Lichtielegend

The management have thrown a few curveballs in their line-ups this season and they have generally worked out. Wouldn't be surprised to see something unusual this week. I would like to see fringe players come in but don't think we can be that complacent so it'll like be the enforced changes such as Nouble (would love to see him running at Andy Munro tbf)

I think Clark is being picked over Henderson because he's able to cover more ground. The rest of our midfield is very attacking so we need someone who can cover for all of them. As good as Henderson has been, I don't think he would be able to do that role.

Those short goal kicks are just asking for trouble. Dunfermline were doing it too a few weeks back. It ends up being passed about the back four until one of them just lump it up. Overall, it feels a bit like 2 points dropped but it could have been worse with the gaps we left for counter attacks. The last 2 results have been disappointing but the performances have had plenty of positives. I don't agree with the clamour for McKenna to play upfront, while he's producing goals and assists from midfield. A lot of the chances Dowds and Donnelly have missed wouldn't necessarily have fallen to McKenna had he been playing upfront. I also think Dowds, finishing aside, has done a pretty good job leading the line (something that will become extremely important in a post-Nouble world). We missed Clark in the 2nd half. While I think he's still raw and his use of the ball can be a bit sloppy, he covers a lot of ground and wins a lot of challenges. I don't think Queen's would have had so many breakaway opportunities if he didn't get hooked.

Relieved to get a point but, on the balance of play, it's still 2 dropped. It was like men against boys, purely in terms of physicality but we really let ourselves down in the final third. As for the penalty, I'm sure Hamilton has got the ball, but it was a risky challenge to make as it gives the ref a decision. He also should have dealt with it better earlier, when Ryan was running at him on the wing, every man and his dog knew he was going to cut in, yet Hammy didn't even try to force him wide. There was actually an incident later in the half where Hamilton gave Ryan a little shove - I actually thought that merited a penalty more than the one given. Going forward for us, Nouble didn't get as many opportunities to drift wide as I would like. Dowds put in a good shift but he was found wanting when it came to his finishing. Donnelly was tidy without doing anything special and Scott Stewart had a quiet game, certainly not near the standards he has set this season. Bobby made an impact on the game while Hilson, like the Morton game a month back, just looked utterly devoid of confidence. I thought Harrison Clark played quite well and was surprised he got taken off. Craigen was quite sloppy when he came on but I think it was him that put the eventual cross in for TOB to head in the equaliser.

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Something about a goalkeeper being the manager that doesn't quite sit right for me.

The only thing I see against Nouble is that his first touch is quite hit and miss. His long legs allows him to recover a lot of the time. However, when he's got the ball under control and facing his opponent, he's totally unplayable.

I think LD is maybe playing wide simply because, with his height, he's a better target for a direct ball than Bobby or Paterson.

Like most, I've been a bit bewildered by team selection the last 2 games but, particularly given we'd been in a bit of a slump, 4 points has been a better return than most would have expected. Ultimately, with Nicky Low missing, we're not as creative so this looks to be a bit of a 'Plan B'. Get the ball forward early and try to get the second balls. McKenna doesn't actually appear to be playing much different, positionally but he is finding a bit more space. We're in a good position to be able to try these variations thanks to the security our back 4 + Gaston offers. On that note, if Chris Hamilton doesn't get kept by Hearts, I think it's quickly becoming a no-brainer to sign him if we can.

Our best run of the season has co-incided with Craigen playing wide left and he works well with Nouble in that left channel. I'd have him straight back in there if fit.

Raith (in spells) were the best side we've faced in the quarter. Right from the start, they were popping it around us with ease and despite the fortune of the deflection for the first goal, they'd tied us in knots in the build up. I'm a bit of a pessimist at the best of times and I've been waiting for our bubble to burst a bit. Watching the first 5 minutes of the game was like watching Homer Simpson taking that first punch from Drederick Tatum. However, we rallied quite well and it was actually quite a pisser to go in 2 down. Raith's pressing in the 2nd half was top notch and they dealt with Nouble well, not letting him get the ball under control.

I'm reminded of a line from The Thick of It Sacked in a year, looks like you fucked up. Sacked in a week, looks like we fucked up.

How many players have you lot been without this season? You might break into midtable when you get them all back.

It's just a case of us being a bit spoiled over the last couple of months, to be honest. Every club has their fans that just love to be critical and ours haven't had much to say recently, they must have been choking for a moan. That was probably the poorest 90 mins we've played in the league this season, yet we've still nicked a point.

Missing Nouble and Low is obviously massive and while we can't fault those who came in for effort, it highlighted a real skill gap. Hilson came on an did really well against Kilmarnock but he was disappointing today - he's hesitant to go on his left foot and he doesn't have a trick so he's easy to defend against. Didn't merit some of the abuse he was getting though and I think he was feeling it too, don't think he applauded the fans when substituted or at full-time. Donnelly just didn't get involved enough. The problem for him now is everything he does will be compared to Nouble and while Donnelly has a lot of very similar attributes, Nouble would not have been pushed about like that today. With no Gold in the squad, Craigan was probably the best option for central midfield but he was a bit sloppy in possession. I think he has a good understanding of his role on the left (he'll drift inside when Nouble pulls out wide) so don't know if we'll see him back out there once Nouble returns. The game itself was fairly tight and we did well to go in at half time in the lead. The first 15 mins of the 2nd half were so disjointed. It was like our defence were sitting back while the rest of the team were trying to press. It left huge gaps in between the defence and midfield and Morton totally exploited it. As for the penalty, I was expecting it to be a free kick against us just because that's what usually happens in those situations. Big point to keep the unbeaten run going though. Shouldn't be underestimated the impact Henderson has had in centre-midfield. I think his lanky physique belies a very technically sound player with great awareness. He's our Busquets....

As long as you have a goalscorer in the team like Boyce or Shankland were for the previous 2 title winners. Are you confident Shaw or Robinson can do that?

This is effectively a free hit and normally it's the kind of game where, if offered a point, I'd snatch your hand off. However, not today. It might only be ~20% of the season in and it might only be for one day, but going top of the 2nd tier would be a massive achievement.

I was going to be a bit more modest and compare him with Chris Templeman, but the greatest No.9 ever to play is fine too.

Must take a lot of mental fortitude to keep coming back from these blows and fair play to Raith for sticking by him through it all (probably at a fair cost, too)

Just wondering while watching the Alashkert game last night, is Peter Grant still trying to overplay from the back? His biggest downfall was trying to get guys like Andy Graham playing tippy tappy stuff and they'd turn over possession in their own half all the time.

On the other hand, we've played pretty well in our last 3 games and certainly not been 2nd best in any of the games, yet we've come away with 1 point and been eliminated from the cup. I just hope that the results start to come our way before the confidence wanes and the performances drop. As for the game today, I think we saw the difference of a lower league team playing well and a Premier League team doing enough. St Johnstone never really got a foothold in the midfield but when they did get the ball, their front 3 caused us problems with good movement as well as running at our defence. We were a bit one-dimensional going forward at times but Nouble is very good at what he does, we just need to get bodies closer to him in support. I think we were unlucky with the 2nd equaliser as we really should have had a free-kick when Rooney flattened Hamilton but there were a number of decisions from the ref that didn't really make sense and the only positive case you could make for the ref was that at least he wasn't biased. Ultimately, you can't go into a penalty shootout, miss the target 3 times, and expect to win.

Being the only part-timers this season, it's imperative that we don't get detached early in the season. Given that ICT haven't had a great group stage, and we've done relatively well against them the last 2 seasons, this is probably as good a game as any for us to open with.

Even without his goals, Hamilton offers so much to the team. Has all the attributes to play as a lone striker.

That was around 2006, the season when Berwick beat us to the Division 3 title. Their fans were raging.

Only problem with going against the wind first half is, if you find yourself a couple of goals down at half time, the opposition can make things very difficult by just sitting in and trying to hold on.