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.
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.