right flank with a great through ball. Davison checked back and was floored by Drummond, leading to the referee awarding a penalty. McNab stepped up, and as usual, buried it confidently.

We almost took the lead in the 19th minute when Davison fed in Wylie, but his snap shot was well saved by Cowe. Harvie came inches away from giving us the lead in the 36th minute, jinking past challenges from Robertson and Wood before curving a right footed shot past the far corner. Peterhead weren't content with soaking up pressure though, and they scored their second of the game when McAllister tapped in after Lynch's free kick hit Wylie on the post and bounced out. McAllister would complete his hat trick in the 72nd minute, heading in a Robertson cross at the near post.

We were getting absolute torn to shreds, and conceded a 4th when Barrowman headed in a Howarth cross in the 83rd minute.

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That may have been our first loss in 10 games, but it was nothing short of embarrassing.

ANNAN V QUEEN'S PARK (League 2)

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Four changes from the shocking defeat to Peterhead, as Horribine, Norris, Macneil and Craigie come in for Burns, Wylie, Davison and Colquhoun. A much better performance is expected here.

That performance didn't appear to be coming however, as Hunter volleyed in a Campbell corner early on to give Annan the lead. Things would get worse for us just a couple of moments later when Harvie recklessly lunged in on Hunter, receiving a straight red card for his troubles. Norris then went off injured after 20 minutes to add to our woes. We came ridiculously close to equalising just after the half hour mark, as Little's driven 30 yard free kick was just about parried away by Smith, the ball fell To Horribine, whose cross was then headed onto the crossbar by Cameron.

10 minutes into the second half and Annan had doubled their lead after Campbell flicked on Lawson's long throw to Watson, who volleyed home from close range. Things would go from bad to worse when Mitchell clumsily slid in from behind on Watson inside the area, giving Annan a penalty which Campbell easily converted. Then things would go from worse to absolutely horrendous when McMillan was forced off with an injury in the 69th minute, leaving us with 9 men for the last 20 minutes. Annan would make the numbers count, and scored a 4th when Campbell volleyed in Hunter's cross.

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8 goals conceded and 1 scored in 2 games, utterly terrible, at this rate, we'll be lucky to make the play offs.

The fans would take to Twitter to vent their frustration...

@Scott_Harvey: Lucock has lost the plot, that performance was shambolic

@QPTID: Get someone else in who knows how to manage a team before we drop out of the play offs

@Lucas_Milton: 80+ miles to see that, no organisation, no leadership, shambolic, Lucock has to go

@Harry_Peters: Lucock will whip them into shape, he always does, this is a minor blip, keep the faith #Believe

People had their opinions, but all i was focused on was trying to win games, and we needed to start doing that again, and soon.

QUEEN'S PARK V ELGIN CITY (League 2)

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Four changes from the Annan thrashing, as Wylie, Cameron, Marr and Biggart come in for Horribine, Macneil, Craigie and the suspended Harvie. A win was much needed here, it will be hard to slow down the run of poor results if it carries on too long.

Elgin could have taken an early lead when Ally Graham latched onto a ball over the top, but he fired his one on one effort wide. Early on in the second half and Elgin would get their lead, as Biggart mis controlled a pass out from Muir, allowing Stirling to nip through and slot in to make it 1-0. Things would get worse, as Ally Graham doubled Elgin's lead, turning in a Cham cross. The last action of the game saw Millen narrowly put a free kick from 20 yards over the bar.

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Yet another weak performance from us, our 3rd defeat in a row, one which sees us drop 9 points behind Brechin. We really can't carry on like this...

PLAYER OF THE MONTH

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Slim pickings here, but Berry did his best in games to turn the tides, and was probably the best of a bad bunch.

WORST PLAYER OF THE MONTH

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Scott Gibson was exceptionally poor this month, and his shoddy performances at the back were a major contributor to our results.

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